Cutting the ULE body

[thecroatiansensation]

Hello guys, I have been on this site for 2 or 3 years and this is my first tech post.

So previously I owned a ule body that had the front "lip" on the bottom chopped so that the front was evenly flat and circular (not the oval that the stock bodies are).

I am getting a ule body in soon and I would like to do this mod myself in my workshop. I have enough tools and machines to do almost anything to almost any material (saws, air tools, welders, etc). Would a metal chop saw (or a mitre saw with a metal blade) be the best bet to do this modification accurately? I know the bodies are aluminum, so there shouldn't be much of a problem getting through it, I just wanted to check with you folks first to know if anyone has done this before. I don't need to ruin a good ule body (they are way too expensive).

Thank you guys,
TCS

[river031403]

Probably a dremel with a cutting wheel would be fine.Just lay it out so it is symmetrical and go slow

[Nobody]

a chop saw will do a very quick job of it, BUT it will leave a lot of slag and not give you the cleanest cut. leave that for steel.

now, i don't know why people think you need specialized tools for cutting or working on aluminium. you can literally take sand paper and enough time(and cleaning out the paper from the aluminium) to do this. the one thing is that with aluminium, it does heat up quickly, but with some application of water, its fine. so a dremel or even a band saw(with a metal blade) is fine for the initial cut, but leave a 1/16th or so and use files to shape and sand paper to finish the work. as long as you remember that you can't put back any material that you took off. you should be fine.

[OPBN]

Ive cut a couple of bodies using a hacksaw and finishing with files/sandpaper. Having a bench sander also helps. I always suggest using masking tape to mark your lines and make sure everything is where it needs to be before cutting. And agreed, you can always take more off, you can't put it back on so cut carefully. If you're doing a straight cut, it's really pretty simple. Gets more complicated if you're cutting the front at an angle.

[BTAutoMag]

did Nobody actually post the words chop saw in this thread?!

[captian pinky]

use a mill it will be clean and straight.

[Cyco-Dude]

probably anything that cuts metal. i would use a bandsaw if i had one, ontherwise hacksaw. it's *easy* to mess up and get a crooked cut using a hacksaw though, unless you have a lot of experience using one. i'd vote no for the dremel...it can do it, but it's not the cleanest way to cut a tube of anything.

[Runamok]

I use a tubing cutter I've had since I worked in Hvac. If you cut slightly long and don't try to crank it down you get a square cut that's easy to clean up with a flat fine cut fine and some 400,600,&800 sand paper. Mills and lathes are hard to hold on to the piece,and I got a SS body that someone used a lathe on and got a nice clean cut ; but they cranked the jaws down too hard and now it's alittle hard to get the valve in and out past the squish marks. I keep saying I'll take a piece of one inch round stock and press the squish out, but haven't needed the SS body for anything yet.

[Nobody]

did Nobody actually post the words chop saw in this thread?!

yes, but if was in reference to the OP.


Would a metal chop saw (or a mitre saw with a metal blade) be the best bet to do this modification accurately?

in metal working, a chop saw is this.

89038

[athomas]

A hack saw and a miter box works well.

[thecroatiansensation]

Thanks for the ideas guys. I was talking this over with my friend last night and I thought about using the tube cutter. The only problem was that the wheels on the cutter I have are metal so they may leave marks on the anno.

I really like the mitre box idea, leaves out the guesswork.

What about a tile saw? I saw above that someone mentioned aluminium getting hot quickly, so a tile saw would take care of that. Although I am not sure if the blade would do well on metal...

[athomas]

You can cut aluminum with a fine tooth saw blade on a regular miter/chop saw. Just go slower and make sure you have your work well fastened.

[Nobody]

take some masking tape or painter's tape and cover the area that you are wanting to cut or the area where the wheels will go, then make your mark and go through the tape. the tape will protect the body from any unwanted marks from the tube cutter.