Tips on Using Thin Slitting Saws?

Question

I had to cut a thin slit part way along an aluminum tube, roughly 1/8" thick. I tried cutting a shallow slot along the length of the tube, going 10 mils deeper with each pass. I started with a 10 mil thick blade I had, which had very fine teeth. I tried to go slow, but it jammed up when I got to the end where it was cutting quite a bit of material at once & it snapped in 2.01 pieces. The 0.01 piece turned out to be a tooth that got stuck in the slot. I went up to a 14 mil thick saw blade, which worked OK until I hit the 10 mil tooth. That blade shattered, and I still haven't found all the pieces. Fortunately, I was wearing safety glasses.

I finally cleaned out the slot & finished the job with a 20 mil blade. I also changed to cutting all the way through the wall at one end, and then advancing down the length to keep the amount of material being cut fairly constant.

I have a very mixed collection of slitting saw blades in various diameters, thicknesses & pitches. Are there any special guidelines on working with thin saws? I suspect the tooth pitch on the first blade may have been too fine. Are the feeds & speeds the same as for regular work? There is no apparent "set" on the teeth, so it's hard to get the chips out.

Thoughts? Comments?

Thanks!

Doug White

Backlash · Accepted Answer

Doug, by what you have described, I would cut all the way through the wall of the tube at once, deep as possible, around 80 RPM on a Bridgeport for a

3" blade, and use WD-40, along with a stream of air applied, to lube and remove chips. Slow feed rate by hand, climb cut, let the saw have time to clear itself. A wedging shim may be needed in the kerf to prevent pinching the saw. We cut .010 slots 1/2" deep straight into the end of 1/8" brass rod at 1725 RPM on a production basis using only an air stream for cooling and chip clearing. The rod is fed by an operators hand into the slitting saw through a guide bushing, until a shoulder on the part stops it's advance. Fully guarded, no blade exposure except through the guide bushing.

RJ

Richard J Kinch · Answer

The Dremel abrasive blades with a coolant mister will cut thin slots well.

TLKALLAM8 · Answer

Slitting saws cut slow  most people thinkthey will cut as fast as a band saw ,they won't. Using a 2 inch dia. saw  slowit down to 80-100 rpm and hold a brush with cutting oil on it aganist teeth.

Randal O'Brian · Answer

If you were not using an aluminum cutting fluid or something like WD-40 onthe saw, the tooth gullets probably filled up with chips.  This will rapidlydestroy a thin blade like you were using.Randy

Tips on Using Thin Slitting Saws?

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