Best band saw blade to cut Versatex

[Jay Jolliffe]

I have to make some corbel like brackets that will be 3'' thick out of Versatex. (pvc)...What would be the best band saw blade to use.

[Lee Schierer]

I've never cut pvc sheet, but I have cut pvc pipe with my TS and BS. The material tends to melt if the blade speed is too high. I would think that you would want a skip tooth type blade and a slow speed if your saw is adjustable.

[Peter Quinn]

Pm Larry Edgarton and ask him, he's got a lot of experience with PVC trim and is a liaison for versatex IIR. I'm guessing an 8th X 3/8" or something in that range? I had a hard time shaping some versatex a while back, wound up using Kleer PVC instead and laminating to thickness. The versatex was tearing out real bad, switched products, problem solved, it was like it had hard beads of acrylic that would get yanked out of the core by the knives, big mess. Played with spindle speed and feed rates to no avail. Feed speed and speed of blade may become an issue though I've never had a problem in Azek and kleer for similar cuts on a regular BS.

[Jay Jolliffe]

The reason why I used versatex is that it comes 1 1/2" thick. I need to lamanate two peices to get 3''.....Thought it would be easier than laminating 3 1'' pieces of Azek....So far so good. I see what you say about it not liking to be jointed. Didn't come out to good so I used the table say.....

[Jay Jolliffe]

It went easier than I thought. I used a 1/4'' 5 TPI blade & it cut fine. I did sand them with a spindle sander & primed the brackets. I made 24 of them. They are 3'' thickx 4 1/2'' tall x 20 inches long....300382

[Gus Dundon]

I haven't tried cutting PVC on my band saw or any of my cutting tools. But you can read this thread for your reference. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?137387-Some-days-I-wonder-about-me