Cutting Non-Wood Materials, Soft Plastics

Cutting Non-Wood Materials

Soft Plastics

Soft plastics such as polypropylene won’t chip, but they will melt. Therefore, a more aggressive cut with the blade set deeper will reduce the melting.

►Too shallow of a blade depth and the plastic will be more prone to melting.

►Too deep of a blade depth and the teeth marks from the blade will be more prevalent.

►Any of the fine-tooth blades with a slow motor speed will cut this material with good results.

►Clean up the cut edges with a cabinet scraper.

Brittle Plastics

Brittle plastics will both melt and chip, so cutting them is problematic with most other saws. The TS 55 works great for cutting this type of material.

►Set the blade depth very shallow to reduce chipping.

►Set the motor speed very low to reduce melting.

►Use any one of the finer tooth blades for good results, but the negative hook aluminum and plastic blade provides the best results.

►In clear plastics such as acrylic, if the cut is milky white, it is a sign of melting. Note how the cut to the right is transparent.

Thin Aluminum

The problem with cutting thin aluminum sheet is that the blade teeth can catch the edge of the sheet, and cut more aggressively than expected. To reduce this, you want the teeth moving nearly parallel with the aluminum surface (a shallow blade depth).

►The ultra-thin aluminum shown in the example was cut best with the fine crosscut blade. The positive hook angle of the blade kept the flexible aluminum tight to the guide rail in a sheering cut.

►For slightly thicker, less flexible pieces of aluminum, the negative hook angle, aluminum cutting blade works best because it cuts less aggressively.

Extruded Aluminum

Care needs to be taken when cutting extruded aluminum because the blade may cut more aggressively than expected on the various surfaces of the stock. This is most noticeable with thin-walled extrusions.

►With thin-walled extrusions, try to keep the blade teeth parallel to the walls (see image above).

►With thick-walled extrusions, try to keep the blade teeth perpendicular to the walls (see image to the right).

►Use the negative hook angle, aluminum-cutting blade, and a moderate speed setting.

►Be prepared for the blade to catch unexpectedly as the cutting angle changes with each facet of the extruded shape.

20	TS 55 EQ Circular Saw

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