Blade Selection, Operations, Hydraulic Feed Control

Blade Selection

The cut-off saw is delivered with a saw blade that is adequate for a variety of cut-off jobs on a variety of common materials. A 10-tooth, general-purpose blade is provided as standard equipment with the machine.

An optional 8-tooth blade and an optional 14-tooth blade are available from Wilton. (Refer to the Parts section for saw blade part numbers.)

Refer to Figure 5 for the speeds recommended for various materials. These speeds, while appropriate for many common shop cutting needs, do not encompass the wide variety of special blade configurations (tooth pitch and set) and special alloys for cutting unusual or exotic materials.

A coarse blade could be used for a solid steel bar, but a finer tooth blade would be used on a thin-wall steel tube. In general, the blade choice is determined by the thickness of the material; the thinner the materials; the finer the tooth pitch.

A minimum of three teeth should be on the workpiece at all times for proper cutting. The blade and workpiece can be damaged if the teeth are so far apart that they straddle the workpiece.

For very high production on cutting of special materials, or to cut hard-to-cut materials such as stainless steel, tool steel, or titanium, you can ask your industrial distributor for more specific blade recommendations. The supplier that provides the workpiece material should be able to provide you with very specific instructions regarding the best blade (and coolant or cutting fluid, if needed) for the material or shape supplied.

Blade Break-in Procedures

New blades are very sharp and, therefore, have a tooth geometry that is easily damaged if a careful break-in procedure is not followed. Consult the blade manufacturer’s literature for break-in of specific blades on specific materials. However, the following procedure will be adequate for break-in of Wilton-supplied blades on lower alloy ferrous materials.

1.Clamp a section of round stock in the vise. The stock should be 2 inches or larger in diameter.

2.Operate the saw at low speed. Start the cut with a very light feed rate.

3.When the saw has completed 1/3 of the cut, increase the feed rate slightly and allow the saw to complete the cut.

4.Keep the hydraulic cylinder needle valve in the same position and begin a second cut on the same or similar workpiece.

5.When the blade has completed about 1/3 of the cut, increase the feed rate.

Watch the chip formation until cutting is at its most efficient rate and allow the saw to complete the cut (refer to Evaluating Blade Efficiency on page 10). The blade is now considered ready for use.

Operations

Hydraulic Feed Control

The weight of the saw head provides the force needed to cut through the workpiece. The cut-off saw has a hydraulic cylinder that controls the feed rate of the saw.

The hydraulic feed control circuit consists of a single acting hydraulic cylinder (Figure 7) and a feed rate control (Figure 5). The feed control cylinder resists motion in the downward direction to control the feed rate. The control cylinder offers no resistance when raised upward.

The feed rate control knob (Figure 5) controls the rate at which the saw head is lowered. The control knob (needle valve) controls the rate at which the hydraulic fluid is released from the hydraulic cylinder. When the needle valve is closed, the cylinder is locked. With the needle valve slightly open, the cylinder permits slow, or light, downward force. Opening the needle valve further increases the feed rate and applies more weight to the saw blade and workpiece.

The needle valve is adjusted until the saw is operating efficiently. The efficiency of operation is usually evaluated by observing chip formation. Blade efficiency is further described below.

Figure 7