What tablesaw blade to cut thick plastics?

Finegrain · Apr 22, 2017

Hi guys,

I need to saw up a bunch of 1" ABS. I have been using an 80-tooth triple-chip blade which works well on acetal, but it melts the ABS. I figured I'd try some etching with fewer teeth.

Anybody got something specific they have, that works well?

Thanks, and regards.

Mike

steve-l · Apr 22, 2017

Your problem is not the blade, it is your blade speed. A table saw is way too fast.

Finegrain · Apr 22, 2017

steve-l said:
Your problem is not the blade, it is your blade speed. A table saw is way too fast.

... and yet there it is

. That's the tool I have. Horizontal bandsaw can't rip strips from a 4' long piece of stock.

Regards.

Mike

mbraddock · Apr 22, 2017

Is your table saw single phase or three phase? If the latter, I installed a VFD on one a few years ago for the same purpose and it worked pretty well. I know it's not what you asked, but it's an option...

John Welden · Apr 22, 2017

Next time order it precut. Tap plastics will do it for cheap.

bryan_machine · Apr 22, 2017

I've seen tap plastics cut plastic on what looked like a pretty ordinary table saw, I don't recall blade speed or type (was in another room looking through a window) - maybe call them up and ask?

Comatose · Apr 22, 2017

You want a straight tooth ripping blade. A dedicated ripper with deep gullets and something like 20 teeth.

ATB blades are designed to shear grain. They push the chips towards one side and then towards the other. TCG are designed to not chip out laminates. They push the chip towards BOTH sides to keep the material in compression. You don't have grain and you want to keep the material away from the sides and not building up. Straight tooth, deep gullets, few teeth, and no anti-kickback geometry to rub on the material.

Something like this

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000...eywords=ripping+blade&dpPl=1&dpID=51lMcvR0fuL

SwarfsUp! · Apr 22, 2017

There are blades made especially for plastic. If you think the speed of the blade is too high, you might see if a smaller diameter blade fits your arbor.

Limy Sami · Apr 22, 2017

If its melting Fine grain - have you tried feeding it really hard, .....winding the blade up to have fewer teeth in the work will help a lot.

Depending on their use, plastic circ saw blades can lose their edge (especially if you've chopped a few bits of ally without changing the blade - not that you would of course just saying, and ABS needs to be really sharp, ...have a close scrupey with an 8 or 10X glass.

And of course coolant - even a squirty bottle of water and dish soap can make a hell of a difference ..I've used a pump up garden insecticide type sprayer at the finest mist to very good effect, ...........and by the time the ''wind'' from the saw blade and chips are down the chute there's very little mess - easily cleaned up by cutting up some dry pine boards - think kindling

Chip Chester · Apr 22, 2017

Fiber cement blades have as few as 6 teeth, and not much rake. There's also been a recent thread (regarding cut finish) with a lot of discussion and sources re: blades for plastic.

Chip

Wild West · Apr 22, 2017

Is your blade sharp? If it has been through a lot of use it may cut wood ok but plastic there might be too much friction with a less than sharp blade. JMHO

specfab · Apr 22, 2017

Yes, ABS will melt more easily than a lot of other materials. As others have noted, fewer teeth would be an immediate help. I have used 60T triple-chip blades frequently on thicker materials to assist with cooler cutting, and have gone to 40T on a few occasions (3/4 nylon, for instance).

As Limy Sami notes, higher feed rate will help to accomplish the same thing (sort of), and yes, raising the blade to get more air cooling will help (a little). If you have a spraymist setup, that could be a large help in temp control. Mounted under the table works best for convenience if a semi-permanent installation, otherwise you could stick it on the fence with a mag base. Smaller blade dia will obviously lower the SFM, and with ABS not being too brittle, you could probably use an ATB blade from Home Depot (7-8", maybe 24-32T), and achieve "OK" results.

I use a similar 80T triple-chip 10" dia blade on my saw for cutting aluminum and plastics, and as Limy Sami (again) notes;-), the aluminum cutting takes a toll on tooth sharpness...I have a separate blade I keep just for plastics, but often don't want to bother changing the blade if "it's just a few cuts". Sometimes turns into "why the hell didn't I change this blade out..."

Lakeside53 · Apr 23, 2017

Another option.. slow vertical band-saw (you know which one I mean

), coarse blade. Clamp a 2x4 for a fence. As above, ABS is tricky - melts easy with friction

jlrii · Apr 23, 2017

Finegrain said:
Hi guys,

I need to saw up a bunch of 1" ABS. I have been using an 80-tooth triple-chip blade which works well on acetal, but it melts the ABS. I figured I'd try some etching with fewer teeth.

Anybody got something specific they have, that works well?

Thanks, and regards.

Mike

You don't mention what the finish needs to be. Is this just a rough cut or does it need to look good?

Tony Quiring · Apr 23, 2017

We did some plexiglass long ago and was advised to place blade backwards so it would scrape the plastic instead of cut it.

Worked great.

Use a very sharp carbide tipped blade and gentle feed.

Wide cut meaning carbide inserts wider than saw plate as this reduces friction of the blade.

Experiment with depth of cut as the angle depends on the blade and material but there will be a sweet spot.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk

dcsipo · Apr 23, 2017

SwarfsUp! said:
There are blades made especially for plastic. If you think the speed of the blade is too high, you might see if a smaller diameter blade fits your arbor.

best plastic blade i ever used is from forrest worth the money, feed as fast as you can

dee
;-D
No Melt Saw Blades for Plastic Sheets and Extrusions -

Finegrain · Apr 23, 2017

Lakeside53 said:
Another option.. slow vertical band-saw (you know which one I mean ), coarse blade. Clamp a 2x4 for a fence. As above, ABS is tricky - melts easy with friction

Thought about that, but I don't want to tie up Mark's saw with my production work

.

Regards.

Mike

Finegrain · Apr 23, 2017

jlrii said:
You don't mention what the finish needs to be. Is this just a rough cut or does it need to look good?

Cuts need to somewhat straight so the Talon Grips grip evenly. ABS is soft enough that if I have to squeeze hard with the Talon Grips to make up for uneven edges, the material will extrude away from the grippers and I make a little kaboom :rolleyes5:

.

Regards.

Mike

Finegrain · Apr 23, 2017

dcsipo said:
best plastic blade i ever used is from forrest worth the money, feed as fast as you can

dee
;-D
No Melt Saw Blades for Plastic Sheets and Extrusions -

I ordered the Amana version, will see how that does.

Regards.

Mike

dgfoster · Apr 23, 2017

Finegrain said:
I ordered the Amana version, will see how that does.

Regards.

Mike

It would be good to get some feedback from you on this in a week or so when you have had a chance to cut some ABS.

Denis

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