Saw Fundamentals

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Saw Fundamentals
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Overview

• Sawing 101
• Saw Safety
• Shop Etiquette
• Basic Terminology And Use
• Speeds
• Machining
• Maintenance

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Sawing 101

• What is Sawing?
• In most types of shop work, metal or wood Sawing
  is a basic, chip-producing, cutting process. It
  uses a blade (flexible or solid) with a series of
  teeth on its edge to cut a opening into a
  workpiece. This opening might be a shallow slot
  or a contoured groove, or the saw blade might go
  all the way through and separate the work into
  two pieces.
• As the saw blade teeth pass through the
  workpiece, each tooth produces a curled chip that
  is contained within the space between the teeth,
  known as the gullet. As each tooth reaches the
  end of the workpiece, the chip falls from the
  gullet. This simple process, is the same for
  sawing almost any material, including plastic,
  wood, or metal.

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Sawing 101

• Sawing Applications
• In the metal shop, the purpose of most sawing
  operations has been to cut sheet, tube, or bar
  stock into different lengths in preparation for
  further machining. Or it has been used in cutoff
  operations to remove excess material produced
  during other machining or assembly. In general,
  sawing has always been a simpler task that
  required less skill than others but still
  deserves your full attention, since they can also
  be dangerous.
• The modernization of saws and saw blades has
  increased the accuracy and efficiency of current
  sawing operations that can now be performed.

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Saw Safety

• Never wear gloves or loose clothing
• Tie hair back
• For small pieces (3in or less) do not hold the
  piece directly
• Use a small vise or a push stick depending on saw
  being used.

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Shop Etiquette

• COE Shop
• Always leave machines cleaner
• Ask for help, if needed
• Come prepared
• Tooling list
• Plan of action
• Dimensioned drawings

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Basic Terminology
Blade guide/guard adjustor wheel

• DoAll
• Band Saw

Blade guide/guard lock
On/Off switch
Blade guide/guard
Work light
To Adjust Guide loosen the lock lever, adjust
the height by turning the adj. wheel and relock
the guide in position.
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Basic Terminology

• DoAll
• Band Saw

Recommended speeds Alum 300 325 FPM Steel
100 125 FPM
Air nozzle
Speed readout inner range 0 - 400
Speed adjustment Adjust only when running
Blade guard
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Using the Vertical Band Saws

• Blades
• Non-Ferrous Metals Course Teeth
• Aluminum
• Brass
• Copper
• Plastics
• Wood
• Steel Fine Teeth
• Mild Steel
• Stainless Steel

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Using the Vertical Band Saws

• Adjust height of blade guide/guard to ¼ above
  workpiece and lock in place
• Check that blade and speeds match material to be
  cut
• Cut piece by pushing against blade with constant
  pressure
• Use vise if piece is small
• Turn off and clean

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Basic Terminology
Blade Guard adjuster

• Delta
• Wood/Plastic
• Band Saw

On/Off Switch
Fence
Miter Gauge
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Basic Terminology

• Delta
• Wood/Plastic
• Band Saw

Table tilt adjuster 0 45 Degrees
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Basic Terminology
Aluminum blade
Steel blade
Wood blade

• Blade speed - Wood
• Faster Blade speed than aluminum preset on the
  Delta Saw WOOD and PLASTIC ONLY!
• Blade shape/profile Pitch (Number of Teeth Per
  Inch TPI)
• Wood blade as a straight course tooth pattern.
  6 pitch
• Alum. Blade uses a 6-10 pitch blade. Has 6teeth
  then 10teeth
• Steel blade as a fine 10-14 pitch blade

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Basic Terminology

• Cut Off Saw - Ellis

View of left side
Vise lock
Drop speed control To lower turn counter clock
wise
On/Off switch
Lift handle
Angle adjustment and lock handle
Vise
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Basic Terminology

• Cut Off Saw - Wells

Blade guard adjustment
Lift handle
Vise adjustment
Coolant flow control
On/Off switch
Drop speed control Knob
Vise
To lower turn counter clock wise
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Using the Drop Saws

• Lift saw blade and lock
• Adjust blade angle on Ellis using the
  adjustment/lock handle
• Secure piece in vise
• Turn on saw
• Adjust Wells cutting fluid to a solid stream
• Adjust drop speed
• After blade stops remove piece from vise and
  clean

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Things to remember Drop Saws

• If you are using the Wells cut off saw with a
  short piece of stock (3inches) the empty end of
  the vise needs to be supported with a piece of
  scrap material the same width as the piece being
  cut. If this is not done the stock may pop out
  of the vise or spin (rotate).

Scrap
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Using the wood shop saws

• Before the table saw or miter saw are used the
  dust collection system must be turned on

Start
Stop
Miter saw turned on at machine power strip
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Basic Terminology
Blade guard and splitter
Table Saw
Fence
Miter Gauge
Fence lock
Blade angle adjustor wheel
On switch
Kick Stop Emergency Stop
Blade height adjustor wheel
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Using the Table Saw

• Turn on dust collection system
• Check that blade type matches material
• If using plastic see shop staff to change blade
• Adjust angle of blade
• Set fence distance
• One end of the piece should rest against the
  fence
• Turn on
• Push through
• Keep equal pressure on both sides of blade, if
  one side is small (
  push stick
• Turn off saw and dust collection then clean room

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Things to remember Table Saw

• Never make adjustments or reach over the blade
  while it is spinning
• The fence and the miter gauge are not meant to be
  used together
• Have the machine unplugged while changing blades
  (most important)

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Things to remember Table Saw

• Watch out for Kick Back (see video)
  http//www.metacafe.com/watch/910584/table_saw_kic
  kback_demonstration/
• Most common serious problem on a table saw
• The splitter and anti-kick back pawls help
  prevent this, do not remove them

Anti-kick back pawls
Splitter
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Panel Saw

• Panel Saw
• Used to cut full or partial sheets of wood or
  plastic 4ft wide or less.
• Will cut a panel vertically(cross cutting) or
  horizontally(Ripping).
• Very safe, easy and fast way to cut sheets of
  material compared to other available methods.

Cross Cutting
Ripping
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Panel Saw

• Panel Saw Controls Saw Head

Handle
On/Off Switch-Up/Down
Horizontal Lock
Saw Position Lock Height Vert/Horz
Blade Window
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Panel Saw

• Panel Saw Use
• Mark the location of your cut on the top edge of
  panel.
• Load the panel in the bottom track. Make sure the
  complete sheet is in the track or on the rollers.
  
• Move the saw head down to the top of the panel.
  Line the blade up with your mark by looking
  through the blade window.

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Panel Saw

• Panel Saw Use
• Raise the head just above the panel and turn the
  saw on by flipping the on/off switch on (up).
• With the handle pull the saw head through the
  panel until you reach the bottom of the panel.
• Shut the saw off by flipping the on/off switch
  (down).
• Return the saw head to a location above the
  panel.
• Repeat if making another cut.
• Thoroughly vacuum up the sawdust Dont use the
  air hose

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Basic Terminology

• Miter Saw Compound model

Dust collection hose
Fixing pin
Safety switch
Fence
Blade guard
Swivel Base Table
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Basic Terminology

• Miter Saw Compound Model

Fixing pin
Slide pipes
Trigger
For setting head compound angle
Table angle lock handle
Loosen counter clock wise to change angle
Compound angle lock
Cut Wood And Plastics Only
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Using the Miter Saw

• Turn on dust collection system power strip by
  saw
• Set table angle
• Put piece into place against fence
• Unlock blade using fixing pin
• Pull saw towards you while up
• Push safety, then pull trigger
• Lower blade and push through piece
• Release trigger and wait for blade to stop
  spinning, then lift away from piece
• Turn off saw and dust collection then clean room

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Things to remember Miter Saw

• Blade guard will move out of way as the saw is
  lowered
• For small pieces the blade can just be lowered,
  not pulled out first this way the saw is being
  used as a standard miter box not a sliding saw.

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Speeds

• The blade speeds for the band saw can be found
  posted on the machine next to the speed readout
• The Cut Off Saws and the Table Saw only have one
  speed

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Holding/Pushing Devices

• Push stick
• Used to push the small piece being cut off
  through the blade
• Small vise
• For small pieces a vise should be used to hold
  them while cutting
• Safest Method

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Saw Safety

• Make sure nothing is tangled in blade
• Always know locations of off buttons

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Maintenance

• Clean up
• Vacuum and sweep chips
• Limit use of air hose All you do is blow the
  sawdust to another location

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Maintenance
Vacuum (aka R2D2)

• Vacuum up the sawdust left on the floor, tables
  and the machine as well.

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Conclusion
College Of Engineering Shops University Of
Wisconsin Madison Never be afraid to ask for
help Experience is the best way to learn!