Circular Saw Blade For Aluminum ?

I have used both the wax type lube which seems to work OK and WD-40 and Alumi-Cut aluminum cutting fluids. One thing I have done using them that I think helps, especially on longer or heavier cuts (like the OP's) is to make a line of lube along the intended cut line. That is simply to use the wax stick like a crayon and make a swipe with it along the cut line or smear a thin film of cutting fluid along the cut line rather than just lubing the blade at the start of a cut. My theory (which seems to work---i.e no welded chips on the blade) is that lube applied to the blade at the begininig of the cut may be pretty quickly wiped off by swarf. I did run into that occassionally with the "lube the blade only" method. Proper application of the lube seemed more important than specific tooth confiugartion. But the teeth have to be very sharp.

One other point is that control of both pieces of material on each side of the blade is very important. Kickbacks of wood can be inconvenient and rarely can hurl dangerous pieces at the operator. Aluminum off-cuts and primary pieces can often be very dangerous. On a chop saw I like to clamp one side of the cut and use a sharp scribe or sharp rod to control the other side. If the off-cut edges toward the blade after a cut is made while the saw is winding down, all hell can break loose resulting in damage to the operator and/or blade. Beware of a thin off-cut of just tthe right size to be pushed into the clearance slot in the fence---that will jam firmly and suddenly. Ouch!

Denis