David Edgar Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 I use most methods to cut mild steel bar to size, from cut-off disc, small band saw, ironworker, which only goes to 1", my 300mm cold saw cuts tube, pipe, hollow section well with 220 pitch circular blades but struggles with solid. Should I be using a blade with less teeth? It is a fairly substantial saw with 3ph 2 speed geared motor. I do not think the 3 TPI rule applies with cold saws. I do not want to use the abrasive cut-off,too much noise& dust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Evans Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 I use the three teeth contact rule for all saw blades. So for solid section the teeth a fairly spaced out...I cannot remember the numbers off the top of my head, but I seem to remember the Astra manual's TPI suggestion conformed to the rule. Interestingly I found that friends with Mec Brown cold saws ran theirs with much finer teeth then mine and seemed to get away with it. My main problem was with the suds/coolant I ended up using a highly specced one for Stainless Steel for everything...and sometimes helped it along with Rocol cutting fluid dribbled direct into the cut when actually in Stainless. It did help to reduce the pinning a bit. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the iron dwarf Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 there are also several different tooth forms for different things on these saws, I normally use the one for rapid cutting where one tooth cuts the middle and the next does the edges. also is your blade sharp? I have a machine for sharpening them but have yet to get round to using it, it was standing for many years and I need to flush and replace the oils in it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Edgar Posted October 21, 2016 Author Share Posted October 21, 2016 Thanks for the replies lads,Yes the 220 pitch ones are either sharp or new. As circular blades are not linear, I will mark off 1" on some larger round and count the teeth. I also use Rocol cutting fluid but diluted.I just keep adding water until the colour looks right. How many teeth do you run in yours Alan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kozzy Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 Unfortunately, every time I look at cold saws I get too cheap to pull the trigger so I don't have experience. However, Baileigh has some charts on their site for recommended blades which might give you a starting point http://www.baileigh.com/media/uploads/manuals/choosing-the-correct-coldsaw-blades.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Evans Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 I will have a look next time I am in the workshop. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Evans Posted October 22, 2016 Share Posted October 22, 2016 I found the handbook guidance as well...Talk about squirrels never throwing anything away! I was a bit shocked to see I had bought the saw around 1983 takes you back a bit to see a typewritten and photocopied user manual rather than word-processed and laser printed! The saw has two speeds, 30/60 rpm. I am usually on 60 rpm for the coarser blades in order to prevent snatching. The blade photo is one of my coarser toothed Ø300mm (Ø12") ones for solid bar, the teeth are around 10mm pitch (2.5TPI) after however many sharpenings they have had. I do have finer toothed blades for hollow section and lighter solid stuff. But if the blades don't crack, by the time you have got a 100 tooth Ø315mm (Ø125/8") 10mm pitch (2.5TPI) down to Ø250 with successive resharpenings they are down to less than 8mm pitch (3TPI) and good for anything over 25mm (1") solid. Having looked at my stock of blades and thinking about the size range of solid material I cut, I am often working with nearer to 2.5 teeth in contact rather than 3. But like any tool you take it gently when you need to...starting on a square bar with a fine pitch tooth blade you only have 1 tooth in contact for a while...even with Ø50mm (2") round bar there are only one or two teeth in contact initially. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Edgar Posted October 23, 2016 Author Share Posted October 23, 2016 Thanks Alan and Kozzy for all that great info, I really need to build up a bigger selection of blades, starting tomorrow I can have confidence in ordering a coarser blade 80 or 90 teeth to cut the bar I want.It has reinforced the fact that I cannot stick any blade in and hope it will do for everything. I shall bookmark this page to be able to refer to it when necessary. Thanks again very much for going to the trouble. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Evans Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 You are welcome. There have been one or two major losses of images when the IFI site software has been updated...you will notice images missing or links to images which go nowhere, when you do a search or two in the archive...If you want to be sure of a reference I would certainly download it to a local hard drive to be sure it will be available. You can always print it out as well! I have already downloaded the .pdf/info from Kozzy's link for instance...Thank you Kozzy! Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Edgar Posted October 24, 2016 Author Share Posted October 24, 2016 bookmarked, downloaded and printed out. thanks david. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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