Cutting materials require you to find an correct surface speed for the material you are cutting. If the speed is too fast for the material you are cutting, the blade will burn the material. If you use a speed that is too slow for the material you are trying to cut, the blade will drag through the material.
The surface speed for saw blade is measured in feet per minute, which tell you how many feet of steel pass through the blade every minute. For harder metals, you have to use a slower surface speed to prevent the teeth from overheating. When the teeth of a saw blade overheat, they will dull.
How to Choose the Right Saw Blade and Speed
An example of using the wrong surface speed is cutting titanium but using the same speed as for cutting pine. Another factor to consider when choosing a saw blade is the teeth per inch of the blade, also known as TPI. This determine how many teeth of the blade are in contact with the material being cut.
There must always be at least three teeth on the material. Using a coarse blade on thin-walled tubing can cause the blade to break. This is because the teeth of the blade will snag on the metal.
On the other hand, using a fine-toothed blade on a thick log will cause the sawdust to clog the blade. This is because fine toothed blades are meant for thin wood not thick logs. You must find a balance between chip clearance and blade stability for the blade to function as it should on the material.
The width of the saw blade is another factor to consider when cutting materials. This determine the function of the blade. Using a wide saw blade for ripping boards will work very efficient.
The blade will not flex as much under the weight of the wood being cut. However, this same saw blade will not be able to turn in tight radii. If you try to use this saw blade to make rounded edges in the wood, the blade will drift off the line or the blade may break under the tension of the radius of the turn.
Narrow saw blades are used for precision but dont offer the same stability as wide blades when resawing. The geometry of the teeth on the saw blade will also affect the saw blade’s function. Regular teeth are used for cutting many metals.
However, they are not ideal for cutting gummy plastics. Hook teeth take hold of the wood fibers so they are used for cutting thick stock of wood. Skip teeth have gaps between them to allow the blade to not get clogged with sawdust.
Using regular teeth on cutting foam will clog the blade so the blade will not cut at the proper rate. Finally, another factor to consider with the saw blade is the material of the blade. If you are on a budget, carbon steel is the blade material of choice.
However, carbon steel saw blades wear down very quick. The next most popular saw blade material are bi-metal blades. These blades have a flexible back and hard teeth that will not fail when cutting mild steel.
Lastly, the most expensive saw blade material is carbide-tipped blades. These will last much more longer than carbon steel saw blades. Even with the perfect blade, you could still make errors when cutting materials.
One of the most common mistake is forgetting to lubricate the blade when sawing metal. If you dont lubricate your saw blade properly when sawing stainless steel, you will create too much heat with the friction between the metal and the blade. This heat will strip the hardness of the blade.
Another mistake people make with saw blades is not properly tensioning the blade. If you dont tension the blade properly, it will wander as the saw blade rotates. This will result in a saw cut that is not straight or crooked.
Proper blade tensioning, alignment of motor speed, saw blade geometry, and the material being cut will make your saw blade function as it should.
