If you havent made frames before dont offer to do so unless you have a table saw. It’s not very likely you will get desirable results with manual methods.
Also another way to mitigate the risk of messing up the frames is just take the sizes you need into your store thats gonna do the cutting. Make them measure it. That way if you get bad sizing you have something to fall back on if pieces to fit correctly.
Epic fail for frame cutting today… but a great lesson learned for sure.
are you talking about building frames for windows or screens?
Are you doing mitered corners or using corner pieces?
When I am rebuilding mitered corners for screens, I mark the 45 angle on the frame metal with a sharpie. Then I take masking tape, wrap the metal along the sharpie line and then keep wrapping the tape to build up a “stop” along the line. Get out the Dremel with the cut off wheel and cut along the line using the masking tape as a stop guide to keep your corners sharp.
Yeah for the mitered corners. I tried using regular hand saw. I think thats a great idea for onceys and twoseys but it was so much easier to just have city mill do it. Either way the customer is saving money and Im still making more than i would have before had I not replaced the frames… new frames are also soooo much easier to screen.
Good for you though for jumping into it. You’ll be forced to figure out what works now, as you essentially said.
yeah im lucky this was all with a buddy. It’s been such a helpful tool for me in figuring out my limitations and the direction I really want to take.
My goal is to eventually get enough screens that I can keep a person busy doing screens while me and a crew clean windows and power wash. 
I think a miter saw is a much better choice than a table saw for cutting screen frame. If you don’t have a power one you can buy a less expensive miter box.
Also, using the squared corner pieces is much easier then making mitered cuts, especially if you’re just starting out.
I stand corrected. When i said table saw i meant mitre saw. Im not a huge tool guy… i’ve been on the move for most of my life doing 1 job. So im learning on the fly… i’ve never been a great handyman
It sounds like your on your way though!
Yea i’ve picked up a lot of great skills ,met a lot of great people, and found out how i can give back to the island i love in the process. Best part of all no one is trying to shoot me 
Mitered 45 degree corners are better with metal carner inserts. If you have to use plastice try and find uv rated nylon. Here in az plastic corners get heat and uv blasted and last only a few years before they crack .
Seth,
What kind of blade are you using for your miter saw, type, teeth count etc…?
I have a miter saw that uses a 10" blade. I think the blade has a 200 tooth count. Makes clean, burr-free cuts.
I use a miter saw with a cutting wheel when working at home. I also wrap the area I am cutting with masking tape so the frame metal doesn’t “melt” when the saw passes through
I admit I used to use a wood blade to cut screen frame. Since aluminum is so soft it cut right through it, just not very smoothly. After the cut I used my grinding wheel to smooth the edges. Since I now have the appropriate blade there is no need for the extra step. No melting or burred-edges. Just perfectly clean cuts.
SHS10X200 - CRL 10" High-Speed Steel Saw Blade
So much faster when you use the proper tools for the job.
you can use carbide tipped blades to cut aluminum. that’s what everyone uses. they make blades specifically for cutting aluminum too and all they are is carbide tipped blades lol.
but they have a lot of teeth and are very thin so they cut very nicely with clean edges.
this blade here is one of the best ones I’ve ever used for cutting aluminum.
Diablo 10 in. x 80 Tooth Carbide Circular Saw Blade - D1080X at The Home Depot
I used to build sunrooms etc that were 100% aluminum structures. all we use to cut everything was carbide tipped blades.
the hard part of doing screens is to actually wire the screen frame. when you can do it good, then you’re in business. it takes a lot of practice. I’ve become a master at doing them. so good you couldn’t tell mine from a factory unit.
do yourself a favor and get a quality screen rolling tool. like this one,
Everhard Spline Rollers and Other Tools for Assembling Screens and Sash
