Thread: Metal cutting blade for Kapex 120

Bryan, that Mustang blade is designed to cut NON-ferrous metal - well at least that is what it says on the box.
Bryn - these are available for much cheaper than the price of a cut off saw but my understanding is you want to be able to cut mild steel?.
While the Mustang might cut thin mild steel, sooner or later the teeth will come off and scatted around the shed like ricocheting bullets

Originally Posted by ozka

Makita make metal blades. Available in all sizes from 160 -305mm. All available in the local home hardware store.

I was under the impression that these should only be used in a cold saw. A slow speed with cutting fluid.

These are a different blade, if you are talking about the cold saw blade.

The Kapex has variable speed, so i can drop it down to its lowest setting with a blade as Bryan had found.

I've used these types of blades to cut compressed fibro with my TS55, and dam did it make it easy, its just that the one i have for compressed sheeting is a smaller blade.

Originally Posted by BobL

Bryan, that Mustang blade is designed to cut NON-ferrous metal - well at least that is what it says on the box.
Bryn - these are available for much cheaper than the price of a cut off saw but my understanding is you want to be able to cut mild steel?.
While the Mustang might cut thin mild steel, sooner or later the teeth will come off and scatted around the shed like ricocheting bullets

hey bob,

It's fine for mild steel, not the ideal tool or blade, but it'll do the job, its only to cut 2mm steel for fitting out my new workshop, then the blade will sit in its box.

i wear my welding helmet in the weld setting when cutting or grinding with leather aprons, so i should be right if a tooth does let go.

https://www.gettoolsdirect.com.au/fl...254050030.html

I see it also says cuts mild steel so you should be OK.

A mate of mine has a similar blade and he has safely cut quite a lot of mild steel with it.

Safety wise a full wrap around full face shield like an Armadillo would be better than a welding helmet.

bob i have one of these helmets, Weldclass Promax 500 Electronic Welding Helmet | Weldclass Australia

it covers pretty much everything, head/face wise, plus i wear face fitted safety googles that go over my my glasses as well under the helmet.

i only have one face, i'd like to keep it in one piece

I have a Flai Mustang blade, it's ok for nail embedded wood but I wouldn't recommend it for cutting ferrous metals. Austsaw and others sell rotary hacksaw blades for chop saws, and these are a much better option and half the price of the Flai. But you'll need to watch the rpm, a 10" blade should be run at no more than 1800-2000rpm.

"A tip I picked up recently for getting the lowest amount of heat buildup with cutoff saws is to go really hard, to the point of nearly stalling. I was shown this on a machining course for cutting 50*8mm HSS knife steel and there was no blueing at all, you could just about touch the cut surface straight off the blade.I know some people get a bit precious with how they use tools and machinery, but I firmly believe in making the tools work like they were built for."

Had a customer kill a cutoff saw in 20 min by doing this. Killed his replacement within 2 hours by doing the same. NOT covered by warranty as a usage issue instead of a manufacturing fault.

As a long term retailer and wholesaler of power tools, I see many otherwise good tools die a premature death by being asked to do something they were not designed to. A bit like pulling a stump out with a Ferrari.

After all that, i've been given access to a metal bandsaw.

cheers

True, but that's where current in the motor windings is at a peak which isn't normally a good thing