I’m currently using a harbor frieght chinese 20$ air saw that burns up pretty quick when cutting molds out. I’ve done some web searches and not come up with a definitive solution. are there any preferences out there?
Oil in the inlet…let the blade do the work (hack saw blade cut down works great but get a good grade one) and not you.
using lenox 18T, is there a better hacksaw blade in your opinion
I am using a huskey from home depot and the blades from fibreglast.
Huskey at least has a gurantee, I can’t remember the lenght of the guarantee, but it beats the hell out of anybody elses.
diamond wheel.
When using a hacksaw blade, set it up opposite of what is normally done. Use the angled side to cut.
it’s alot easier to follow the form with an air saw than a wheel. and at a 1/4" thick, the wheel, can’t make the turns that i have to deal with.
sawzall
If you can manage it on a bandsaw, that is the easiest solution. I do it all the time.
Hey Doug any chance you know what bandsaw blade you use the most for trimming? TPI, width, mfg?
I have a 24 tpi, 1/4" that’s getting dull and was curious if you might be using something different before I order a couple of more.
Thanks - Bob
I buy all my blades locally. The company cuts Starret blade stock and welds them to the length specified for my band saw. I use 6 teeth per inch and a 1/4 inch wide blade. I also use a 3/8 inch wide blade when I can’t get 1/4 inch. My machine also has a blade welder, but I am the only one that can weld blades worth a shit on it, so I can’t be around every time a blade breaks and therefore buy blades and r-weld broken ones when I have to. I always use the old used wood blades for cutting my composites. I have the guys change the blade from New blades for wood, to old blades for plastics.
In our clasroom we have 4 different bandsaws: 3/4" blade on the biggest, 1/2" on the next size down and table top models: a 1/4" one and a 1/8" (both cheap garage or swap met specials).
But my aide tried to cut some 3/8" thick F/G laminate (skate board decks made with multi layers of tooling cloth 22 oz’s) on the big bandsaw and just killed an expensive blade…so I have “nixed” that idea in class…
On re-welding bandsaw blades, measure them a little longer than needed as a too short one will never fit. I spent a summer taking a friends machining class to make use of the machinery for my race car and school stuff. I spent a couple of days re-weld good but broken bandsaw blades to a different size bandsaws (like at my home shop, 2x different types than any at the classroom) but I measured too close (short) and boy what a waste of my time.
I try to cut my blades about 2 inches longer if I am welding them new. That way they can break several times and we can cut off the old weld and reweld new.
Lots of people try to reweld without cutting off the old weld. it isn’t worth trying.
I use the old blades on my smaller saw a lot also.
We do a lot of close quarter sawing. If yu have lots of holes and small areas to cut, you can’t trun a large width blade as easily. that is my reason for narrow width blades.
here’s a pic of one of my molds. I need a saw that can do what i’m asking it to do. cut this beast out, and then go to then next one without crying or needing a break. I cutout molds about once a week, but when i do, i can have up to 4 or 5 go cutout.
Airsaw would be nice, right now I just use a die grinder
What matrix are you using? PER or Epoxy and vacuum bagged or wet lay up?
If it is a wet lay up with PER, green trim during the late “B” stage with a metal box knife with a hooked blade.
If vacuum bagging, take the time to properly cut the reinforcements so you don’t have a lot of overhang before wetting out or infusion.
Either way, so all you do is to sand to the mold edge with a 90 degree die grinder with a 2" disc before poping it out.
I hope this helps.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=632&item=4366783982&rd=1
Jim id right. Work smoart and don’t leave so much on the job that you have to cut all your molds or go get an ebay saw similar to the one above. I realize this is an local pick up only, or it would be mine for the price. Watch ebay and get yourself some good deals.
another thing that i do when I want a tool that is going to be visible to lots of people is to put a stop at the edge of tool. I use either a strip of wax or sometimes a 2 inch wall made of cardboard or wood. Laminate up the wall and stop at the top. it is easy to do it that way. the tool looks really professional then.
wet layup epoxy with CSM. so there’s always hairs over the edge of the part. the only two solutions are to learn to do border flanges or get a friggin saw that works. the band saw idea doesn’t work with most of the molds i make.
if i were to grind the edges, it would creat alot more dust and I don’t have a capture system yet. I could try to laminate more cleanly and try the grinder idea when i have a cutting room, but right now it takes 30 minutes when the saw works to cut out a mold like that, and then take a pass with an angle grinder for another 20, then hand sand for another whatever it takes.
I’m really kind of stuck on the saw method for now, but I’ll think about laminating different to cut down on waste as well as having much less edging to do.