metal cutoff saw blade is slightly canted - can adjust it ?

Isn't there an inner flange ? Is it warped ? Ken Cutt

Can anyone recommend a store in the greater Phoenix, AZ area that has a good selection of air compressor "stuff." (E.g. air filters for a Honda GX240 and various compressors, air hoses, connectors, pop off valves, etc.)

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You might want to repost this -- you put it underneath mine and it is likely nobody will see it unless they read my post.

You mean the round metal plates that fit on each side of the blade over the shaft ? Hmmm. I'll have to take a look. Good idea!

In my experience those blades are pretty flexible so it's not unusual to have some flex that keeps your cut from being square. The faster you cut the worse it shows so you might try a really slow cut to make sure that's not what's happening. It's ESPECIALLY bad with anything other than a 90 degree cut because as the blade hits the metal it's forced to the side.

Also, if what you're cutting is something like thin-wall tubing the part that's being cut off often has a tendancy to ride up as you get toward the lower wall of the cut (unless it's heavy enough to droop instead) causing the top of the cut end to press against the blade. Since the sides of the blade are abrasive this causes the top edge of your piece to be ground down some. (Did that makes sense? It's easy to show by example but difficult to describe.) In this case the piece in the vise should have a fairly square cut but the cutoff piece will be angled.

That's Harbor Freight's "House" brand.

Best Regards, Keith Marshall snipped-for-privacy@progressivelogic.com

"I'm not grown up enough to be so old!"

"pogo" wrote in news:fxMHf.14945$ snipped-for-privacy@bignews4.bellsouth.net:

A much better solution for 80/20 is a miter saw with a non-ferrous carbide blade. Abrasive cut-off saw blades are not so good with aluminum, as they load up easily, which can also be dangerous. We do tons of 80/20 in a year, and the miter saw is the way to go. Ours is a Rigid brand (home despot), $299 with a laser line, stand, table extension and a quick-adjust clamp.

Can anyone recommend a store in the greater Phoenix, AZ area that has a good selection of air compressor "stuff." (E.g. air filters for a Honda GX240 and various compressors, air hoses, connectors, pop off valves, etc.)

Thanks.

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GREAT information! I thought I had noticed the blade flexing a little but wasn't sure. I don't think that's causing the major angle problem, but it doesn't help much.

Thanks again ! JCD

This is exactly what I needed to know! Thank you very much!

Do you have a favorite brand for the blade ? Do you mount it in the normal direction ? ( Someone suggesting using a plywood veneer blade mounted backwards one time ... )

I think this may apply to me ! :-)

Thanks again! Very helpful!

"pogo" wrote in news:hX6If.13041$ snipped-for-privacy@bignews5.bellsouth.net:

Do not mount it backwards. We use blades from McMaster-Carr. Make sure you get 'non-ferrous metal cutting blades'. They have a different grade of carbide, and a different grind from normal carbide blades. I also suggest a good vac, helps keep the mess down, and makes it easier to clean up. Use a good wax or light oil on the blade.

Thanks yet again!

I was "window shopping" today and noticed some very affordable 10" mitre saws at Sears(Craftsman) and also Home Depot (Rigid & Ryobi). Would you recommend the 14" ones over the smaller blade ones for any reason? All of the models I looked at had 15 amp motors.

I wonder if the larger blades might last longer and therefore be worth the extra investment both in a machine and the blade itself ?

I can see myself making maybe 50 to 100 cuts of the 8020 extrusions in the near future. If I get to the point of making more then I would be willing to invest in a more expensive saw if there is good compensation for the extra expense. I would also very likely be using it for some moulding & trim work now and then.

Thanks! JCD

"pogo" wrote in news:6dbIf.15311$ snipped-for-privacy@bignews4.bellsouth.net:

I definately recommend the 12" or 14". The reason for us to use the 12" is we cut up to the 40-8016 size 80/20. A 12" saw will do this, a 10" will not. The blade we use is McMaster Carr #6910A58, $75.54, 60 Tooth with a 12° hook angle. We have been on the same blade, under heavy daily use, (By heavy daily use, I am talking about 80-100 cuts a day minimum, in extrusion, or solid aluminum bar stock/squares/rounds or tubing.) for over 6 months. It is beginning to show some wear and aluminum build-up on the edges though. But it has a lot of cut time on it.

Depending on age..there was indeed a manufacture called Chicago Electric. I have a rather elderly 8" grinder with that logo and an address in Chicago.

Gunner

"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."

- Proverbs 22:3

What Anthony said...only louder.

The only thing I am a little confused about is the 12 degree hook angle. We generally use a negative rake, about 5 degrees. A positive rake seems to want to self feed a bit and can get scary in the wrong situation.

One thing about chop saws used to cut AL parts....faster is better. Although most saws like this run at a standard speed of about 3450, I have a 7000 RPM radial arm saw and you definitely notice a cleaner cut that is more on the end of burrless (self feeding scary nightmare though!). The same goes for our jump saws that we use to cut AL tubing on a daily basis.

Oh yea...to the point of the question....12" minimum. Nothing worse than being 1/8" too small to cut the part you need.

Koz

Thanks for some more good info! What is a "jump saw" ?

I use a fair amount of 80-20 type extrusion (usually Item), and rarely cut it myself. Though you can make clean, accurate cuts with the methods described, I find it's well worth doing an accurate design and having the factory do the cutting. Item charges $1.50/cut, with no premium on the cost of the material. At $20-$40/meter for the extrusion, I prefer to let the vendor make the mistakes.

Ned Simmons

Ned Simmons wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.suscom-maine.net:

Ned, That works fine if you are building from scratch new. Doesn't work so well when you are adapting to a set of old machines that were hand-built to begin with, or maybe have been modified 100 times over the years. We are set-up to do this in-house. Mill for the anchors, saw for the extrusion, etc. At 100+ cuts a day...that $1.50/cut adds up considerably in short order. Not to mention the lead time involved.

One example at

Blade jumps straight up through the table into the work, usually by pressing a foot pedal. Really fast when you are making cut after cut on material. It only does straight 90 degree cuts though (in 99% of cases).

I've seen similar used in the wood products industry to high-grade stock to be end joined later. They were making about 150 cuts a minute by hand and without blade guards. The operator had to decide where to cut and make the cut (hand on each side of the blade holding the stock down) at the rate of 2 to 3 per second. It was a little surprising that they still had fingers.

Koz