# Anyone used 80/20 aluminium extrusions to make a chainsaw mill?



## demographic (Aug 31, 2009)

I have been looking for decent aluminium extrusions that are avalaible in the UK and the best ones I have seen are made by a company in the US called 80/20 as far as I can work out.

The sections have a slot cut in them for a sliding T bolt and a couple of degree drop on the T slot flange which acts a bit like an anti vibration lock washer which seems like a good idea to me.
They also have a hole that runs down the full length of the extrusion which holds upto 150 psi pressure, so people could have the oil tank at the saw end and the bar nose oiler wouldn't need pipes running past where your hands grip on to it, maybe.

Anyway, HERE'S the site and you can get the PDF catalogue from HERE.

The catalogue is actually downloaded from a different company but its the same product, its just that I can't find a catalogue thats easy to download on the 80/20 site without having to fill in loads of info.

Don't know if thats any use to anyone but its just what I'm looking at.

Scott.


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## Can8ianTimber (Aug 31, 2009)

Thanks a lot. I have looked for this kind of material in the past with poor results. Saved the link in favorites


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## wigglesworth (Aug 31, 2009)

We use 80/20 a lot at work. I hate the stuff. Its soft and galls really easy. A plus is you can make anything out of it. It really is a big erector set. Use lots of loctite. Seriously. Lots.


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## gink595 (Aug 31, 2009)

Can8ianTimber said:


> Thanks a lot. I have looked for this kind of material in the past with poor results. Saved the link in favorites



I have too. Granberg sells differnt lengths of the T-track but is horrible expensive. Does anyone know what the cost of the 80/20 is?


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## demographic (Aug 31, 2009)

gink595 said:


> I have too. Granberg sells differnt lengths of the T-track but is horrible expensive. Does anyone know what the cost of the 80/20 is?



No idea about cost yet and I'm in the UK anyway.

They usually just ignore the exchange rate between the dollar and pound, leave all the numbers exactly the same as your dollar price and stick a pound sign in front of it instead of the dollar sign


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## BobL (Aug 31, 2009)

There is an Aussie guy (Dai Sensei) who has made his log rails out of 80/20 and at least one guy on this forum who has made a mill and they appear to be working well.

I looked at 80/20 stuff when I was buying and the problem for me was the price. 

Here is the one I looked at 40-4001 (1.6 kg/m)






For about 30% less $ I was able to buy this one 98401 (1.8 kg/m), heavy duty highway sign unistrut






The main difference between the two profiles is the weight of ally in the 40-4001 is mainly in the centre of the material whereas the 98401 is on the outside.

A 6m length of this cost me about US$70. From this I have been able to cut a set of 64" and 42" mill rails. I have since gone back and bought several more pieces for other projects such as a set of 4 roof racks for my van.

I also tapped and threaded the bottom of the rail to screw HDPE skids onto the rails. This stops the ally from wearing away, reduces friction and makes milling a bit easier.


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## demographic (Aug 31, 2009)

BobL said:


> There is an Aussie guy (Dai Sensei) who has made his log rails out of 80/20 and at least one guy on this forum who has made a mill and they appear to be working well.
> 
> I looked at 80/20 stuff when I was buying and the problem for me was the price.
> 
> ...



I had a look for that aluminium unistrut (after reading one of your very informative posts) and couldn't find any in the UK, which is how come I ended up looking at the other stuff.
I can find the HDPE or teflon slider stuff over here OK though.

Scott.


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## Ted J (Aug 31, 2009)

The 80/20 catalog is over 800 pages.... so many pages in fact that the company put out a video on how to navigate the "Big Book"..... on youtube

You can also download from this site: http://stevenengineering.com/Tech_Support/8020.htm


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## demographic (Aug 31, 2009)

Ted J said:


> The 80/20 catalog is over 800 pages.... so many pages in fact that the company put out a video on how to navigate the "Big Book"..... on youtube
> 
> You can also download from this site: http://stevenengineering.com/Tech_Support/8020.htm



How to navigate the catalogue?

I thought that blokes just stuck it in the magazine rack next to the toilet and read through it eventually, same as any other catalogue


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## wigglesworth (Aug 31, 2009)

BobL said:


> I also tapped and threaded the bottom of the rail to screw HDPE skids onto the rails. This stops the ally from wearing away, reduces friction and makes milling a bit easier.



+1 on drilling and tapping. We have very large (12'x15) racks made of the stuff. When put together with the threaded inserts made for it, they always come loose, pull out pull thru the lip etc. etc. Now if one pulls out, we just tap it and loc-tite the crap out of it. Its good stuff then, but at that point, you kinda loose the usefulness of its erector set capabilities. You might as well buy aluminum square stock.


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## psmears (Jun 28, 2011)

*Aluminium extrusions in the UK*

Hi,

I came across this thread when looking for a source of 80/20-like aluminium extrusions in the UK - not an easy search it seems! I've since come across the Valuframe website - they seem to make the same sort of thing as 80/20, but claim to be cheaper. I've no idea whether they're any good or not (I've not ordered anything from them), but it seems like they're worth a look since they're actually based in the UK (so shipping costs will be lower I guess).

Patrick


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## willbarryrec (Jun 30, 2011)

80/20 has a ebay store and a scratch and dent section ...I got the parts for my mill at about half off..
I'll try to post some pics after work today


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## sachsmo (Jun 30, 2011)

gink595 said:


> I have too. Granberg sells differnt lengths of the T-track but is horrible expensive. Does anyone know what the cost of the 80/20 is?


 


Hey Gink old boy,


You can get the stuff from metal supermarket, right off Lima road and 69.


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## mtngun (Jun 30, 2011)

BobL said:


> I also tapped and threaded the bottom of the rail to screw HDPE skids onto the rails. This stops the ally from wearing away, reduces friction and makes milling a bit easier.


I liked your HDPE idea but used the self-adhsive kind instead of screwing it on. Been in use over a year and still sticking.


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## cowboyvet (Jun 30, 2011)

The price for the 80/20 1.5 inch stuff is all around .65 cents per inch. I bought some scratch and dent stuff for half price and it works well for my mill rails and plan to use it on the next mill I build. I believe they will cut to length for around a dollar a cut which might be a good thing if your paying shipping and have your measurements ready.


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## preventec47 (Jul 1, 2011)

Having much experience building hang gliders and ultralight airplanes what you 
need is to shop from among dozens and dozens of shapes of aircraft aluminum
alloy called 6061-T6. There are right angle channels, and C channels of different
thicknesses and dimensions as well as square and rectangular tube etc.
The strength of this aluminum I would guess to be 2 or 3 times the strength
of mild architectual or decorative aluminum.

google for aluminum alloy extrusions or channels or pipe etc. 6061 T6
or even better would be 2024-T3
Scott


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## PhilB (Jul 4, 2011)

Be aware 6061 aluminum is TIG weldable while 2024 is not.

Phil


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