COVER STORY
On the cutting edge
for more than 80 years
Since 1934, Harris Sawing Equipment (HSE) has manufactured a variety
of saws for various applications including saw milling. Today – more
than eight decades later – this family-owned business is one of the
leading saw manufacturers in South Africa.
By Dineo Phoshoko | All photos by Harris Sawing Equipment
I
n March 2019, HSE introduced its new line of Trucut saw
blades, specifically targeting the furniture industry.
“The blade is a high-quality blade manufactured from
imported steel from Germany,” explains Michael Harris,
director at HSE. The combination of high-quality raw materials
together with a high-quality manufacturing process, results in a
blade that can compete with other blades internationally. The
HSE blade’s affordability offers a competitive advantage when
compared to international blades.
Initial testing and phasing of the blades was conducted in
2018 and they were launched to the market in March 2019.
Although the blades have only been available for a couple of
months, they have been well-received by the market. “Initial
sales are going well and everyone who’s purchased our blades
are really happy with their performance,” says Harris.
The raw materials (carbide tips and steel sheets) to
manufacture the blades are not available locally so they are
imported, and the actual manufacturing of the blades is carried
out in South Africa. “We do the laser cutting of the bodies, heat
treatment, straightening, tensioning, surface grinding, tipping
[and] sharpening – all of that is all done here,” explains Harris.
There are various factors that make HSE’s Trucut blades
appealing to the timber industry. Harris explains that the
maximum run out on the blades are a tenth of a millimetre. This
means that the straightness of the blade – when inserted into a
machine to cut – total variation from the centre of the blade to
the cutting surface of the tip is a tenth of a millimetre, which
exceeds all ISO standards. He adds that ISO standards on other
blades are between three tenths of a millimetre and eight
tenths of a millimetre.
Because of the high-quality carbide, the carbide is always
uniform, making it possible for repeatable cutting. It is highly
unlikely to find a blade that cuts well but is quick to get blunt,
and then the next blade does not cut well at all. As the carbide
is from Europe, the quality is high and consistent. “You can
purchase a blade that you know is going to cut straight and it’s
going to last the appropriate amount of time.”
The Trucut blades also ensure that the correct grade of
carbide for the required application is used, because cutting
raw timber or chipboard board requires the use of different
16 JUNE / JULY 2019 //
Automatic saw blade polishing.
Quenching of a saw blade during heat treatment.
grades of carbide. For example, chipboard is a lot more
abrasive because of the different types of glue and other
materials used with it. As such it requires a corrosion
resistant grade of carbide which ensures improved cutting
and a longer life span, leading to better results due to the
cutting quality.
MAINTENANCE AND LIFESPAN
As with any product, the lifespan is highly dependent on
the type of application and the way it is used. Harris
explains that it is difficult to estimate the lifespan of the
Trucut saw blades because of different factors. Some of
the factors to consider include how much is being cut; the
number of times the machine is being used each day; what
is being cut and the lengths at which it’s being cut. “It’s
much easier on a continuous line, for example on the
trimming ends of chipboard when it’s manufactured.
www.timberiq.co.za