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My resting heart rate is 40. But I may have a lot of movement with each beat. I have a horizontal guide. I will try to add a vertical guide by welding a flat bar to my angle iron to prevent me from moving up and down and then practice going a nice even pace.Quote:
Originally Posted by sled dog
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I have a little cutting guide made from a piece of 1 inch square tube with 2 brackets that each carry a heavy duty magnet, the brackets turn the tube 45* so that two of the corners are vertical, then a small roller bearing carriage that runs on the 2 corners and an adjustable washer for the tip to fit in, it works great, but it's a bit of a PITA to setup.
I appreciate all the helpful comments, but I moved on. Just today, January 1st, I bought a Klutch metal bandsaw. I put it together and cut that same 1 inch by inch plate. My first cut was 1/8” angle iron that took less than 30 seconds. The 1x4 plate took 53 minutes. It was worse than watching water boil. I reduced the spring tension and every once in awhile I pushed down for a few seconds but that did not seem to speed it up. I added a little cutting oil, but that did not speed things up. Finally it cut through and the metal was nice and cool to the touch and you can see the shiny smooth finish in the pic.
Should it take this long? Does anyone add cutting oil? Is horizontal better than vertical when cutting? https://images.platforum.cloud/uploads/201...d1ae96403d.jpghttps://images.platforum.cloud/uploads/201...3c73bb026f.jpg
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Stand it up and try again.Flat like that will take forever
What do you have for a blade? Thick material you can use a coarser tooth blade
What is the blade, I'm kind of partial to the variable pitch and usually run an 8/12, I think it is, it's a pretty good all around blade but coarser wouldn't hurt on the 1x4 maybe a 4x8 or 6x10, if they are available, standing that little chunk on edge will help, but may allow the cut to drift some if everything isn't just right. We had a little saw in the machine shop that took a 2 1/2"x28 foot blade, that saw would cut within .010 in 20 inches. a great saw. Does the saw take 1/2"x64 1/2" blade? if so you may not find anything coarser tan 6 tooth. The purpose of the variable tooth blade is to help prevent the blade from finding a natural frequency and causing chatter or squeal, it may allow for higher speeds, but I rarely ever change mine. I start a cut and carry on, My saw is very similar.
I want to spit a 4x8 x1 inch piece into two 2x8 pieces. I have to use it vertically because 8 inches won’t fit horizontally. If it took 53 minutes for the above cut, is it practical to make the 8 inch cut or should I use the torch.
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Jeff,
Be a gentleman and put the toilet seat down.
Blade is what came with it. It looks fine tooth. It is 64 1/2 by 1/2 inch mono metal but does not give more details than that. I should probably get another blade. Any recs on the brands to shop for?Quote:
Originally Posted by farmshop
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You mostly need to practice consistency in your cutting speed and torch holding. I would also say keep a clean tip. Every wiggle and shake of your torch will leave a mark in the cut.
I ordered my lasty from Amazon they're IMACHINIST BI METAL, It's probably around 14 tpi unless it's a wavy set, if so it will 18- 24 tpi. I I'm using an 8-12 vari pitch IIRC, it cuts great and I've used it on 1/8 angle, I don't think I would cut 1/8 flat bar standing on edge but I haven't tried it. The blades are Chinese. I saw on here somewhere that the harbor freight blades were US made. The saw probably came with a "universal" blade.
Ha! ....Right on....Quote:
Originally Posted by John T
Really, there should be a kill switch....
All we need now is a you-toob....
Which is really a me-toob....
Cutting flat like that using a fine toothed blade it just drags the curls through the cut and either cuts them over and over or clogs the blade. You can actually dull the points of the teeth on a new blade fairly quick like that. Much coarser blade. You should see teeth marks all the way through on a cut like that, not smooth and shiny.
No one likes to have a fairly expensive blade hanging around just for an occasional cut but it's what you gotta do.
quicker and less wear on the blade.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bonzoo
Look closer at that machine and see if you can move the rear guise forward so you can stand it up.Put a piece of box tube( or a wood 4x4-even better) and THEN the 1x in front of it standing up to get it closest to the front guide
I tried standing it on edge and it still took a long time. I may have already dulled my blade. I have ordered three new blades from Northern Tool. All three are made in US by Super Cuts and are supposed to fit my Klutch bandsaw. I bought a a 24 TPI that should be good from 3/32 to 3/8. 18 TPI for 1/8 to 1/2 inch. And 10/6 Bimetal that should be good from 1/4 inch to 1.5 inches.
I will try the 6/10 on this 1 inch plate and cut it on edge instead of flat. For my 3/8 square pipe I will use the 18 TPI with the tubing sitting diagonally so I am not cutting across a flat piece.
The Super Cut rep said use water soluble lubricant so I don’t gum the bearings. I was using a tiny amount of cutting oil. Does anyone use lubricant? If so, what do you use?
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Rule of thumb is roughly 3-4 teeth in the cut on the thinnest part of the piece being cut. That's not always practical on everything. 14 tpi is a relatively good compromise for general use. Also, don't wear yourself out changing blades, often it's a waste of time and energy.
I saw a manufacturer state at least 2 teeth in your metal and no more than 10. 2 seemed a little low. 3 to 10 teeth with a 14 TPI would give a range of about 1/4 to 3/4 inch. Are my calculations correct?Quote:
Originally Posted by CAVEMANN
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Sounds right. You will probably find that you can change speeds and get around some of those recommendations. I worked in a shop that had a big saw, took a 28 foot blade, so it wasn't convenient to change the blade every time you changed metals or materials so you learn to modify speeds and feeds, the smaller saws like ours are limited to changing the pressure. I'm likely going to stick with the blade I'm using right now, it's a good all around blade for me.
As far as your torch cutting, I highly recommend you try propane.
https://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.ph...hlight=propane
Practice practice practice whether torch or saw just takes time to find the sweet spot. On thicker material a blow gun to help clean chips from the cut helps
That is some nice cuts. Several posters say the oxygen consumption negates the savings on acetylene. Do you think your propane cuts are smoother than acetylene cuts?Quote:
Originally Posted by Stick-man
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If you want a good blade for your saw pick up the phone and call the guys at MK Morse. They'll steer you straight.They make the best bandsaw blades. Period
I tried propane. Matter of fact I'm still trying propane but my cuts don't look like those.:DQuote:
Originally Posted by Stick-man
I don't think the reputation of propane being a hog on oxygen is totally fair. I'm no expert in chemistry, so I certainly stand to be corrected, but I think the combustion equations are:
2 parts acetylene + 5 parts oxygen burns to give off 2370 BTU of heat
1 part propane + 5 parts oxygen burns to give off 2085 BTU of heat
considering the molar mass of each gas:
52 grams of Acetylene + 80 grams of oxygen --> 2370 BTU of heat
44 grams of Propane + 80 grams of oxygen --> 2085 BTU of heat
Bottom line: about the same gas usage for about the same heat output....combined gas usage is about 6% higher for the same heat output of propane compared to acetylene...by weight. Propane is purchased by weight, acetylene by volume...the comparisons continue to get more complex. I don't know the exact way to compare costs, but I think part of the illusion is that there is actually less fuel gas used with propane than with acetylene, which makes it seem like the propane is using excessive amounts of oxygen before a bottle of propane is used up. Don't forget, both fuel gasses will use lots of oxygen while you're holding down the cut lever...
Also note that acetylene shows up in my search as about 0.07lbs/cu.ft. That means 285 cu.ft to make 20 lbs. Makes a bbq tank look more substantial standing next to an acetylene tank...using up a 330 of oxygen in about the same time as a 300 of acetylene seems ok - but using up a 330 of oxygen in about the same time as a 20lb bbq tank just seems wrong...but maybe they're far more comparable than they seem.
I don't think there is a simple answer to which gas is right - the economics of it don't seem to differ that much in the real world. I honestly think the decision should be based on other factors - location of use, wind conditions, availability of the gasses, etc.