Aluminum & non-ferrous saw blades

Cutting aluminum and other non-ferrous metals comes down to one thing above all: matching the tooth pitch to the thickness you're cutting. Too few teeth in a thin extrusion and the blade grabs and chatters; too many in a solid bar and the chips weld in the gullets and cook the edge. Get the pitch right — plus a triple-chip grind, a negative hook, and a little lubrication — and non-ferrous cuts clean, square, and burr-free. The chart below takes you straight from blade size and wall thickness to the right tooth count.

Pitch chart: tooth count by wall thickness

Counts are rounded to the nearest standard tooth count. When in doubt, size up a notch for a finer finish on thin wall, down a notch for chip clearance on thick solids.

How pitch works: the 3-teeth rule

The goal is to keep at least three teeth engaged in the material through the cut, but no more than the gullets can clear. A thin-wall extrusion is mostly air, so you need a lot of teeth packed close to keep three in that thin wall at once — that's a fine pitch. Run that same fine-pitch blade through a solid bar and dozens of teeth bury at once; the gullets pack, the chips weld to the carbide, heat builds, and the edge dulls fast. Solids want a coarse pitch so each tooth takes a real bite and clears. That single trade-off — section thickness vs. pitch — is what the chart above solves.

Grind and hook for non-ferrous

Every non-ferrous blade we stock uses a triple-chip grind (TCG), which alternates a chamfered tooth with a flat raker to shear soft metal cleanly and resist chipping. Pair it with a negative hook angle so the teeth meet the work with a controlled, shearing action instead of grabbing — essential for safe, accurate, burr-free cuts in aluminum and other non-ferrous. The same geometry works across aluminum, brass, copper, and plastics.

Lubrication

Non-ferrous metals are soft and gummy, so lubrication is not optional if you want a clean cut and a long-lived blade. A misting or coolant system is ideal for production volume. If you don't have one, a cutting wax stick does the same job — touch it to the blade every few cuts to keep the chips clearing and the teeth cutting cool.

Machines and fitment

These blades run on table saws, miter and chop saws, upcut saws, and double-miter and sliding production machines. Larger metric blades for mechanical-clamp machines carry the pin-hole patterns those saws require — filter by diameter, bore, and pin pattern below, or shop by your machine make. If you're matching a specific cut-off or double-miter machine, start from the make sub-collections in the bar above.

LORNA and Popular Tools

LORNA Industrial is our premium house brand — German-made, precision-built for a long, accurate service life, and the line we recommend first. Because it's our own brand, LORNA delivers the strongest overall value in the shop: top-tier performance, backed directly by us.

Popular Tools is a proven, widely recognized name in industrial production, and its non-ferrous (NF series) blades are trusted on busy shop floors across the trade. If you want a brand you already know by name, it's a dependable choice covering the same common sizes and grinds. When the specs line up, LORNA is our recommendation.

Frequently asked questions

How many teeth do I need to cut aluminum?

It depends on wall thickness and blade size — use the chart above. As a rule, thin-wall extrusion wants the finest pitch (most teeth), and solid bar wants a coarse pitch (fewer teeth) so the chips clear.

What grind is best for aluminum and non-ferrous?

A triple-chip grind (TCG) with a negative hook angle. It shears soft metal cleanly, resists chipping, and keeps the cut controlled and safe.

Why do my chips weld to the blade or load the gullets?

Usually too fine a pitch for the thickness, no lubrication, or both. Coarsen the pitch on thick solids and add a misting system or wax stick.

Can the same blade cut brass, copper, and plastic?

Yes. The same TCG, negative-hook non-ferrous geometry cuts aluminum, brass, copper, and most plastics cleanly.