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Cutting Mitre Joints
I’ve just taken my first order for a sign trim job. It’s only 4ft x 2 1/2ft.
I’m buying the frame in pre-made, as at the moment I don’t have any facility for cutting tidy mitre joints.
I know it would be cheaper, quicker and therefore more profitable to do it myself.
What do you use for cutting sign trim?
I was thinking of an electric mitre saw, but not sure what blade I’d need?
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12 Replies
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I have tried several saws , electric cross cut with carbide blade , which is never a true 45 degrees, pain in the . The best by far is a traditional hand mitre metal jig ,with a metal cutting blade, tungsten, gets it right every time, bit more effort by results are very good.
Regards
Graham -
I’m guessing aluminium Panatrim sort of sign trim?
Electric chop saw in my experience is the best. The up/down type, not the pull out and in type. The pull out ones tend to snatch at the material, although you do get a damper device for some of these ones. The added benefits with the slide out ones are that they are more versatile.The blade is important – TCT (tripple chip) with something like 80 teeth (depends on dia of blade etc.). Set it up absolutely square each way and you should get very good mitres. You should always clamp the material before cutting as it can spin and do nasty things to your fingers in the process!
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I’ve got a hand mitre saw, and metal jig, but never had much luck with it. I tried to knock up a sample with an off cut, which ended up with massive gaps at the joint.
I’ve ordered this one in made up, but would prefer to make them myself.
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In my experience it is far quicker and easier to get the frames in already made. The mitres are, from the bigger companies, near perfect, I’ve only ever cut my own as a very last option, there always seems to be far too much useless waste. Have you also thought about a jig to drill holes in the ends of the frames?
Steve
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I agree with Steve, unless you do quite a few and have a proper set up where you can get them perfect then it’s a pain in the arse.
I used to make my own but now buy them in, much better imo.
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I don’t do many TBH, this is my first in 12months.
Out of interest where are you buying them in from.
I had a quote from Universal Aluminium which was good, till they smacked a £40.00 deliver charge on there.
Just ordered mine from Solar Signs, and should be here tomorrow.
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quote David Hammond:Out of interest where are you buying them in from.
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you need a compond mitre saw , you can pick them up anywhere B&Q tescos etc. go for a Bosch or a dewalt
for cutting aluminium extrusion aka trim you need a left rveverse blade at least 80 chip preferably 120 chip.regards
stu -
Negative Rake Blade – high teeth count – is what stu was trying to say.
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quote Tim Painter:Negative Rake Blade – high teeth count – is what stu was trying to say.
trying but failing apperently Tim, thanks for the help.
regards
stu -
I have found Kestrel Signs to be 100% reliable, easy to deal with, capable of talking about individual requirements and specs and they manufacture a good range of frames, boxes etc. On a couple of occasions they have delivered to me by their own transport, any delivery charge becomes part of my costs on the job, so it’s passed on to the client.
You cannot cut aluminium extrusions with a high speed saw – it’ll be an accident waiting to happen, the material also needs to be clamped before cutting so you’ll need enough space to accomodate 4 metre length of bar and you’ll ideally need some way of lubricating the cut and that gets messy.
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Yeah I’ll keep ordering in I think…
Need to shop around a little more though to find reasonable priced but reliable suppliers. I don’t always go with the cheapest, better spending a little more and sleeping at night know it will arrive and be correct!
There’s not many companies on the toolbar for them though?
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