Which Slotting Saw?

Peter Atwood

Peter Atwood

Joined
Oct 26, 2000
Messages
2,468
I'm thinking of getting a slotting or jeweler's saw for lock cutting. I want to get away from those darned reinforced Dremel fiber discs that are so expensive and I want to start using my drill press for this task. I'm cutting 1/8 inch titanium so it takes me several discs to get through the whole lock. I figure a real saw will last me a lot longer and will be cheaper in the long run.

My question is: What kind of saw to get? HSS? Carbide?

How many teeth? 24? 32? 100?

What diameter? 2inches? 3?

Any tips on these would be much appreciated! :)
 
Ditto here too...I got some approx 1" disc saws from a jeweller's supply place and they were crap...any hints as to where to get what much appreciated, thanks.
 
I got a few from Reese Weilands site...they work great:
http://rwcustomknives.com/custom_kraft_home.htm

He only got one size and that worked good for me....I had a special fixture made for them instead of buying a arbor...but he has those too.. Size is 3", 132 tooth and you find it under folderparts..it´s 6.40$

I have used it in my drillpress with very slow feeding and it is so much nicer than cutofwheel in dremmel. I usde a compoundvise or crossslide vise or what ever it is called...
 
Now I know what to do, I have been using those sill dremel cut off wheels too ! Thanks.....RDT
 
Thanks for starting this thread Peter! Thanks for the link Jens! I'm about to cut the lock tab on a batch of folders and need a good slitting saw.
 
Anywhere else? I see Sheff's have a slotting saw for guards but that ain't the same thing...
 
Everyone should have an MSC catalog!! They have EVERY size slitting saw AND arbors known to man :D I use a carbide one but they are fragile.

Reese sells good ones also.

I made an aluminum arbor for mine using my bench lathe. I also made an aluminim fixture to stand the frame up so I could cut the short slot also using the saw and arbor. One good HSS saw blade will last a LONG time if you use good cutting fluid like Cool ToolII. If you get it just right and mill in from both sides you can complete both cuts and NOT have to use the Dremmel to finish up the slots !!

Neil
 
LOL Neil, I've GOT the MSC catalog, I just didn't know what I was looking at with all those choices! :) Thanks for the info, it was exactly what I needed to know. I think I'll give the HSS a shot and thank you Jens for posting the link.

Is there a pic of your slab holding jig anywhere Neil? Is it adjustable at all?
 
Peter,

Now that I'm the EXPERT on folders............LOL:barf:

I think, I'm going to make a fixture for each model, that sits in my milling machine vise, in aluminum, that will hold the frame at the right angle for the long slot. Using the pivot hole and a rear spacer hole to hold it. I'll probably make a single fixture for doing all the short slots that will reference off the long slot keeping them at 90 degrees. I'll use an adjustable parallel to set the pivot pin on to keep all of them the same once the cutter height is set.

I'll take some pictures as this all comes together, as I go things may change some. I plan to do a lot with fixturing and small runs with the folders. My goal is to be able to make a group of frames and then a group of blades and have a minimal amount of hand fitting as possible. I've done this with dies for years, I'm counting on it working with folders :)

Neil
 
Neil, Sounds like you are way ahead of the average folder maker just starting out. Your approach seems like it will work very well. One thing though that I was wondering, you mentioned that you would use the long leg as a reference and make the short leg 90 degrees from that. Makes perfect sense from a visual and functional standpoint. But, what about the angled face of the short leg? I'm finding that my lockup is much improved if I cut or grind that lockface at a similar angle to my tang. How will you accomplish that? Please do post some pics when you get your fixtures worked out! :)
 
Peter,

For me, the fixturing reduces layout time. If I make a run of say, 6 knives, I will only have to lay out one of them. With the frame hole fixtures, little or no layout will be required. Different versions may have some extra holes added for overlays or designs, etc. but all important holes will come off the fixture. All the fixturing I make is in aluminum so it's easy to machine. I don't actually drill through them, I just transfer punch with a sharpened dowel pin. The aluminum is also plenty strong for the slot milling fixtures.

I leave the front of the lock bar perfectly straight and only bevel the blade. The lock bar face will be at an angle as it moves to engage the blade anyway. Most of the knives that I find lock up the best, like my Sebenza are done in this fashion. I would rather only have one area for adjustment too!! I guess it's a matter of opinion.

I used a piece of Ti that I ground slightly thinner than my slitting blade to index into the long slot on my fixture. It puts the short slot right at 90 degrees automatically. The only problem is that I didn't make the first fixture big enough for clamp screws so in the next few days I'll make a larger one, using the same piece of Ti. salvaged from the small one!! I want my "short slot" fixture to fit all the size knives I might make :)

Neil
 
Hmmm. I'm going to have to take apart my Sebenza and measure the angle on the tang. When I make my lock bar face at 90 degrees and the tang at 7.5 degrees the lock only contacts the tang on one side adn I don't get a secure lockup. It tends to want to disengage when pressure is applied and it certainly wouldn't pass the spine whack test. After angling the lockup was much improved.

This can only mean that the Sebenza tang is not anywhere near 7 degrees. I will measure and find out. I'm thinking that these framelocks are different than standard .050 frame liner locks....
 
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