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Hey guys, you know when you grind or use a cutter bit in a dremel tool on aluminum and all the grinding wheels and cutting teeth get gummed up with aluminum gunk? How do you get rid of the aluminum other than a screwdriver scraping and cutting the alum away. Is there an easier way like maybe wax or soap on the cutter before grinding aluminum?
Any help would be appreciated!

Mike

for cleaning up grinding wheels you need a dresser - be very careful about grinding steel on that plugged up wheel, aluminum powder can be explosive! shouldn't grind aluminum dry, spray with wd-40 if the grinder doesn't have a built in coolant spray, or there's special oil for it [some say Crisco ], and use a coarse grit silicon carbide wheel

Bill

Thanx red58,
Ive got a dresser and it works well on the grinder wheel, but what about the cutting bits? They are a pain to get the build up of alum. off of the teeth of the bits.
Mike

same thing Mike, keep it lubricated - working aluminum heats it so it's melting the dust/chips as fast as they're made .... some wd40 or cutting oil should reduce the buildup, tho you'll always have some cleanup to do, for which a file card [the wire brush sorta tool] can work - fiberglas or plastic working tools have the same problem, and a file card is handy for that too

Bill

I see (said the blind squirrel)
Thanx!
Mike

Load the cutter teeth up with bees wax before you do the cutting. They won't load up as fast and makes it easier to remove the aluminum from the teeth. I think a grinding stone would be a waste of time. Use a cutting tip first then switch to the little sanding drums to smooth the aluminum.

I have a plethora of bits for the die grinder for aluminum. I use WD40 by the buckets. I dip the tool in WD40, then grind for a short time and repeat. If your tool does get clogged, the only thing I found that works is a pick and some time.

For sanding, I use the flap wheels. I also spray them with WD40. They dont last as long as they would on steel, however it is a trade-off

Scott

I was taught to never grind aluminum with a stone and in my 30+ years of working with metal I can honestly say that I have never touched a grinding wheel to aluminum. Aluminum builds up in the wheel, retains heat and breaks down the binder making it a possibility that the wheel could disintegrate. Aluminum should be worked with a rotary file or other metal cutting tool.

Beeswax is the most common lubricant suggested to keep aluminum from building up in the tool, but the most likely reason your tools are clogging is you are either running the cutter at too great a speed causing the aluminum to actually melt or the tool is dull.

Different alloys of aluminum have different working characteristics. Extruded aluminum which you commonly find in the shape of bars and angles sold in hardware stores is the softest, most miserable crap you can work. Heat treated aluminum alloyed with copper or silicone (such as 2024T3 and 6061T6) are the best to machine.

Use a HSS or carbide cutter. Lubricate with beeswax. Keep the cutter's surface speed down and use sharp cutters.

TAP MAGIC, although not cheap or widely known, is THE choice for machining aluminum to precise tolerances.