Which slitting saw for a small hobby bench mill ?

[Ian S C]

I made my saw arbor 5/8" diameter on the shank, and thraded the end twenty tpi to fit in my milling chuck.
Ian S C

[Chipswitheverything]

Just a bit of nonsense related to the topic.   When I was a young model engineer and a student, back in 'seventy something, I bought my then one and only slitting saw , 3" dia, 1/32" thick, the one in the photo with the red tag.  It cost a lot, as everything then seemed to, but as a penurious student I chose well, the teeth are well gulleted, and the saw has been useful.   Then later on, when I bought one of my s/h milling machines, in the tray, for free, was a box with a few more in it...!!   ( There were more, I gave some away...)   Dave

[Mosey]

Slltting saws, or slotting saws? There is a difference is there not? Does the difference relate to the depth, width, side relief, and speed of the cut, and how they are held in the holder?
Mosey

[Vixen]

You don't have to be limited to a single slitting saw. I mounted seven 35 thou slitting saws with 26 thou spacer washers onto an arbor when I cut the cylinder head fins for my Bristol Mercury radial engines. I cut the circular fins on the cylinder heads with a vertical mill and rotary table, the top of the cylinder head were done with a horizontal spindle in the machine vice.

It looks scary, but it is easily done. The best advice is to be confident and plunge to full depth then rotate or feed steadily. That way, you are cutting into solid metal and leaving the delicate fins behind you. My deepest cut with five saws was 3/4" (19mm) on the centre line of the cylinder head.

Clearing the chips is essential, so the wider the tooth spacing (fewer teeth) the better. You will need a deluge of coolant to wash away the chips, a dribble of coolant just makes grinding paste.











Hope this helps

Mike

[DTR]

That's brilliant, gang milling in the extreme!

[Chipswitheverything]

Hugely impressive, Mike, and without doubt a brave piece of machining, very much so when one considers how much previous work has gone into the components...!   Did you do some trial runs before "taking the plunge"?   Presumably you bought all the saws new as a batch together?  - mine all seem to be slightly different nominal diameters.    Dave

[Gas_mantle]

May thanks to everyone who replied and showed some of their impressive work 

Just one more question, I notice some set ups have keyways and others don't, does it make much difference for light hobby work ? Are the saws prone to digging in,  if so presumably a non keyed arrangement would be preferable ?

[Jo]

Don't use a key 

Jo

[jadge]

Just one more question, I notice some set ups have keyways and others don't, does it make much difference for light hobby work ? Are the saws prone to digging in,  if so presumably a non keyed arrangement would be preferable ?

There are those who do, and those who don't. If the saw has a keyway I use it. If you get the feeds and speeds right the saw isn't going to dig in.

Andrew

[simplyloco]

Don't use a key 

Jo

I agree. I use home made 'dustbin lid' washers as a friction drive.
John