Best Vintage: Sandblast Your Way Into New Skills

As a new business owner, it is important you understand how every piece of equipment in your manufacturing plant works. By understanding what your equipment does, and how to maintain and use it properly, you can extend the lifespan of the tools being used.

Diamonds are known for their strength, which is why they are a top choice for industrial circular saw blades. But, poor maintenance or use choices means you will be buying more blades than necessary. These tips are to help you understand whether any changes need to be made to your maintenance regime. They also assist in identifying operator errors that may be causing excess blade wear.

New Blade Placement

When a new diamond blade is put into your circular saw, are your maintenance crew inspecting the machine thoroughly before the blade is inserted? If the saw is not properly aligned, any extra vibration causes the blade to cut incorrectly and this wears down the teeth faster than necessary. Before you place or use a new blade, ensure:

• the saw is sitting completely level on a platform so no vibration occurs during operation.
• the saw belts are properly tensioned so they do not slip during saw use. Slipping belts mean the blade does not uniformly rotate and this leads to imperfections during cutting.
• there is no movement in the arbor shaft. The arbor shaft attaches to the diamond blade and controls the movement of the blade. If the bearings in the arbor shaft are worn, it is difficult to perfectly align the blade to where the cut is to be made.

A full check of the circular saw before new blade attachment will prolong the blade life.

Lubrication

Lubrication makes sure the diamond blade is always turning smoothly and freely, and the choice of lubricant used is as important as the choice of blade. An overheating blade damages both the item being cut and the blade itself. Lubrication also makes sure the cutting edge is kept clean so particles don't stick to the blade and cause cutting deformities.

Lubrication needs to be applied to the saw blade daily. When choosing a lubricant for a saw that is using water as a coolant, make sure the lubricant contains a rust inhibitor so rust does not begin on either the blade or the saw.

For a dry cutting saw, use a water-based light cutting oil. A water-based oil makes for easier cleaning when doing a full maintenance strip down and rebuild of the saw.

Operator Skills

Once the machine has been checked and lubricated and the new blade is in place, the saw is ready for use. This is where the skill of the operator plays a part in the lifespan of the blade. For example:

• Medium pressure must be applied by the operator while the blade cuts through the material. If the operator is heavy-handed and pushes down on the blade it does not increase the cutting speed. Instead, it overloads the blade, which leads to overheating and a bad cut.
• Running the blade in reverse for a short period of time regularly ensures even wear on the tips of the blade. This keeps the cut sharp and crisp as it exposes more diamond on the blade tips.
• When the blade cut gets dull, a skilled operator must recognize the change in the cutting pattern and put the blade through a soft, abrasive material to resharpen the tips.

These are just a small number of examples of what your operator must know about using diamond blades. If their skills need improvement, proper training should be given to all operators to improve their skill set.

The more thought you put into maintenance and use of the diamond circular saw blades, the longer they will keep working well for you. Also, the fewer blades you have to buy, the more it impacts your bottom line. Getting to know your machinery well from the first day you own it is the only way to be truly profitable company in the long run. For more information, consult companies like Crozier Diamond Tools Aust Pty Ltd .