Great video Keith, thanks for sharing! I'm sure you know this, but maybe it could help someone else: I recently had to anodise some parts after tumbling, and found that the parts came back with horrible micro pitting - which wasn't visible before anodising. Eventually we figured out that the tumbling media had previously been used with steel, and so it was embedding tiny fragments of steel into the aluminium surface. These fragments were then dissolved out during anodising, leaving the unsightly pitting. On dyed parts it looked even worse because the acid would come out of the pits during dying, washing away the dye around the pits. In the end we easily solved the problem by switching to new media and keeping it strictly just for aluminium.
Cliff, I just ordered some tape to try, I got Scotch 2020 1.88" wide tape. It is about $3 cheaper and the 3M website says that it is recommended for use on Aluminum. Thanks for the video.
I think you have this process only half right. Put masking tape on both the base plate and the back of your part and the glue in between. That way you won't have to clean the glue off anything. The tape peels off both pieces with the glue in between to be thrown away with the tape. No cleanup. That's the way I do it and it works for me. Or if you insist that the way to do it is to only put the tape on one piece then at least put it on your part and the glue on the base plate so the tape peels away leaving your part clean. Try it.
Hi Dave. Interesting point. I wondered why most videos show only the one layer of tape. Maybe in some more stressed applications the part is less stiff with two layers. (Some folk use nil tape). Have you used the two layer method with bigger cutters or holding steel parts? Cheers Cliff
@@Threadexpress hi. I second using tape on both surfaces. I have used this method to cut aluminium up to 6mm thick on my diy mill. Obviously surface area is important. I wouldn't trust a 50 X 50 X 100mm high piece but maybe a 200 X 200 X 100mm high. It definitely is a cleaner way of doing it.
@@Threadexpress The first place I saw this trick was on the UA-cam channel NYCCNC. He didn't invent it but I would say he perfected it. He CNC machines all sorts of pieces thick and thin large and small cutters on his HAAS and Tormach machines. I believe the technique came from the wood working field. If nothing else I would reverse your process and put the tape on the work piece not on the base plate. At least that way the part comes out clean and you avoid the removal of the glue from your part. Especially if you are going to anodize the piece because (from experience) anything on the surface of the aluminum will inhibit the anodizing. I prefer shiny anodized surfaces and putting the pieces in a tumbler affects the surface finish. One caveat is that keeping the part cool while machining is important because the heat will soften the sticky on the tape and the part might squirm around slightly. So your use of coolant is a good thing. I don't have that luxury so I take light cuts and use air to cool.
@@v2rsvr843 Yes. I agree. If you think about it the cutting forces are nearly all in shear on a low piece. So there is little chance of a large surface area piece being shifted. As you say when the piece becomes taller there is more leverage trying to tear / lift the tape. Especially with heavy cuts. I mostly use the process for perhaps quarter in max thickness where clamping would distort the piece or where there is no excess of material available to hold it down. Yes I always use two pieces of tape. I want my work piece to be clean (the whole point IMHO) and also want to be able to use the base plate again with minimal cleanup.
Agreed 100%. The use of the word "scientific" must be done with care. You came to conclusions without testing them properly. Its all about the cleaning. CA is CA. Clean with actetone, use any CA glue, and the double tape method, and you'll be totally fine. So called "high performance CA" is just marketing BS.
This works well for removing glued down pieces: www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00LCPOPGC The blade is very strong and sharp plus the handle can be hit with a hammer.
Great Job! Cliff,
I have just been using the Super glue method in a part this week myself! Just GP tape and SG
Cheers Sam! Cliff
Great video Keith, thanks for sharing! I'm sure you know this, but maybe it could help someone else: I recently had to anodise some parts after tumbling, and found that the parts came back with horrible micro pitting - which wasn't visible before anodising. Eventually we figured out that the tumbling media had previously been used with steel, and so it was embedding tiny fragments of steel into the aluminium surface. These fragments were then dissolved out during anodising, leaving the unsightly pitting. On dyed parts it looked even worse because the acid would come out of the pits during dying, washing away the dye around the pits. In the end we easily solved the problem by switching to new media and keeping it strictly just for aluminium.
Thanks for that! Good to know. Cheers Cliff
Cliff, I just ordered some tape to try, I got Scotch 2020 1.88" wide tape. It is about $3 cheaper and the 3M website says that it is recommended for use on Aluminum. Thanks for the video.
Sorry I missed your comment. Thanks for posting. Cliff
Superglue (cyanoacrylate) can be dissolved with acetone. No scratching/scraping.
Cheers Bernd. All that acetone, I am feeling dizzy! Cliff
I think you have this process only half right.
Put masking tape on both the base plate and the back of your part and the glue in between. That way you won't have to clean the glue off anything. The tape peels off both pieces with the glue in between to be thrown away with the tape. No cleanup.
That's the way I do it and it works for me.
Or if you insist that the way to do it is to only put the tape on one piece then at least put it on your part and the glue on the base plate so the tape peels away leaving your part clean.
Try it.
Hi Dave. Interesting point. I wondered why most videos show only the one layer of tape. Maybe in some more stressed applications the part is less stiff with two layers. (Some folk use nil tape). Have you used the two layer method with bigger cutters or holding steel parts? Cheers Cliff
@@Threadexpress hi.
I second using tape on both surfaces.
I have used this method to cut aluminium up to 6mm thick on my diy mill.
Obviously surface area is important.
I wouldn't trust a 50 X 50 X 100mm high piece but maybe a 200 X 200 X 100mm high.
It definitely is a cleaner way of doing it.
@@Threadexpress The first place I saw this trick was on the UA-cam channel NYCCNC. He didn't invent it but I would say he perfected it. He CNC machines all sorts of pieces thick and thin large and small cutters on his HAAS and Tormach machines. I believe the technique came from the wood working field.
If nothing else I would reverse your process and put the tape on the work piece not on the base plate. At least that way the part comes out clean and you avoid the removal of the glue from your part. Especially if you are going to anodize the piece because (from experience) anything on the surface of the aluminum will inhibit the anodizing. I prefer shiny anodized surfaces and putting the pieces in a tumbler affects the surface finish.
One caveat is that keeping the part cool while machining is important because the heat will soften the sticky on the tape and the part might squirm around slightly. So your use of coolant is a good thing. I don't have that luxury so I take light cuts and use air to cool.
@@v2rsvr843 Yes. I agree. If you think about it the cutting forces are nearly all in shear on a low piece. So there is little chance of a large surface area piece being shifted. As you say when the piece becomes taller there is more leverage trying to tear / lift the tape. Especially with heavy cuts.
I mostly use the process for perhaps quarter in max thickness where clamping would distort the piece or where there is no excess of material available to hold it down.
Yes I always use two pieces of tape. I want my work piece to be clean (the whole point IMHO) and also want to be able to use the base plate again with minimal cleanup.
Agreed 100%. The use of the word "scientific" must be done with care. You came to conclusions without testing them properly. Its all about the cleaning. CA is CA. Clean with actetone, use any CA glue, and the double tape method, and you'll be totally fine. So called "high performance CA" is just marketing BS.
This works well for removing glued down pieces: www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00LCPOPGC
The blade is very strong and sharp plus the handle can be hit with a hammer.
Thanks Ken. Cliff