Cutting UHMW on a Bandsaw

[Michael O'Sullivan]

I was cutting some UHMW into 15/32" strips for drawer runners. Let's just say that the cuts were not clean --it was like a big fuzzy beard growing off the edges. I trimmed it off with a pocket knife and some sandpaper, and it looks OK, but I was wondering if this is normal or if I made a mistake. The material was 1/4" thick, and the blade was 10 tpi.

[Chuck Saunders]

You probably could have gotten a cleaner cut using a backup sheet of some rigid material. Otherwise, UHMW is soft and the blade will tend to pull it out of the kerf instead of cutting.

[Bruce Page]

That's pretty much normal for a bandsaw. A TS will give a much cleaner cut, though you'll have more waste.

[Dale Lesak]

you can run a torch over the edge to get a smoother look. make sure they cool down before handling them. Dale :o

[Michael O'Sullivan]

That's pretty much normal for a bandsaw. A TS will give a much cleaner cut, though you'll have more waste.

Thanks -- I was ripping a pretty narrow sheet already (around 4") so I wanted to avoid the table saw. I should probably make myself a TS jig for that, but up 'til now, I have always just used the bandsaw.