Metal cutting?

[Cycleops]

Circular saw, jigsaw?!
Tinsnips is the correct tool for the job on thin aluminium.

 

[Nibor]

Dremel

 

[Dadam]

If it's thin enough can you fold the edge over rather than cutting it? Might be easier to make a neater edge and less likely to slice your digits open. Clamp in a vice or with a bunch of clamps along a straight edge. Clamps or mole grips to hold the rest of the plate while you bend it over.

 

[icowden]

Dremel

Demel how?

 

[Nibor]

use a small cutting disc

 

[Profpointy]

the book of words from my track saw
(a variant of hand-held saw) talks of a particular blade being suitable for aluminium and another for 1/8" mild steel.

Providing you can clamp the work down safely and use a guide to run the saw against, assuming it's not a track saw per se I recon that's your best bet, even if you have to buy a suitable blade. ... assuming you have the saw already. If not, then a track saw is very useful.

Hacksaw or jigsaw with suitable blade would be my 2nd choice

 

[newts]

If you're cutting it with circular saw, jigsaw or grinder I'd clamp clamp between to pieces of timber (as suggested previously) to avoid any nasty surprises with blades snatching at your fingers.

 

[Adam4868]

HI All,

As you may be aware from another thread I have got myself a tow bar bike carrier. I asked the lease company for a letter so that I could get a duplicate rear plate for the back of the carrier and they were kind enough to just post me a full set of aluminium plates.

The drawback is that they are the type of plate that has a lip at the bottom to advertise the lease company. The lip is too big to fit in the plate holder.
My first thought is to somehow file down the lip to take off about 5mm. The question is how?

The alternative is to drill some holes and bolt the plate to the holder although it will look a bit ugly at the bottom. This is obviously the easy option as I just need to mark the holes and get an hss drill bit and then some appropriate bolts.

Any thoughts folks?

I'm crap at visualizing what you mean,how thick is the Ally ? Tin snips unless your competent with a bit of tin bashing won't cut it neat.Possible to flatten the lip with a square faced hammer and dolly/piece of metal.Sand it with a flap wheel in a grinder,although ally will clog it up fast.Sure you'll get it sorted either way.File it and break a sweat man !

 

[Dave7]

Surely a cheap reciprocating saw will do it.
You will likely get blades suitable for metal and wood.

 

[newfhouse]

File it and break a sweat man !

Exactly this. It’s only 5mm of 1mm aluminium isn’t it? A few dozen strokes with a coarse file will see that off. No need for power tools with the inherent risk of injury or ballsing it up through unfamiliarity.

 

[Profpointy]

A power sander would take 5mm off in a reasonable time I'd have thought.

 

[Randomnerd]

A good mill file by Vallorbe would do the job, with the item clamped firmly in a vice. Power tools - without eye protection - wouldn’t be my choice.

 

[icowden]

Exactly this. It’s only 5mm of 1mm aluminium isn’t it? A few dozen strokes with a coarse file will see that off. No need for power tools with the inherent risk of injury or ballsing it up through unfamiliarity.

Didn't even think of that. DIY is not my strong point

 

[Profpointy]

A good mill file by Vallorbe would do the job, with the item clamped firmly in a vice. Power tools - without eye protection - wouldn’t be my choice.

you could wear goggles

 

[presta]

Tinsnips will give you a straighter smoother edge than any of the alternatives being suggested on here, and without all the time spent fettling a sawn edge afterwards: it takes a few seconds with the back of a scalpel blade to deburr the sharp side of a sheared edge.