On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:39:35 -0600, Karl Townsend
wrote:
On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 09:59:10 -0500, Ned Simmons
wrote:
On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 05:14:04 GMT, "Harold & Susan Vordos"
wrote:
"Karl Townsend" wrote in message
I've got a whole bunch of 304 sheet. I basically can't bandsaw it, it
just dulls the blade 
Slow the surface speed.
Or speed it way up. Friction sawing SS works exceptionally well. The
cut thickness is limited by blade speed. I can do 11ga on my older
DoAll, but it maxes out at 1500FPM. I used to have a 36" Crescent that
I set up to run at around 6000FPM. It made quick work of 3/8", slowed
down for 1/2", and would cut 3/4" in a pinch. The DoAll Zephyrs are
purpose-built for friction sawing and run up to 15000FPM.
A dull 10T carbon blade works fine, but will fail pretty quickly from
fatigue. Factory welded friction blades run much longer before they
break. Make sure to have good guards, and pay attention to the
tick-tick-tick that signals the blade is about to let go.
Not often I learn somthing new. Sounds interesting. I'll try a dull
blade, not much investment for that. Where would you order a regular
friction blade?
Karl
I bought Milford brand blades from a travelling tool rep. We tried
having them welded by a local saw shop, but the factory welds held up
much better. The blades for that 36" saw were almost 20', and because
of the blade length and large wheel radius, the saw teeth were
usually just bumps by the time the blade let go. I never seem to run
out of dull blades for my 16" DoAll, so I just use them instead of
buying real friction blades.
Here's a supplier and some more info. Unless you have a very big saw
with lots of HP I wouldn't bother with anything wider than 1/2"
blades.
http://www.detroitbandsaw.com/store....73&catid=19886
The chips coming off my 36" saw at 6000FPM were hot, with a just a few
dull red sparks. More a case of softening the material in the kerf and
dragging it out rather than burning it. The saw in the pic on that
page must be running much faster.
Never had a problem with igniting debris in or around the saw, but
it'd be safest to remove any flammable dust before friction sawing.
--
Ned Simmons