Large, thin section slitting saw

[Blogwitch]

I mentioned the other day on a thin parting tool post that I had bought an el cheapo priced (not normally) Rage technology saw blade. 71/4" diameter by 1/16" thick.

Now this is where I try it out for the reason I bought it.
Sometimes, you really do need to get something to reach a fair way, and usually, the vice gets in the way. Using this, even with a slitting saw holder nut underneath, I should be able to get a reach of at least 3".

There is no side to side offset on the teeth at all, and the cutting edge is perfectly square across, and by the looks of them, there is very little, if any side clearance, basically, just like a normal slitting saw, only much larger. At this sort of size and thickness, I expect it to veer off slightly on the cut.

So it was mounted up onto my universal arbor, the hole wasn't quite the right size, but it will do for this trial. If it works out OK, I will resize the hole and put a drive dog slot in it, just so that it gives an even cut.

For a saw not quite as large as this, I would normally run it around 100RPM, but because it was a rage blade, and is designed to run a lot faster than my mill can go, I decided to play safe and run it at just over 400.

Power feed on, a bit of WD40 as lube, and the blade went thru the ali as though it wasn't there.

No deflection at all, which really surprised me. Just a nice, very clean cut thru almost 3" (actually 69mm) length.

Job done, and the arsenal gets a new tool.

I will try it out on steel next time the need arises.


Bogs

 

[Stan]

If by drive dog, you mean a positive lock to the arbor, I would have second thoughts. From a safety standpoint, it is better to have a saw blade slip than shatter if it sticks in the cut. The friction washers on each side of the blade should transmit all the power necessary for the blade to cut

 

[firebird]

Hi John

That looks like something I could use.

2 questions if I may.

Where did you buy the blade.

Will you be doing a test on steel in the near future, I would like to see the results.

Cheers

Rich

 

[Blogwitch]

Thanks for the tip Stan, I will do as you say.

Rich,
I picked it up at a discount warehouse half an hour from home for 4-99p. I will most probably be going again sometime soon and I will get a couple more if there are any left (I will keep you one if things work out ok). If I have time tomorrow, I will try it out on a lump of steel and see how it goes.

Supposedly these blades at the normal price are 20 squid.


John

 

[firebird]

Hi John

That's very good of you, I would appreciate it. Just let me know the cost.

Cheers

Rich

 

[John Rudd]

Guys,

I have a Rage cut off saw that has a 14 inch blade running at 1400 rpm.......Not quite what you would have hanging off an arbor on a Mini mill :big:

Sounds dangerous I know, but they are 'Bandit's dangly bits'....cuts thru' ally no bother and 1/2 steel plate is a breeze....

But I guess at £170 odd quid form Machine Mart they aint no bargain...but I got mine from Aldi of all places for under £80...Just keep looking..

 

[kustomkb]

Good tips Bogs,

Just as a side note, aluminum and wood have the same cutting speed when using carbide. I've cut through 2" aluminum on the table saw and with a circular saw,with a general purpose blade, with no trouble. Just gear up accordingly because those hot chips will find their way into every nook and cranny. They also make table saw blades specifically for non-ferrous.

 

[Blogwitch]

John & Kevin,

I had been looking for a thin carbide tipped saw for ages as I was always jealous because the US lads seem to be able to get them for the right prices, but here on treasure island, things like that are either very scarce or super expensive.
It was only because these were at the right price, and actually as luck would have it, a bit bigger than what my ideal size was which was 6" (150mm).

There is a big difference between 5 and 20 squid when you are experimenting with something. If it didn't work the 5 squid loss would be easier to swallow.

Having had a good look at the saw, I can now see how the 'Rage' system works, plus how it could cause a problem if you you put too fast a feed on your machine.

Between each cutting tooth, there is a metal 'bump', when it is fed into the part to be cut (when using them by hand) the metal bump actually rests on the job, acting as a stop to prevent the tungsten teeth taking too deep a cut, so no matter how hard you push down, the teeth can only take so much off and so don't dig in and try to take too much off or throw the saw off the workpiece.
The only problem I can see when using it as a slitting saw is if you try to feed faster than the saw can remove metal. Unlike when doing it by hand, where your wrist will bounce up and down when cutting, a machine can't do that backwards bounce, and would try to push the metal out of the vice or press too hard on the bump and cause a jam up or worse. But the tip by Stan about letting the saw rotate if it comes under too much pressure would most probably solve that problem.

I did my trial on ali using a power feed, and had no trouble at all, but as I said, if that feed was a little too fast, a problem could occur.

Even more useless information.

Bogs

 

[Stan]

Blades on wood cutting saws (bench or portable) are never keyed to the shaft. I used a portable saw to cut a lot of aluminum sheet. On occasion, the blade would spin when a chip failed to clear and melted to a tooth. I always considered this a built in safety device even if the manufacturer had not intended it as such.