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Cutting copper on table saw?

rbent

Stainless
Joined
Mar 1, 2011
Location
Kansas
One of the other shops down the hall from me asked me this evening if I could cut copper on a table saw. We routinely cut aluminum on ours for them and I've never had to do much with copper and didn't know.

The piece in question is a .75"x4"x24" long piece of 145 alloy that needs ripped in half length wise. Cutting a piece of similar sized aluminum isn't an issue, and copper is a non ferrous metal as well but I don't know if one can even do it. It is a 10" 3hp industrial cabinet saw, Saw Stop, yes it gets disabled.

Is this possible with copper? For some reason I'm thinking it isn't and since its a 500$ piece of stock, I'd rather not learn the hard way. I searched for an answer, but never found anything.

Thanks for any help!
 
I've cut 48 oz copper sheet on the table saw without incident, but for something that thick, it would probably depend a lot on the temper. Dead soft copper is pretty soft.
 
I've cut 48 oz copper sheet on the table saw without incident, but for something that thick, it would probably depend a lot on the temper. Dead soft copper is pretty soft.

I would be concerned about the cut generating heat and possibly warping, if you are running it against a fence it may bind. It is a pretty expensive piece of material to practice on. Tell them to find another method to cut the material.
 
Hi rbent:
C14500 is tellurium copper which cuts far more easily than pretty much any other grade, so you have the best chance of easy success with this stuff.
However three potential problems exist.
1) It's going to get so damn hot you can't handle it anymore and you're only a quarter of the way through the cut.
2) You get a chip piled up in a gullet and strip all the teeth off the saw along with the trouser filling BANG that accompanies it.
3) You get a hot chip down your shirt or pants and lose control.
This stuff stays hot much longer than the equivalent steel chip; even a tiny chip bites like a crazed hornet.

A way smarter and easier way is to saw it with an upright bandsaw, then kiss the sawcut edges on the mill.
I've cut a ton of Telco on a 10" Delta woodworker's bandsaw with a Lenox Diemaster blade and cutting wax.

The big problem with a table saw is you kind of have to go for it; with a bandsaw you can stop, back up, add more wax, put your gloves on etc etc.
The table saw will cut it; of that I have no doubt at all, but I have to confess I'd be nervous about keeping it under control if it gets ornery on you.
Typically when I bandsaw 1" thick Telco, I have to wax the blade every 6 inches or less if I want to keep chips from piling up in the gullets.
In every other respect it will be about like sawing Mic6 aluminum...easy peasy.
Good luck with it.
Cheers

Marcus
Implant Mechanix – Design & Innovation - home
Vancouver Wire EDM -- Wire EDM Machining
 
Hi jrmach:
No, actually in this instance I'm not.
On a bandsaw, the chances of being sucked into the blade are vanishingly small if all the proper guarding is in place and set up correctly.
Copper gets HOT when you saw it at woodworking saw speeds; trust me, you'll want your gloves on if you're planning to saw 2 feet of it.
True enough, some people are stupid enough to hurt themselves putting on their pants in the morning, but with even a tiny bit of care, you will be perfectly safe with gloves on while using a bandsaw.
Now if we were talking about a drill press or a lathe, I'd agree with you fully.
Cheers

Marcus
Implant Mechanix – Design & Innovation - home
Vancouver Wire EDM -- Wire EDM Machining
 
Don't even think about it unless you see someone else do it first.!!!!
The rpm of the blade will be going WAY! to fast. You'll probably have an explosion.
Really!!!!

If you are still alive afterward, let us know how it worked.
Stan-

Stan-
 
Hi jrmach:
No, actually in this instance I'm not.
On a bandsaw, the chances of being sucked into the blade are vanishingly small if all the proper guarding is in place and set up correctly.
Copper gets HOT when you saw it at woodworking saw speeds; trust me, you'll want your gloves on if you're planning to saw 2 feet of it.
True enough, some people are stupid enough to hurt themselves putting on their pants in the morning, but with even a tiny bit of care, you will be perfectly safe with gloves on while using a bandsaw.
Now if we were talking about a drill press or a lathe, I'd agree with you fully.
Cheers

Marcus
Implant Mechanix – Design & Innovation - home
Vancouver Wire EDM -- Wire EDM Machining



Everything you wrote in your first post I agree on except the gloves.I agree that if you are careful probably be ok,BUT,I would be thinking a different approach.Maybe a little air,a kant twist clamp or even a mini vise to grab on to part to act as a heat barrier.Stopping and quenching in water.I am just not a fan of gloves.Here is one abbreviation for the other thread on PM today "AMHIK"
 
Clamp a piece of flat bar to the table as a guide on a vertical bandsaw and start cutting.... Now is not the time to test the new health care system.
 
It's hard for me to see how using gloves in this situation (bandsawing a piece of copper, which can be guided with hands well away from the blade) offers anything close to the same dangers of a lathe, mill, or drill press.

The most likely failure mode seems to be hand slips, blade cuts through glove before cutting through finger -- pretty much the same as hand slips, blade cuts immediately through finger. Bandsaws can be dangerous, but are usually much less so when cutting thin material with the guides just above the work.
 
For reference, I've run a 3" thick chunk of 6061 down my. $130 ryobi table saw for 40 inches and while making strange sounds, didn't flinch. Use lube.::lots of it..should do fine. You've got a big boy saw


I wore welding gloves, my full face race helmet, and every other piece of armor I could find...because if you have it, you won't need it.

YMMV.

Good luck.
 
It's hard for me to see how using gloves in this situation (bandsawing a piece of copper, which can be guided with hands well away from the blade) offers anything close to the same dangers of a lathe, mill, or drill press.

Could people that get all excited about gloves and machine tools F'in relax? Don't bandsaw with gloves? Give me a break…. I'm not even sure I could get a gloved hand sucked into a bandsaw if I tried. What do you do? Grab the blade and turn it on?

Any machinist worth a crap knows when it's okay to wear gloves.
 
My experiences with cutting things I shouldn't with circular and table saws has led me to think the blades themselves are a source if worry.

Thin material or short cuts, it can be done. Thicker stuff heats the blade, and it can warp or bind. Either one messes up the cut. In one instance, an abused blade came apart cutting thick aluminum. That could have ended badlly.

You might be able to do it more safely using multiple passes, moving the saw fence or using shims to widen the kerf between passes to give the blade more relief, and running a mist coolant system. Then clean up the cut edge afterwards. It would be easier and safer to use a band saw.
 
Cut that on the TS- no way in hell.

As said- drop that on the BS against the fence (you got a fence on it don't you? If not get one on it), and chop it in half.

Safety, low waste and control.
I have a carbide blade on one of mine which zips through copper, aluminum & bronze with no drama.

This is the kind of job I would ask the guy to wait two seconds- I'd make the cut and hand it back to him.
 
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I've cut 6" x 6" x 0.75" in half on my table saw. It went fine - not much different than 6061 aluminum.

Keep the blade lubed up, wear a full face protective mask, ideally an apron or something to keep the chips away from your skin, and HAVE A PLAN.

I always stay away from directly behind the work as I feed it in... it kicks back rarely, but when it does, your shorts will fill up quick.

But I'd bandsaw it if I had a good metal bandsaw.
 
The piece in question is a .75"x4"x24" long piece of 145 alloy that needs ripped in half length wise. Cutting a piece of similar sized aluminum isn't an issue, and copper is a non ferrous metal as well but I don't know if one can even do it. It is a 10" 3hp industrial cabinet saw, Saw Stop, yes it gets disabled.

I'm a bit surprised that you're asking about cutting a piece of 3/4" copper on a table saw...are you nucking futz?

And then to see some folks telling you no problem, they do it all the time... :crazy:

I'd like to see that with 3/4" thick copper...I didn't say I want to be in the room, just that I would like to see it. :nutter:

Use one of those Forrest Woodworker II blades, I hear you're really cool with one of those on your table saw... :smoking:

Cheers,
Alan
 
Yup if your set up to do it. Where I used to work we routinly cut 90/10 NiCu along with a bunch of other specialized alloys. I'm talking about 96 x 110 sheets of thickness from 1/4 to 3"+. I forget the name of the saw but she was big and old, how ever it could still slice throught the stuff like butter 24"- 36" dia. blade (carbide tipped.). Also had multltiple air cyclinders that would clamp the piece down, about 1 every 2'.
 
Another way to ask this is would you set up the mill to chop through copper at the SFM developed on the TS and feed it freehand...

Would you?

Folks get away with it all the time on TS W/large sheet goods but though it can be done- a little stick like this is better done on the BS.
 
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I've never done it, so am just throwing this out. How about a circular saw against a guide using an abrasive blade?

Having a practice piece would really help in solving your problem. However, using a small practice piece on a table saw could result in a missle in your shop.
 








 
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