[TheForge] Re: Cut off saw

[Mike Spencer]

I had used a big industrial abrasive chop saw so in the fullness of
time I bought a smaller abrasive saw myself.  Made two cuts and took
it back.  Replaced it with a Jet-type 4" bandsaw and I've been
moderately happy.

> But they are both outdated technology.  Look up dry-cut saws...

"Outdated technology" is, for BLACKSMITHS, a liability?  What?!
What's the average age of a tool in *your* shop? :-)

So what's a dry saw?

Someone told me about seeing a video produced by U-Haul on how they
made their trailers.  Some part was an utter and refractory PITA to
cut so they rigged up a band saw approximately thus:  

        Put a welding lead on one of the blade guides

        Put an insulating layer (Masonite?) on the table

        Put a welding lead on the workpiece

        Run the saw real fast

        (Other details...insulation, whatever)

Blade strikes an arc on the workpiece but travels so fast it doesn't
burn up.  Allegedly makes clean cuts in stuff too hard for other
methods.  I'm going to try this one of these days with my old
flat-belt bandsaw.  Anyone else ever hear of this?  Never saw the
video myself.

BTW, what kind of band saw blade just has a wavy knife edge, sort of
like some kinds of bread knife, instead of teeth?  I picked up a
couple of these along the road on big-junk day but I dunno what
they're for.  Clearly for a biggish machine, not for a little hobby
saw and not for a huge industrial machine either.


- Mike

-- 
Michael Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada       .~. 
                                                           /V\ 
mspencer@tallships.ca                                     /( )\
http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/                        ^^-^^

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