Laser Cutting Aluminum Frames for Steel Guitars

[Steve Graves]

I'm in need of a person or shop that will cut out a 3/4" aluminum frame for my lap steel guitars. Roughly 6"wide X axis, 30" Y axis , and 3/4" Z axis. This is a Rickenbacker style aluminum frame. If you know of anyone let me know or have them contact me directly.

[Clay Schaeffer]

You might want to contact Bob Garrish at Saint Lutherie. He has worked with the lutherie community for several years and seems to get high marks from those that use his services. I don't know if he does laser cutting but why not conventional milling?

[Andy Birko]

I agree with Clay that conventional milling is almost certainly the way to go. Laser is going to give you a very rough edge. I'd take a go at this project but I only have about 28" of long axis travel.

If you can draw it up in CAD, just about any shop with a CNC mill should be able to cut this for you.

[Clay Schaeffer]

Hi Andy,
What is the diagonal of your X-Y axis? Are CNC programs that hard to rotate?

[Andy Birko]

Excellent idea Clay. CNC programs are very easy to rotate but, ohh so close. With 6" wide stock, the absolute maximum I can fit inside my work envelope is 29.44" but, you'd want a minimum of .130 clearance on each side to be able to get a 1/4" tool around there for profiling, some way to clamp the stock down etc.

[Louie Atienza]

Steve, I may be able to cut that out for you if you still need it. I have about a 30" x 32" x 6" work envelope on my machine.

[David King]

Steven,

You might try http://www.rfqwork.com for bids on this project. You'll want to have your ducks in row regarding dimensions, alloy, tolerances, surface finish etc.

[Eric Baack]

it's not that hard to clean up an aluminum edge if you have it laser cut.

You could look at water jetting too. You just need to clean the edge after the fact. That isn't difficult to do.

[Louie Atienza]

it's not that hard to clean up an aluminum edge if you have it laser cut.

You could look at water jetting too. You just need to clean the edge after the fact. That isn't difficult to do.

The only problem is, unless you have it cut with a 5-axis laser or water jet, there will be a draft on the edges. Meaning, because of shoot-back, the kerf is always slightly wider at the top than at the bottom. The 5-axis will tilt the jet or laser to compensate for this. On thin plate, it's negligible, but it is quite noticeable at 3/4".

I have a plate of 3/4" aluminum that was water-jetted to size, which I am using for a table surface for a CNC I'm building. The edges are a lot rougher than you'd probably think, since they have to add abrasive media to the water jet. Also, they usually charge by the INCH for water jetting and laser cutting; so milling the piece might be cheaper.

[Eric Baack]

ahh, 3/4" thick

poor reading skills on my part.

One thing to note, the aluminum will turn your hands black when playing it unless you get it powder coated or anodized. (assuming this frame is on the exterior of the instrument.