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SAW BLADE MATERIALS

Blade life in friction and hot sawing is more dependent on correct tooth design, proper coolant application and good regrinding/reconditioning practices rather than saw blade material. To maximize the number of regrinds, and therefore the total life of a blade, it is necessary to minimize or eliminate cracking (see Troubleshooting). The use of quenched and tempered, through-hardened chrome nickel alloy steel is the best material available today for friction and hot saw blades. This material provides a good balance between wear resistance and crack resistance. Cracking from the gullets is a fatigue mechanism and can lead to catastrophic failures. Thus, cracking is a concern from both operational and safety standpoints. Alloy saw blades are more resistant to cracking than traditional flame hardened materials.

As a result, ASKO Hunter solid alloy steel saw blades, through-hardened and tempered, are a much safer product to use. Operating a saw blade at 25,000 sfpm (7,620 smpm) is equal to 285 miles (460 kph) per hour. At these speeds, catastrophic failure can cause serious accidents and equipment damage. Hardnesses of 30 to 35 HRC are typical for hot saws and 35 to 45 HRC for friction. Above 45 HRC, cracking is a major problem.

Carbon steel blades are less expensive, but it is necessary to re-flameharden after each regrind or resharpening of the saw blade. The saw blade may be more resistant to tooth wear due to the higher hardness of the tooth tip after proper flame hardening, but if the heat affected area reaches the gullet, cracking may be a problem. Proper re-flame hardening is very difficult to control and requires the right equipment and application know-how to prevent this problem and give consistent performance.

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