Modding Clean Cutting Alu

I know this must have been a fair few times, but here goes, what is the best way to make a very clean cut in a Alu case panel at home, intend to do a window but without the ugly molding

If anyone knows of anyother posts you can point me there

 

here are some:

http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5397

and

http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3698

 

Thanks mate, im going to try and get me hands on some alu sheet from a local supplier to test stuff on before tools touch case , just need a design to do now

 

Be prepared for plenty of filing (so leave room when marking your cutting line), aluminium is so soft you can't avoid tool marks and burr.

Good side is, it files up easily & beautifully

 

Thanks , just looking up geting the cost of getting it laser cut or the like, just to check out price, but i will prob end up doing it me self

 

If you are using a dremmel its very quick and painless , if u are going to use some trim u don't really need to file either

 

Once you've filed back to your finished line, get some fine grit sandpaper and got over it once more. It'll remove the filling marks, and leave you with a nice smooth edge.

 

http://www.moddin.net/gallery_case.asp?GalleryID=9

jigsaw, metal blade, huge amount of luck oh and some fine grit paper---and hey presto!

 

Has anyone out there used a nibbler for this kind of work? They're not great for large areas, but they will cut down on time/possible bending on hard-to-reach areas.

 

I used a nibbler to do my round corners because it does such a nice clean cut but damn... couldn't use my hand for about a day... now I reserve that tool for little mods like making bezels for drives, etc...