Saw cutting Aluminium Bronze

[Litlerob1]

I'm having a big ass problem saw cutting Alumiuim Bronze. 8" Solid. Hydro-mech horizontal saw.

I've tried course blades, fine blades, carbide tooth blades. All the variations of feeds and speeds. Best result is brand spankin' new blade (no break in) feeds and speeds similar to alloy steel. But I still get as much as .250" blade wander. I initially thought mechanical issue with guides on the saw....nope.

Any brilliance? Revelations? We've scrapped a couple hundred bucks worth of material...

R

 

[Garwood]

What brand of blades?

 

[Litlerob1]

Lenox

 

[Garwood]

Lenox

I knew it!!!! Lennox got bought out a few years ago and thier blade quality has gone to shit. Try Wikus blades. 1/2 the price and way better.

The 4-6 Wikus blade on my saw is about done. It's 6 months old and it's cut a mountain of 4140ph rounds to 10", thin wall tubing and even some induction hardened chrome cylinder stem plus a ton of 6061, but that doesn't count.

 

[Mud]

I knew it!!!! Lennox got bought out a few years ago and thier blade quality has gone to shit. Try Wikus blades. 1/2 the price and way better.

The 4-6 Wikus blade on my saw is about done. It's 6 months old and it's cut a mountain of 4140ph rounds to 10", thin wall tubing and even some induction hardened chrome cylinder stem plus a ton of 6061, but that doesn't count.

Good to know, I need to buy some blades soon, have been using Lenox. Do you order through a distributor or direct?

 

[Garwood]

I need to find a distributor. I've just bought off Ebay so far.

 

[Garwood]

Simonds blades are really good too.

 

[Litlerob1]

I knew it!!!! Lennox got bought out a few years ago and thier blade quality has gone to shit. Try Wikus blades. 1/2 the price and way better.

The 4-6 Wikus blade on my saw is about done. It's 6 months old and it's cut a mountain of 4140ph rounds to 10", thin wall tubing and even some induction hardened chrome cylinder stem plus a ton of 6061, but that doesn't count.

Well....as much as that sucks balls....thank you

R

 

[Litlerob1]

Well....as much as that sucks balls....thank you

R

I'll look into a Wikus blade. For $50 why tf not.

BUT we're a job shop so we run everything through our saw. And we have been needing to make our cuts a little longer than needed. The Alu-Bronze is what's giving us fits. My question is geared toward recommendations for that material. ....

 

[Vancbiker]

Interesting about Lenox! Coincidence maybe, but a buddy of mine has a Baker sawmill. He was recently commenting to me about trouble with breakage at the weld on a batch of Lenox blades.

 

[Garwood]

Interesting about Lenox! Coincidence maybe, but a buddy of mine has a Baker sawmill. He was recently commenting to me about trouble with breakage at the weld on a batch of Lenox blades.

Around 2021 timeframe I struggled like crazy to cut stuff straight. Western Tool only carries Lenox so I kept buying them. I rebuilt all the guides and checked alignment on my saw- Took months to get all the parts. Wasted hundreds in crooked cut material, hundreds in guide parts and tons of my time. Switched blade brands after realizing that a brand new lenox blade out of the package was only sharp when I drug my finger down one side. The fucking blade was made wrong. I pulled all those shit blades out of my scrap pile and called Western to send them back. Took 6 months of arguing, but Lenox eventually authorized it and I got a refund for all the blades.

I used to cut 4.5" 1045 bar constantly and my saw would cut within 5 thou with a Lenox blade. At some point it just wasn't great anymore, then it got terrible. I didn't think blade until I wasted a ton of time.

I was cutting a ton of 6-10" barstock when I finally switched brands. Went from wandering 1/2" over 5" to cutting dead nuts again and doing it in 1/4 the time.

Fuck lenox.

 

[Garwood]

I think the wandering is the blade, not the material. Al Bronze is tough shit, but a good blade in a decent saw should still cut it straight.

 

[Mud]

Best result is brand spankin' new blade (no break in)

I think the wandering is the blade, not the material. Al Bronze is tough shit, but a good blade in a decent saw should still cut it straight.

Maybe the material needs a blade with increased tooth set. I wonder if that can be ordered?
How coarse of a tooth count have you tried?

 

[Litlerob1]

Maybe the material needs a blade with increased tooth set. I wonder if that can be ordered?
How coarse of a tooth count have you tried?

From 2/3 to 5/8

 

[lobust]

I use starret bimetal blades and cut albr regularly without issue. For that diameter I'd probably stick with a 6/3 or 6/4 blade. Slow blade speed similar to alloy/ph steel or stainless and a very light downfeed - too much blade pressure really won't make it cut any quicker but will want to deflect the blade.

 

[AJ H]

+1 for Wikus, if you want to get spendy Starrett’s line of carbide blades is where it’s at, and their app’s department is very helpful/ knowledgeable

 

[MwTech Inc]

Tension??

 

[eKretz]

Carbide toothed blade always worked best for me. Still need proper blade tension and correct down pressure, but that's the same with any cut. HSS does not last well in this material.

 

[AARONT]

We cut much smaller Alu Bronze and run alloy speeds with lighter feed. The blade is a Lennox Bi-Metal 5-8 pitch. Double checking blade tension and dropping your feed may help.

 

[Plastikdreams]

954 bronze?