Blade and Sawing
Terminology
Beam Strength is the result of a combination of a blades
hardness, thickness and width. A wider blade provides greater Beam Strength which usually
produces straighter and smoother cuts. However, never use a blade wider than that
specified by the saw builder.
Cutting Edge is the toothed edge of the blade from the
points of the teeth to the base of the gullets. The rest of the blade is considered the
back.
Gullet is the valley from the tip of one tooth to the tip
of the next tooth. It is designed to carry the chip from the kerf.
Kerf is the cut in the material being sawed. The width of
the kerf is determined by the thickness of the blade plus the set of the teeth.
Set that is given saw blades is actually the tilt or angle
given to the teeth of the blade which provides clearance in the cut. The overall set to
right and left is another factor in determining the width of the kerf.
Tooth Pitch is always measured in the number of teeth per
inch---from tip of tooth to tip of tooth. Variable Tooth blades are indicated by two
numbers since the tooth pitch and the gullet depth varies.
Tooth Types are determined by tooth shape. Examples are
Regular, Hook, Skip, and Variable Tooth. Tooth types are designed to do different kinds of
sawing. It is essential to match the blade to the job. |