Arrow Saw Warning

dvd8n

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I was using my arrow saw to trim a little off my arrows when suddenly there was a huge bang. The cutting wheel had disintegrated showering my face with fragments.



I wasn't hurt but I dread to think what would have happened if I hadn't been wearing my goggles.

I don't know if I'd put some sideways pressure on the wheel, or I did something else wrong, or the wheel's time had just come.

Anyway, I thought a warning wouldn't go amiss. Wear your eye protection.
 

geoffretired

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Glad to hear you escaped injury.
Should there be an eye guard around the cutting disc area? Like the ones round pillar drill machines.
I am not saying that maybe you removed it; rather that the machine didn't have one in the first place.
The little machine I have which is based around a dremel with some fittings I added, sometimes breaks discs. BUT the diameter is about 1" and the spin off is almost nill. The bits fall rather than fly. Would it be possible to use smaller discs on your machine?
 

dvd8n

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As far as I know it never had a shield on it.

As for the discs, they are probably a standard fitment but if I found a smaller one to fit it wouldn't protrude far enough to cut arrows.

I did not get the saw new and in retrospect I probably should have binned the disk and fitted a new one as soon as I got it as I don't know how it had been treated in the past and I don't know how old the wheel was. People often don't realise that cutting disks can have a limited life as some glues can deteriorate, especially if they have been stored wrong.
 

dvd8n

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Another factoid - it's a good idea to run a new grinding wheel for a few minutes before using it in case it has a manufacuring defect or storage damage. If the disk has a fault it'll probably go bang in the first minute or two and it's better if it happens when you're not standing in front of it.
 

Rekib

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have had this happen a number of times on the one we have with the discs supplied. Usually on the first cut after not being used for a while. Ended up getting slightly thicker cutting discs and always "test" with an old arrow first.
 

geoffretired

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As for the discs, they are probably a standard fitment but if I found a smaller one to fit it wouldn't protrude far enough to cut arrows.
I can't see much of the arrow support section; but how difficult would it be to raise the arrow closer to the disc so 1" cutters could be used?
 

dvd8n

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The issue is that the motor housing would be in the way. I think I'll do what Rekib suggested and look for a thicker disk.
 

geoffretired

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WOOOOo polycarbonate. That is good stuff. Can that be bent with a bit of heat?
I have some bigger cutters for my Dremel, just remembered them. They have a different make up from the brittle ones; they seem to be made with a strong mesh or weave in the mix. Perhaps similar things are available in the size you need.
 

Rekib

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Sorry, I don't know other than a club member managed to find some online and get them sent over from the USA
 

Andy!

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After having heaps of the thin disks break in the club arrow saw, one of the guys went and got a regular metal cut off thin blade at the local hardware shop. It was way too big to fit, so we elected to wear it down somewhat. Eventually, we discovered that a besser block got it hot enough to wear it down pretty quickly, which makes sense when you consider that there are steel and masonry disks for a reason.
I didn't bother to look too closely as to why disks were breaking, but I noticed that the vacuum was plugged directly into the end of the saw cover.
What happens is that this makes the cut off arrow shaft get sucked into the guard which then breaks the disks.
 

little-else

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there are 3 common types of blade that you gan get, aluminium oxide with a resin bond, aluminium oxide with a rubber bond and silicon carbide with a resin bond. They are all prone to this sort of shattering, the rubber ones being slightly more forgiving but wear out quicker. The flanges holding the blade should be as large as possible and only grip on the outer edge, not across their entire diameter. The other alternative is to buy a diamond coated blade, these can be cheap electrobonded on to steel or go for the ones that are sintered rim which have a bigger kerf. They like being cooled with water or other fluid, if you are worried about your electrics paraffin is brilliant for cooling when cutting aluminium as it eliminates the binding and snatching but you can use a light vegetable oil or clock oil or evebn a dash of WD40.
 
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