Spar Bar Strip Prices

[Chris In Milwaukee]

All you need is a good carbide non-Ferris blade and a long enough straight edge.

SAVE FERRIS!

I also cut mine with a circular saw, but used an edge guide. Sure wish I had a proper track saw. Wonderful piece of equipment.

It does throw a lot of chips, but like you said, edge cleanup is super easy.

[way_up_north]

I have cut a bunch of aluminum with a circular saw. All you need is a good carbide non-Ferris blade and a long enough straight edge. I use a festool tracksaw but a regular circular saw will work well. A while back i cut all the cap strips needed for two patrols in under an hour. . Very little cleanup needed on the pieces. Bob says this is how he does it himself. Here is what you need.

first you need a saw setup. Making a track saw is easy. Here is a video from this old house that shows one way.

https://youtu.be/rbTvzViDZmo

then you need the circular saw, the proper blade and a table.

For the table, make a table long enough that you can hold the full sheet of aluminum. I used a couple of pieces of OSB on top of saw horses with 12’ 2x4 under for support. The osb will be used hold the AL sheet and also allow the saw to cut about 1/16” into the osb so the cut is clean on the AL and will also prevent the saw from catching on the AL.

Place the AL on the table so that where the cut is will be over the OSB. You want to make sure you cut into the OSB. Now mark the AL and setup the track and clamp down. Set the saw depth so that it cuts through the AL and only about 1/16 or so into th OSB. You do not want to cut all the way through the osb. If you have the ability to hook a shop vac to th circular saw, it makes less flying AL chips. No simply saw through it. For me I cut through the entire 12’ length in under 30 seconds. Cuts like I was cutting through hardboard. Make sure you are wearing eye protection. I just ran a vixen file done the edge once to take off an stress risers,

I use the same method to cut all wing skins also.

If you use the OSB subsurface, track for the saw and proper blade, you will be surprised with how easy and clean cutting this method works. There is actually less cleanup with the saw cut than with a shear.

as im reading your post im wondering if you could cut the spars the same way...worth trying a piece and see what happens

[fairchild]

I just watched John's home made track saw video-
I think I will try that when I start the spar work.
Im thinking about making the wood piece that the saw foot rides against somewhat taller---- maybe an inch tall.... and then make some type of gizmo using roller skate wheels
and sprinigs to hold the saw firmly against the track so it cant wander outboard of it. Might make the track from some square steel tubing and use rollers on both sides. Might be a
little work finding a perfectly straight piece of steel or aluminum that has NO jogs. Some type of aluminum extrusion might do the job----- if it could be found in 12 foot length.
Could prob build the whole rig into my steel build table.
T

[Chewie]

Here's what another builder did, the track is some kind of extruded building material, I forget what it's called but good and cheap for sure. With a small piece attached to the saw as well, it tracks nicely. But honestly I had no wandering issues by holding my Skil saw against a straight edge with hand pressure alone.

[N3UW]

as im reading your post im wondering if you could cut the spars the same way...worth trying a piece and see what happens

I cut all of my sheet aluminum with the track saw including skins and spars. Worked really well for those cuts

[fairchild]

Chewie---- That stuff looks kind of like that molded plastic/foamed synthetic lumber that's used for interior trim shapes. I will check some out at HD. See if its straight and true.
Neat idea......

[way_up_north]

I’ve been mulling this over and came up with a few ideas.... the 12 foot sheet of .125 is very heavy ... you need 2 people to move it around, so it does not get damaged ... and you need somewhere to store it.... it can’t be rolled so you need a trailer or truck big enough to move it...

so why not cut the thing right in the aircraft spruce parking lot.... now you have easy to manage strips... no truck needed... easier to store the strips...ect...one man job

whats needed is a few skids to keep it off the ground and a straight track for the saw to follow...tarp to catch the shavings...if they let me plug in there it’s even better... if not then battery powered saws are on the market that can do it...

[way_up_north]

SAVE FERRIS!

I also cut mine with a circular saw, but used an edge guide. Sure wish I had a proper track saw. Wonderful piece of equipment.

It does throw a lot of chips, but like you said, edge cleanup is super easy.

What width did you cut your strips ... as in did you cut them a little wider to account for de burring and finishing

[Chris In Milwaukee]

I cut them within 1/64” wider. Having used a ScotchBrite wheel to dress the strips, not a lot of material is lost in the process. So one could probably cut it right on target without too much worry.