I'm going to be building soon, and this time I want to do it right, so I've chosen to make the two fresnel frames, the lcd frame, the reflector frame, the precon frame out of 1/8" (about 3mm) sheet aluminum. I figure this material, at this thickness, will walk the line between being rigid and heat resistant, and being easy to work with and cut.

So how do I cut 3mm thick sheets of aluminum, using mostly wood-working tools? Is this a lost cause? Should I go back to the drawing board? Or will a dremel, a hacksaw, and a drill press work?

it's a bit more work cutting aluminum; a cutting wheel will do the job, but takes a long time.

If you have a reciprocating saw, jig saw, sawz all, that you normally use for wood; you could swap out the blades with metal blades for less than $5.

With Al, the problem with metal cutting discs and such is that the Al is soft, and clogs up the tool pretty fast. It's different if you're using a tool like a router, where you have a more open cuting edge, but grinding discs and the like don't get along with Al well at all.

Regular woodworking tools like a jigsaw will work, but will give rough/sharp edges, since the Al is ductile, even if it's softer than hardwood. You'll have to make sure that you leave a bit of room for finishing the edges when you do your tool cuts.

Also remember to go slowly. Wood will stop your cutting tool, but Al will just bend. Also stop periodically and clean out the cutting teeth on your saw.

For a jigsaw, I'd recommend an 18tpi (medium-fine) blade, go slowly and it'll be fine.

A carbide crosscut blade for a skillsaw or tablesaw will work fine, as well.

All cases will leave a sharp edge that must be filed.

You can get bits for a dremel (and of course router) that will work well, and not have the same problem, though I've never had that much luck with the dremel solution for Al.

Drill press is all good. Get good drill bits.

Hacksaw is good, though hard to make long straight cuts, it will work.

Get a file that you won't be using for anything else, be prepared to clean it often, and for it to not last all that long.

I used a metal cutting wheel on my table saw to cut the overall size of the frame itself. I then used an ordinary jigsaw with a thinner blade (widthwise) for cutting out the portion for which the LCD or the likes would be framed in. A wider blade traveled off more for some reason. Even with a thinner blade was a bit tricky when butting up the jig to a straight edge to make the cut, at times the blade would still go off perhaps by pushing to fast or the blade bends as it gets hot. I just went free hand (slowly) on a drawn line followed by filing the imperfections down by eye and the aid of an adjustable square ruler. A good right angle adjustable ruler came in very handy for multiple measuring rather then using a regular ruler. It's a matter of just adjusting, tightening, butting up and then marking as you go along. But be sure it's squared.

A set of different shaped files came in very handy, I used mostly the flat and the smaller triangle type. After which I sanded the plates with an orbital sander with fine grit for smoothness. Cutting aluminum isn't as difficult as cutting steel especially with a strong HP table saw. Depending on the amount of aluminum you’re planning on cutting I would suggest at least 2ea 10" wheels and at least 3 jigsaw blades. BTW, as you already know, when cutting with a jig always start with pilot holes by drilling them on all for corners start to end. More importantly as always, use safety goggles. The fine metal shrapnel coming off the blades or even a drill press is a lot harder, hotter and sharper on the eye's

Thanks for your help guys. Unfortunately, I have not router, no jigsaw, in fact, nothing but the aforementioned hack saw, dremel, and drill press. So I've decided to move in another direction: using L shaped pieces of aluminum, cut carefully and precisely with a dremel using a metal cutting tool, and screwed together through holes made by the drill press. I'm using SIM's plog as a reference (same mehtod, but without the custom cut flat sheets).

I'm sure someone else will find all your replies very useful though.

For future readers: I ended up using lengths of L shaped aluminum brackets, and gluing or screwing them together. I used my dremel with a cutting wheel and it cut through the aluminum relatively easily (albeit noisily). I also drilled holes in the aluminum with a drill press, with a clamp holding it in place. I tried going slow and going medium speed, and the medium speed is much better. Pushing the press slowly just causes more friction and melts it (dangerous).

Tiny bits of sharp alumnium flew everywhere, so safety glasses are a must.

A dremel is really a great tool to have especially for small, pinpoint jobs. The bits and wheels are kinda pricey though for repetative cutting and big projects. I used 1/8" thick aluminum plates and L-shapes in my build and at times I wore out a dremel wheel rather quickly or they shattered under stress (scary, another reason for safety goggles). A $2 10" metal cutting wheel for a table or power saw took care of the big jobs very quickly and with less wear. Just 2cents...

When drilling in aluminium try using regular household alcohol / spirits as lubrication... it works wonders

Here im giving presswork details whatever i know

Presswork
Conventional presswork to 200 tonnes bed size 1390 x 86 supported by special purpose trimming and beading machines.

WELDED ASSEMBLIES

Resistance and mig welded, soldering, brazing, seam locking.