The Saw plate
The saw plate is first precision cut as a flat steel disc from high quality hardened chrome alloy steel of a consistent thickness .
The tooth profile is then machine ground or laser cut around its circumference .
The bores are accurately reamed to ensure precise concentricity and balance .
Microgranular TCT ( Tungsten Carbide Tips ) are copper brazed into a seating ground in the plate tooth profile . The carbide tips are diamond ground to precise tooth forms .
Top quality blades are then hardened , tempered and roller tensioned to ensure that the plate is flat and rigid . Cheaper sawblades are prone to distortion or imbalance in the plate which will cause vibration in use , resulting in a poor surface finish and inaccurate cutting .
T . C . T .
Being an extremely hard material , Tungsten Carbide produces a tooth that has far greater wear resistance
than the plate steel , but can still be ground to a sharp cutting edge . This greater wear resistance allows TCT blades to be used to cut abrasive materials such as resin based particle board ( chipboard etc .), melamine and plastic laminate faced materials and aluminium . TCT blades are also suitable for use on all natural timbers , both hard and softwoods and less-abrasive sheet materials .
Tooth Form
The quality of cut or surface finish depends mainly on the tooth form and number of teeth around the blade circumference . Generally , the greater the number of teeth , the better the finish .
Variations in the tooth form are designed to suit different materials , specific operations or to produce the best compromise between cutting speed and quality of the surface finish .
Flat top form teeth are intended for cutting along the grain of the wood . The cutting edges of the teeth , being square to the blade axis , obviates any tendency to be deflected from the line of cut by the grain .
Autumn 1998
Alternate top bevel ( ATB ) teeth have the cutting edges on alternate teeth , bevelled at opposing angles . This tooth form produces a slicing cutting action across the wood fibres ( grain ), leaving a cleaner cut reducing break-out ( spelch ) and chipping along the cut edges .
Bore - precision reamed to suit saw spindle
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Expansion slot - allow for expansion due to frictional heat build up
Tungsten carbide tips - wear resistant
hard metal cutting edge
Triple chip ( TCP ) teeth or ( Alternate Trapezoidal ) have every other tooth ground flat with the corners of intermediate teeth ground at 45 degrees . These intermediate teeth are also left a fraction higher than the flat tooth . This tooth form is ideal for cutting plastics and non-ferrous metals such as aluminium .
Steel plate - the main body of the sawblade
Gullet - collects and ejects wood chips
Back support - supports the cutting edge
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Cooling slots - found on ripping blades prevent excessive heat build up
Fitting sawblades :
Check that the spindle flanges or collars are in good condition and clean . Ensure that the blade is the correct type for the job and material and ensure it is the correct size for the machine . Check the direction of rotation of both blade and spindle before fitting . Ensure that the flanges are fitted correctly before tightening the lock nut or bolt , taking care not to cross thread it . If bushing washers are to be used to adjust the bore diameter , check that the flange diameter is greater than the sawblade bore diameter in order that the flanges clamp on the saw plate and not the bushing washer .
Anti-kick back - found on ripping sawblades . The design reduces the amount of bite per tooth and possible kickback
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