On Fri, 24 Oct 2003 18:23:57 GMT, "Robert Smith"
wrote:

I think I have a good question for the group

I am making a bunch of 3/4 thick parts out of oak and pine. They are various
shapes, anything from a 3" dia. circle to 16" circle, 3" sqaure, to a
12"x18" rectangle. All these parts when done need to have a .05 wide slot
around the perimeter, centered in the width. The slot must be a minimum of
1/2" deep. I work in a machine shop, so I purchased a .05 wide metal cutting
slitting saw that is 3" in dia. I also got a bearing that had a 2" o.d. I
then made an arbor to fit into my PC router, that mounts the bearing right
above the slitting saw. My problem is, when I use it I think the router is
going way to fast for the slitting saw, because it turned blue from the
heat. It cuts the slot, but I don't think it's going to last through a whole
lot of them.

Man...Although I have done exciting things like that myself,
it kind of makes me draw up a bit to think about it.

My next try was to get the thinnest 10" saw blade that I could get for
my table saw. I then made and extension for my fence and stood the part on
edge and spun it through the saw blade. This worked also, but it seems a
little dangerous, if the wood would ever decide to take off. I really
wouldn't mind doing it this way, but when I checked the slot width it is
about .015 to wide. I mic'd the blade and found it was .065 across the
teeth.
My question is, does anyone have any better ideas how to put this slot
in the parts. Or do you know where I can buy a really thin 10" saw blade?

Thanks for any help
Bob


Well, it depends...there is more than one way to do this. For
the "round" parts, I would suggest running over to WoodCraft and
buying a nice lathe that will spin them, and, a chuck/faceplate to
hold them. Then, use that machine shop to mill a "parting tool"
to the appropriate width. Spin the disk, and carefully cut the
groove. If made of HSS, it should last 'forever'.
As for the square pieces...I think I would get a cheap
carbide blade, and, using the tools at the machine shop, carefully
grind the teeth down a bit in width until I had an appropriate kerf
width. I would then set the blade to about 1/2" depth of cut and
simply run the square/rectangular stock through on all four edges.
One could also use this to cut the groove in the edge of the round
pieces by making a tenoning jig sort of thing and screwing the disks
to it. A bolt through the center would work and make it easy to
loosen and tighten for a safe cut. A series of passes through the
saw, loosening and turning the wheel slightly after each one, would
do the job.
Now...if you don't want HOLES in the disks...I would put a
couple of shallow, triangular ramps onto the jig, just to the front
and back of the contact point on the table of the saw (which would
hold a variety of disk sizes and stabilize them, then, use a couple of
De-Sta-Co toggle clamps to lock the disk in place. Back to several
passes through the blade to get the groove done.
Regards
Dave Mundt