One of the holders which came with the quick change tool post was a cut-off tool holder. These are used to part off a piece after its been turned. You can also use them to cut narrow grooves for anything.
Usually the are made with a carbide tip on a steel shank. An idea came to me the other day. Why not cut out a rectangular section of a scrap circular saw blade? Cut it so that a carbide tooth remains on the end, and you have a great edge and since the teeth are thicker than the blade, it won't bind either.
The result:
This last picture shows some grooves I began to cut. I will be parting off three segments, but first they need a hole bored through for a project...
Not bad. The cutter took a minute to cut out with an angle grinder and the carbide tooth cuts the aluminum like butter. Nice shavings come off.
This worked so well that I will have to find a thicker blade to make a cutter which can handle deeper cuts. Its an excellent reuse of old saw blades, which often still have a few sharp teeth to use.
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