Originally Posted by
mklotz
Now, that's a really nice explanation of the way a seasoned craftsman thinks through the mechanics of a problem in a way that provides a memorable technique for future work.
Since you mention that your treatise is for "people new to metalworking", you might want to add a few words of caution about starting the hacksaw cut on the edge of the angle iron.
Good cutting practice is to keep at least three or four teeth in the cut all the time. When the cut as shown starts you have only one tooth in the cut and run the risk of breaking teeth out of the blade. DAMHIKT
For steel, I usually file a starting notch so the blade is initially cutting on a small flat. For aluminum, I just lower the blade very slowly into the material. As the teeth touch they are only taking a tiny, low stress bite and as they slowly lower they create a flat that approximates the filed notch. (And, of course, aluminum is much softer so less reaction force on the blade.)
Bookmarks