Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Cutting Blade Question

[mcaanda]

I have the Dewalt 14" Multi-Cutter Saw as seen ( here ) but have some issues that Im wondering if I didn't cause myself.

I have been cutting on mostly mild steel, and then this little project came up that is requiring me to use 6o61 T6. After cutting on the AL for a while, I went out this morning to cut 3' off of a 1o' 3.5" x 3.5" 1/4" thick angle iron, to which the blade was not having any of it. No way was this thing wanting to do anything short of just making a whole lot of noise, and a few sparks.

Is it possible that you can not go from one type of metal ( ferrous to non-ferrous ) without changing out the blade?

Which sucks, is that this blade has literally no more than 5o cuts total on it and it's now got to go out to get re-sharpened either way.

Doing a check online makes me wonder, as I can and do see blades that are specifically for non-ferrous metals.

Is it time to pony up and just get two different blades?

[yorkiepap]

Hey mcaanda,
If you have a blade that is listed as a ferrous blade, it will indeed cut non-ferrous metal as well, but not vise-versa. I use the Freud Diablo ferrous blades for all my cutting on a 14" Porter Cable Dry Cut Saw. They have C-7 grade tungsten tips & are very long lasting. I stay with 72T blades as they do clean cuts on both steel & alum. With all steel(not SS), I cut dry, and with all aluminum, I spray the blade & workpiece with WD-40 as this keeps the blade clean & free from buildup, and cuts very cleanly. I have cut 2" thick steel with these blades. You gotta use the correct pressure to cut heavy metal & not "hog-cut" your material. Here's the site I get my blades from as they are the best priced & longest lasting. Hope this helps..... Denny

http://www.cripedistributing.com/fre...de-p-1467.html

[MAC702]

Keep us posted. I have very occasionally used my DeWalt Multi-Cutter to cut aluminum, but not very much. I didn't notice any ill effects afterward, but I would sure like to know for sure before doing a bigger project...

[SundownIII]

As Yorkiepap mentioned, it's best to apply lubricant to the blade before cutting aluminum with a blade designed for cutting steel.

I have the same setup as Yorkiepap and I use beeswax rather than WD40 to lubricate the blade prior to cutting aluminum. Think there's less chance of contaminating the aluminum with wax than there is with a petroleum based product.

If you take your blade off and try working the galled aluminum away from the teeth with a brass brush, you may find that you do not have to have the blade resharpened. The teeth were not dulled from the aluminum. They're probably just galled.

Blades specifically designed for aluminum generally have less pitch on the blade itself. I've cut a lot of aluminum on a standard chop saw with a standard fine tooth carbide blade. In fact, I think it cuts better than my cold saw (cleaner cut).

[yorkiepap]

Hey mcaanda,
Here's some more information & illustrations that will help you get better life expectancy from your blades, and it will also pertain to any type of saw whether dry cut, bandsaw(vert./horiz.) table, or abrasive. Your blade survives from the cutting surface material & the smallest area of tooth engagement are the edges. So, you must position your material so that the blade is cutting at its' most efficient & least resistance. Always the edge. The photos will exhibit the proper setup for tube(sq. or rect.) and angle material. I fabricated an angle insert for the vise jaw to hold & maintain squareness for tubing of either configuration as you can see. The blade will engage the edges of the material & thus have a much less cutting area for the blade. In addition, the blade & material are much cooler & results with the elimination of 90% of the edge burrs. My blade lifespan, before sharpening is needed, has been 1000-1200 cuts, and that is with steel. Aluminum, with the Freud blades has been over 2500 cuts so far & is still sharp. I use WD-40 on alum. because it's a thin fluid & is easily cleaned, & totally eliminates any buildup on the blade teeth. I clean all alum. to be welded with a SS brush & acetone. Here are some photos & I hope this may help you understand cutting more clearly & provide your blades a longer life.

Photo 1: Angle insert attached to vise jaw-
Photo 2: Jaw tightened to material-
Photo 3: Material cut....notice clean edges-
Photo 4: A piece of rectangular material-
Photo 5: Proper positioning of angle for the least resistant cut-

Good luck.... Denny

[ctfromshawnee]

question about chopsaws

Hi everybody new to the site here, i have a porter cable abrasive chopsaw , i saw that yorkiepap has a PC saw, if i am understanding you guys correctly that all you have to do is buy one of those DIABLO blades for a regular chopsaw and you have a dry cut saw ?i looked at mine and it says use 1 in hole abrasive wheels rated at 4100rpm is that what you guys are doing or are the saws you guys are discussing actual DRY-CUT saws ? thanks chris

[SundownIII]

ctfromshawnee,

The Porter Cable saws we're referring to are the Model 1410 Cold Cut Saws.

They are designed for the use of carbide blades and turn at about 1,400 RPM.

I would not recommend using a 14" Freud Carbide blade in a standard chop saw. The RPM is too high.

Bullet Industries makes a carbide blade for use in standard chop saws (higher rated RPM) but the blade life is very short at the higher RPM.

[yorkiepap]

To ctfromshawnee: Hey chris, PLEASE take heed to SundownIII's warning regarding using a dry cut blade on an abrasive saw. They DO NOT mix! Every blade has an rpm rating that must be adhered to or the results will be quite nasty. I have seen blades run at excessive rpm literally explode with ugly results to the operator. The blades for dry cut applications are rated for saws up to 1800 rpm....NO MORE!!! There are blades available that are rated for the abrasive saw rpm and they are much more costly. Here is a site that has many blade configurations you can look at. ALWAYS! look at the rpm rating on a new blade to insure your safety. Hope this helps you understand..... Denny

http://www.maxtool.com/index/wm_carbides.asp

[ctfromshawnee]

reply on blades

thank you all for responding ! i am certainly not a daredevil, i am one of those guys that could never pull anything like that off without a catastrophe !my way of thinking was maybe the equip.people had one product that they made into 2 and charged you more for the same thing [sound familiar].. but not in this case .i guess i"ll just have to watch CL or save my pennies that being said what do you guys recommend and were to buy and what not to buy ?"this will be used for home use " all of this is a result of fighting cutting 45 deg. angles on a project i was making this weekend !thank you guys for your input it is greatly appreciated ...chris

[[email protected]]

Light duty Dry cutting saws

on another site, I had seen raving reviews of the Millwaukie 14" cold cut saw, anyone here have one and could compare with the PC saw? Of moist interest is the Vice? (seems most "chop" saws have a pretty minimal vice) IE: the great idea of making a clamping fixture that holds the material in the right position for least surface area/best cut performance.

Thanks,

Tim---Tired of making a coal minde/foundary out of my multi-use shop!