Cutting old saw blades

[Moses Yoder]

I would like to cut up an old saw blade into pieces about 1/4" wide by 8 or 10 inches long. I would use one that is not very valuable. I found a small tool at a garage sale that I use as a putty knife for filling corners; it looks like a bearing scraper but the end is flexible. This piece is old and I like it, it is perfect for this application. The problem is that other people in the shop like it too and I have to go hunt it down regularly, plus they do not have the respect for tools that I do. I am thinking of making something very similar but cutting up an old saw blade and attaching a handle with glue and peened brass rivets. I am not sure if a sheer will cut the hardened steel saw blade. Perhaps an alternative steel is available? What think ye?

[Bruce Haugen]

I cut saw blades with a Dremel and a skinny abrasive wheel. Well, score them about halfway through and snap it off. A file will straighten the edges.

[Jeff Wittrock]

I use a 4-1/2" cut off wheel to cut 1095 spring steel. You can use it on an angle grinder. I installed the cutoff wheel on a cheap tile saw I have, and it worked even better for making long straight cuts.

[george wilson]

We cut up 1095 spring steel all the time,in thicknesses up to .042" with the shear at work. No problem. The spring steel cracks ahead of the cutting edge of the shear blade,and does no harm to it. All those saws we made were sheared like that.

[Jim Davis]

This very day, I cut a 5"-long tapered narrow strip from a handsaw blade. I scribed my line, put the steel in a vice with the line just at the top of the jaw and sheared the piece using a sharp cold chisel. I angled the chisel and sheared a little less than the width of the blade with each blow. It was easy, quick and cut cleanly.

I moved the piece along the jaw once. A longer piece could be moved as many times as needed to finish the cut.

Jim

[Jim Koepke]

What think ye?

Me thinks it is time you invested in a locking tool box. How much time do you waste everyday hunting down tools others have "borrowed" when you weren't looking?

The other option is maybe what you are thinking and making one for everyone else in the shop. If they are as you say:
they do not have the respect for tools that I do.

They are likely to lose them and ask you for another.

Sorry if it sounds like I am standing on a soap box preaching, but I have lost too much time in my life to people who "borrow" my tools without my knowledge and do not bother to return them.

jtk

[Jeff Bartley]

This is very interesting, a few months back I made a tapered reamer using an old saw plate. After laying out the cut I took it to a local machine shop to see if they'd cut it, the guy told me you couldn't cut a hardened saw plate in a shear. George, did you guys have a special shear? Or was this shop just unwilling to take a chance cutting something out of the ordinary?
In the end I just used an angle grinder and cleaned up the cut with a file.

[steven c newman]

IF I do lend a tool out, it would be one from "Odd Lots/ BIG LOTS"

Wondering ( mind does tend to do that..) IF one could not only cut a saw blade, but add two 90 degree bends? Then it could be attached to the benchtop. The teeth would act as a plane stop. Might take three screws to hold it? Maybe adapt a dog to hold it? I have a couple worn out, junky plates to try this with....

[ian maybury]

Hi Moses. No doubt a lock might help, but it could have other repercussions. :)

Shearing is one of the recognised ways of cutting harder and tougher steels, although as they get harder (and especially tougher with more chrome etc in) the set up (clearance etc) becomes more critical and more wear results. The related issue with narrow strips like what you want to do (it can be dialled out on a good quality guillotine set up to permit clearance and other adjustments, but cheaper/less highly engineered DIY and similar level machines probably won't deliver the required control) may be that it's hard to avoid getting a lot of bowing or curling.

No sure what it would cost, but water jet cutting is worth a look if you can access it locally - decent precision, no distortion, most particularly no disturbance of the heat treatment. Cost on a light duty set up shouldn't be much more than $30/hour (a bit more expensive than laser or plasma), plus something for programming. (which is only minutes for simple stock shaped parts)

It was a very fancy process years ago, but these days over here there seem (with cheap CNC and X/Y control) to be rigs all over the place that are being run by small businesses on one off and small batch jobs much as are everyday laser or oxy acetylene profiling services. The trick might be to run off a decent batch of the parts you need so that the (fairly minimal?) set up cost was spread over them?

[Moses Yoder]

Thanks, this gives me some ideas to work on. I am familiar with a local machine shop, I think I will see if they will cut it on their shear. If not, I will look into a water jet, which I think is a viable option. I cannot see cutting anything near a straight line with an angle grinder or some such, but my metal work experience is very limited. I have tried scoring and snapping blades but obviously I am not doing something right; I think I would actually have to see this being done in order to figure out what I am missing.

[ian maybury]

The problem with full on cutting discs and the like is likely to be the heat they put in - your steel would as you know likely end up close to fully annealed.

Light scoring with a very fine disc as Bruce and snapping might be an option (put less heat in) - but a lot would presumaby depend a lot on the hardness of the saw plate.

Jeff's use of a cut off disc on a tile saw might (with a lot of care needed to eliminate possible risks before trying anything) be a DIY option for light gauge sheet too. The water cooling on a tile saw (it'd need careful checking to ensure the cut off discs are compatible with water) should overcome the heating issue. The RPM might be a bit low for the usual 1mm thick angle grinder cutting discs, but maybe they or something of that sort come in larger diameters that would fit?

[Isaac Smith]

I'm all for recycling, but it may be more cost or time effective in the long run to just buy a lifetime's supply of it new. McMaster Carr has 1/4" wide strips of 0.042" thick 1095 spring steel in 25' coils for $36.35 plus shipping (which probably will add less than $10). The part number for that item is 9075K413 (http://www.mcmaster.com/#9075K413). They also have other widths and thicknesses available.

Cutting that to length is a much easier chore than cutting to width.

If you look around, you may even find it for less at Enco or MSC or evn on eBay.

[lowell holmes]

Matt Cianci cuts saw plate with aviation snips. I've done it but it was rather ragged.

I have also scored saw plate with a triangular file and snapped the saw plate by bending it on the score.

[bridger berdel]

Is what you (OP) are trying to make basically a putty knife with a bend in it? Wouldn't it be easier to buy a box of cheap putty knives and "adjust" them with a vise and hammer?

[george wilson]

The shop which would not allow cutting the spring steel on their shear needs a bit more education. Our shear was an ordinary one.

[Jeff Bartley]

George, when I asked the guy if he'd cut my saw plate with the shear his response was, 'sure if you want to buy me a new shear'. Using an angle grinder like I did I bet I heated it up too much! I can always make another.
Moses: I think Isaac has the best plan for you!