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I'm getting ready to make gas checks with my new patmarlin 30 Cal check maker. I've bought the appropriate amerimax aluminum and now I need to cut it into strips. I have read where some people have used a paper cutter, like the ones we used to have in school. Where can a person track down one of these devices? And how quickly will the blade be dulled by cutting aluminum? I'm assuming that the blade can be sharpened.
I bought mine at Staples.
Harbor Freight had them, possibly still do. Steel cutting aluminum won't dull it all that fast. It is a sheer rather than a knife type slicing edge.
Once you get it you might want to make a gauge or stop for cutting the 1/2 inch strips. Using the measuring marks on the cutter is sort of a PITA. Easier to have a stop 1/2 out from the edge. At least that is what I think is easier.
I use a HF 12" break/shear. It will cut Al forever. Made a guide of the proper width for each cal. And etch a line in the Al align it with the blade and cut.
Any office or art supply will have them. Just so you know good ones ain’t cheap! You could probably get by with a box cutter and a straight edge. You can also checkout harbor freight for a pair of electric sheet metal shears or even a good pair of tin snips. I guess it depends on how fat your wallet is and how many gas checks your planing to make.
I use a paper cutter like the two links below - inexpensive and replacement cutter head/blades are cheap too. I use the AmeriMax Aluminum rolls too for cutting gas checks. I have placed tape as a gauge marker on mine. Measure an appropriate length and cut off a "Section" that can be handled. I then use the tape Gauge mark which is set to the correct dimension (slightly smaller) so that a cut strip will fit inside of the machined "Window" of the Pat Marlin gas check die.
I use the "Cutter" to score a line on the sheet of aluminum (not cutting through the aluminum - just scoring it); while wearing a pair of gloves I bend at the scored line and back and forth a couple of times until it breaks off. Then back to the paper cutter to score another, repeat as described previous line. Found this works very well - you can even sit in front of the Boob Tube and make many strips while watching the news or a movie. Strips are cut across the width of the AmeriMax Aluminum (about 4 inches), I get about 9 Gas Check blanks from each strip.
https://www.amazon.com/Jielisi-Trimm...70_&dpSrc=srch
https://www.amazon.com/Paper-Cutter-...s=PAPER+CUTTER
I too, have a Pat Marlin's 30 cal gas check maker on the way. I was thinking about copper in lieu of aluminum.
Thoughts?
Never tried copper strip or sheets for my .22, .30, .32/8mm. - AmeriMax has worked just fine for me in all of those applications. Now for my cast 50BMG boolits; that I bought several roles of Strip Aluminum from Yonkee here on this site because I could not get the AmeriMax to work for me as well as the rolls of Strip aluminum.
I bought one of those paper cutters at Walmart, in the area where they sell pens, 3 ring binders, pads of paper, etc. Priced reasonably but works great when I need to use it. Those are one of those things that you rarely if ever use, but glad to have when you need one.
We had a 8" bench shear for cutting shim stock. It had a very good adjustable stop and square edge. Stop could be adjusted for straight or angled cuts, This unit was meant for cutting hardened shim stock to .030 thick. Benefits of this would be the stop and square, and the cutting angles relief were for metals. This unit would cut aluminum or copper for 3 or 4 lifetimes use.
The paper cutters ( shear type) will work but may take some fiddling to get dead square cuts They may also slide the stock when cutting ( more so as the cutter dulls and shear force goes up) And the rolled edge they may leave.
I got my last full sized cutter at an Office Depot store, they had 3 different types. My Wife bought me a smaller 9" square cutter at a shop for scrap booking.Robert
What Mustang said about the cutters. I have one like those and I would think that two toothpick size plastic rods twisted into drilled holes for a tight fit at the correct measurement (1/2")to use as a stop with the aluminum aligned with the lines on the cutter and pushed firmly against the stops and the piece held firmly against movement you would have exact same pieces to use. Scoring and breaking the aluminum would leave cleaner finished edges with less of a burr. My unprofessional opinion of course.
That's why I went to the type of cutters in my post #8, the slippage with dull blades. Draw back on the ones I use is the bending back and forth (once or twice) of the score line; but you get a nice straight cut as long as you hold it against the edge when scoring.Quote:
Originally Posted by country gent