compiled & edited by Bernard Martin

As more and more of our customers are using Martindale Gaylee Circular saws we put together this guide to the commonly asked questions such as "Is there a rule-of-thumb for the number of teeth?" or "How much side clearance should I have?" Here we cover a lot of the fundamentals of selecting the right circular saw blade configuration, some tips, tricks, and troubleshooting for when things go wrong. 

​These are general cutting speed recommendations for circular saws used in metalcutting from Martindale/Gaylee. The may vary from application to application but are basically some general suggestions starting parameters when using high speed or carbide saws. 

• HSS Saws: .002”-.006”  (IPT-inch. per tooth / CLPT-chip load per tooth)
• Carbide Saws: .0002”-.0015”  (IPT -inch. per tooth / CLPT - chip load per tooth)

This is a conservative recommendation as a starting point for feed rates, and may vary depending on material being cut and cutting speed (SFPM).

Generally speaking, deep cuts and soft material require fewer teeth for chip clearance and stronger teeth (landed).

Thin material requires more teeth, but keep-in-mind that at least 2 teeth on the blade need to be engaged in cut. Hard materials and narrow slots (under .025”) likewise require more teeth.

Hard Materials require more teeth, and  give a smoother cut,  but at a much lower production rate.  ​

Alternately beveled teeth keep chips from sticking in the cut and in the tooth gullets.

And Remember that there should be at least 2 teeth engaged in the cut at all times.

RAKE ANGLES
​Just as in an end mill or a band saw blade, a rake angle is the term used to describe the direction of the blade’s teeth, as referenced from the rotation and central axis of a saw blade. If you imagine a line going from the exact center of the blade to each tooth, having the front of the tooth directly on that line would be a zero degree rake angle. The rake angle of the blade is described in comparison to that imaginary line.

A positive rake angle meana that the teeth are angled more towards the angle of rotation, while a negative rake angle would mean that they are angled backwards, away from the direction of rotation. Generally speaking, the preferred rake angle is:

• 5° to 10° positive for other soft materials.
• 5° negative for yellow brass
• On center for steel.

SIDE CLEARANCE (Tangential Clearance Angle)
This is also known as dish or hollow grind.  You measure down the side of the tip and the difference it is the difference between front and back.  As you cut, material it gets compressed and springs back after the cutting edge passes.

​A steep side clearance angle gives plenty of room for the material to expand and prevents thermal expansion of the base material.  Keep in mint that a very flat side clearance angle can provide a smoother cut in some materials.  For stainless steel and tenacious metals such as copper, zinc, tin or lead an increase in the side clearance is desirable as these materials tend to "spring back" (thermal expansion) on the blade. 

Edited by Bernard Martin
​
Often times in a shop, a saw arbor is a saw arbor is a saw arbor.  That's just not the case and Martindale Gaylee offers several solutions.  They have variants to saw arbors to meet your specific needs whether it be in a CNC milling machine, a CNC Lathe, a manual mill or even a Swiss Style CNC machine. This includes:
​

1. ​TI-LOC® Saw Arbors with integrated ER taper
2. ​Gold Star Precision Series Saw Arbors
3. General Purpose Series Saw Arbors​
4. Custom Saw Arbors

Let's take a look at the differences below.
​

The Ti-Loc® SwissClamp System is a taper-integrated small tooling system is designed to work with virtually any collet or tool holder that employs the ER collet system (DIN6499).  The Ti-Loc directly mounts into ANY ER Taper Live or Static Tool Position.

The Ti-Loc® System works with any existing tool holder and most all ER collet clamping nuts. Simply insert the Ti-Loc holder into any ER nut and twist to align the locking cam profile jus was you would for any ER collet.

The Ti-Loc® SwissClamp System can be used in any machine that has ER collet live tooling. It comes standard with ER 11, ER16 and ER20 taper arbors that serve as their own collet, eliminating need for two-piece arbor system.

This single piece design adds rigidity of set-up and improves total indicated runout (TIR). In fact, it reduces tolerance “stacking” to an incredibly low TIR of less than 0.0002".  To top it off, it's less expensive & more cost effective than most comparable two-piece arbor systems.

A recommended maximum saw thickness is approximately 0.080”
​

Martindale Gaylee also offers a Gold Series reach arbor. These arbors are heat treated and ground to 0.0004” T.I.R. concentricity and squareness.

The Gold Series are engineered for use with carbide saws and where accuracy is a must. This VIBRA-CORE design, along with the deep low profile caps, gives extra support and less vibration.
​

Martindale Gaylee's general purpose slitting/slotting saw arbors are all ardened all over (58/60 Rc) for added toughness on cutter locating surfaces and shanks.

The General Purpose Series Saw Arbors shanks ground to within 0.001" T.I.R. of cutter location diameter. They have an extra long, strong body with a protective black oxide finish. The super low profile on caps allows the cutter to reach areas inaccessible with conventional arbors. 

Stout plug: extra support, less vibration sum up the benefits of this style.  Oh, and Weldon style shanks are readily available. ​

Can be made extra-long for reach beyond or inside part features

• Accommodates multiple cutters for straddle or profile
• Different outside diameter cutters on the arbor
• ID grooving operations
• ​Made with or without keyways