Anybody make Carbide Jigsaw blades?

[Doug Shepard]

Wore out 5 jigsaw blades this morning trying to cut some 3/16" thick aluminum. About 2.5 ft of cut lines, all straight. I'd get maybe 4-5" off each blade before it wore out and stopped cutting. This is with a Bosch VS D-handle (not the latest version) and new blades I picked up this morning (Bosch T-shank) specifically recommended for non-ferrous metal. One pack was a Bi-Metal blade and the other HSS (no real difference between the 2). I could extend the life a bit by putting a layer of MDF under the baseplate to get a different working area on the blade, but still wore them out pretty quickly.
So I got to wondering... Is there suck a thing as a carbide tooth jigsaw blade that would last longer for stuff like this?

[Charles Grosjean]

[quote=Doug Shepard;580455]Wore out 5 jigsaw blades this morning trying to cut some 3/16" thick aluminum. About 2.5 ft of cut lines, all straight.[quote]

Doug, Bosch makes blades specifically for aluminum, they are coarse pitch (8tpi). Most likely, you are not clearing chips and are gumming up the blade. In a pinch, you could try a little lube (either stick lube as used on bandsaws for metal cutting or some tap magic etc. and frequent cleaning with a toothbrush), but the right blade will probably work wonders. Carbide would be overkill for this. There are carbide grit blades made for abrasive materials (fiberglass), but I've only seen brazed carbide on recip saw blades (I think Lenox).

[Corey Hallagan]

Some links Doug:

http://power-tools.hardwarestore.com/54-367-jig-saw-blades/carbide-tip-jigsaw-640237.aspx?CAWELAID=42534897

http://www.gizmosindustrial.com/servlet/the-15734/Bosch,General,Purpose,Tools,Power,Tools,Cutting,To ols,Cutting,Power,Tool,Parts,&,Accessories,Bosch,Stain.less,Steel,Carbide-dsh-Tipped,Jigsaw,Blades,3,pack/Detail

http://www.shop.com/op/~3071300_3_IN_5_32_JIGSAW_BLADE_4425237-prod-33374749-43653272?sourceid=298

http://www.idealtruevalue.com/servlet/the-156739/Detail

Corey

[Doug Shepard]

Charles
Although the blades I got this morning weren't quite that course (8 TPI) I dont think chip clearing is the problem. I dont know the particular type of aluminum I have but suspect it's something a little harder than your average aluminum. I'll check to see if they've got the aluminum specific blades to see if that helps.

Cory
Thanks - that 2nd link looks worth exploring if the Charles suggestion doesn't help. The other links all have the U-shank so wouldn't fit.

[dan moran]

just a sideline to this, and you may already know, but aluminum will work harden and wear out a blade really quickly if you dont move through it fast enough.

[Gary Keedwell]

If your using HSS blades, I doubt that your dulling them. Try using a little cutting fluid (kerosene works well in the clutch) and clear the chips with a soft brush. I did about 6 feet of 1/8 th stainless steel last week and did not dull the blade. I slowed down the speed of the saw and used cutting fluid. (water soluble)

Gary K.;)

[Charles Grosjean]

Doug, what do your blades look like when they fail? Are the teeth rounded off? Are chunks of aluminum stuck in the teeth?

As Gary said, HSS works fine with aluminum, even with the harder (2024, 7075) alloys for a small job. Carbide will last a LOT longer, but you aren't doing production. Looking at those carbide blades (thanks for the links, learn something new every day), most of them are fine pitch.

You want to optimize your speed (jigsaw blade speed dial) and feed (how fast you're pushing it) and at the same time, you want the blade to clear chips efficiently. If you can't clear the chips, you recut them, they get stuck in the teeth, the blade and workpiece gall, and you generate a bunch of friction (heat) that destroys your blade.

Some form of lube will help with keeping chips from sticking (especially if you are cutting a softer alloy like 6061/3 or 356) and heat transfer, but having the wrong feeds and speeds will still destroy the blade. You are cutting a thick sheet so it will make a fairly large chip which requires a fairly coarse tooth.

To make the best of the situation, try running your blades slower, use some lube (stick or liquid, a little goes a long way), feed firmly, and make sure the chips are getting out of the cut. I think kerosene smells funny so I use Rapid Tap for little things. And order some of those Bosch blades for aluminum :) . HTH

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Aluminum cuts like butter. There is absolutely no reason you shouldn't use the same blade for a very long time. You don't even have to lube the cut but it's a good idea.

So I'm wondering if you either have a wood blade or are running it way to fast. There is a speed control on that saw. Turn it down.

[Doug Shepard]

Well I checked the info on the blade packs and here's what I tried:

Bosch #T118EF Bi-Metal 18 TPI for fine cuts in Non-Ferrous metals from 5/64" to 7/32" (includes my 3/16")

Bosch #T101A - HSS 14 TPI for Non-Ferrous metals

I wish I hadn't already thrown the bad ones in the trash before also emptying the kitchen garbage in on top, so I'm not going to fish them out to take pics. But the teeth were badly worn down in the area where the stroke had it in the aluminum. Before the teeth wore down, cutting was going pretty good. I tried both a slow and a moderate feed rate. A faster rate really wasn't possible. I'm going to call the store tomorrow to see if they have the courser 8 TPI blades specifically for aluminum before I try the pricier carbide ones.

Thanks everybody.

[Bruce Benjamin]

Ditto this. I've cut aluminum up to 1/4" on and off for years, (even 30+ years ago) and never had this sort of problem. A carbide bit my help but I gotta think there's something else wrong here. I've used an old single speed Black and Decker jig saw with a very cheap blade back in the '70s with no dulling problems. I wish I had an exact answer but maybe Cliff's advice would help. I've usually used a rather fine toothed blade.

Bruce



Aluminum cuts like butter. There is absolutely no reason you shouldn't use the same blade for a very long time. You don't even have to lube the cut but it's a good idea.

So I'm wondering if you either have a wood blade or are running it way to fast. There is a speed control on that saw. Turn it down.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

W
Bosch #T118EF Bi-Metal 18 TPI for fine cuts in Non-Ferrous metals from 5/64" to 7/32" (includes my 3/16")

Bosch #T101A - HSS 14 TPI for Non-Ferrous metals



Hmmm. I had one metal cutting blade in my Bosch box when I bought it - it was ( and still is) a T118A (HSS). I have used the hell out of it on steel and aluminum and it's still cutting strong. I've got a pack of T123X (also HSS) that are great also. I'm wondering if you are using too FEW teeth thereby breaking them off.

When cutting metal you want as many teeth as you can get so long as they all clear the work and eject their load of chips.. If the can't clear the work you will have to back off very, very frequently and clear them that way. Because when they are loaded they get hot & don't cut.

4 - 6 teeth in contact with the work piece is a good rule of thumb. Less than four and you will wreck the blade. More than 6 and you may end up with some number of chip packed tooth gullets in contact with the work. Even in a band saw (where the teeth will clear the chips when they pull through) that means that you'll have some number of teeth that can't cut doing nothing but making heat and slowing your cut.

[Noah Katz]

Take a look at Morse Metal Devil circular saw blades.