Solving sawblade chipping issues

Photo By Leuco Tool Corp.

Below are some troubleshooting tips for carbide-tipped sawblades.

Problem: Chipping on one side of the top surface
Possible solutions:
1. The top grind must be centered on every tooth. If off centered, the saw will not track properly and deflection may occur.
2. Sawblade not cutting parallel to the material. The saw carriage may need alignment.
3. Sawblade not cutting parallel to the material. Check fence alignment.
4.  Sawblade may have lost its tension and/or is no longer flat.

Problem: Chipping on one side of the bottom surface.
Possible solutions:
1. Scoring alignment is not correct.
2. Sawblade not cutting parallel to the material. The saw carriage may need alignment.
3. Sawblade not cutting parallel to the material. Check fence alignment.
4. The top grind must be centered on every tooth. If off centered, the saw will not track properly and deflection may occur. 5. Scoring saws should be set up to cut about 0.004 inch wider than the main saw. 6. Scoring and main saws should be sharpened and run in matched sets. 7. Scoring saws should be run at a depth of no more than 2.0mm.

Problem: Chipping of the middle panels when cutting in stacks
Possible solutions:
1. Pressure beam / hold down may need adjustment.
2. Core may have been subject to moisture causing uneven swelling.
3. Many machines have throat plates that are elevated approximately 0.375mm above the cutting table. This helps in keeping the material stack from closing on the sawblade.

Problem: Chipping on both sides of the top surface
Possible solutions:
1. The sawblades projection should be no less than 12mm (1/2  inch) above the material's top surface. Experimenting with projection will influence the cut quality on both upper and lower surfaces.
2. Increasing projection will extend life while lowering cut quality. Many tooth shapes have a high/low configuration. This helps to spread out the cutting forces.
3. Replacement teeth must be ground to the same width as those remaining.
4.  Plane running accuracy of saw flange. Flange on motor side is of most importance. Should be less than 0.02mm (0.0008 inch) Can be measured with dial indicator referencing off of flanges outer lip. Values provided are the total indicated range.
5. Arbor should be vibration-free. Arbor flanges/saw collars should be a minimum of 1/3 of the blade's diameter.
6. Sawblade may have lost its tension and/or is no longer flat.
7. RPM may be higher than the blade was designed. Often a blade can be re-tensioned pending the RPM level.
8. Concentricity of the arbor shaft should be less than 0.02mm (0.0008 inch).

Problem: Chipping on both sides of the bottom surface
Possible solutions:
1. Scoring alignment is not correct.
2. Scoring saws should be set up to cut about .004” wider than the main saw.
3. Scoring and main saws should be sharpened and run in matched sets.
4. Replacement teeth must be ground to the same width as those remaining.
5. The sawblades projection should be no less than 12mm (1/2 inch) above the material's top surface. Experimenting with projection will influence the cut quality on both upper and lower surfaces. Increasing the projection will extend life while lowering cut quality.
6. Many tooth shapes have a high/low configuration. This helps to spread out the cutting forces.
7. Arbor flanges/saw collars should be a minimum of 1/3 of the blade's diameter.
8. Plane running accuracy of saw flange. Flange on motor side is of most importance. Should be less than 0.02mm (0.0008 inch). Can be measured with a dial indicator referencing off of the flanges outer lip.
9. Arbor should be vibration-free. 10. Scoring saws should be run at a depth of no more than 2.0mm.
11. Concentricity of the arbor shaft should be less than 0.02mm (0.0008 inch).
12. RPM may be higher than the blade was designed. Often a blade can be re-tensioned pending the RPM level.

Source: Leuco Tool Corp. For information call 800-631-0096 or visit Leuco.com.

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