Grade of Saw?

[WealdenWoodsman]

Hello all,

I was hoping someone could please recommend the grade of saws best suited for cutting though 2.5mm silver sheet and 5mm silver wire.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated!

Kindest regards,
Cameron

[-Sally-]

Hi Cameron
The recommendation is to use a piercing saw blade fine enough to have at least 3 teeth spanning the thickness of silver you're cutting.
You can buy piercing saw blades in grades from 8/0 - the finest to 8 the coarsest. In theory even the coarsest 8 blade has at least three teeth in a 2.5mm span - but I personally never use an 8, for me it's just way too coarse - especially if I were piercing a design as opposed to just sawing straight lines.
I cut out 2.5mm copper belt buckles using a 5 - it does take me a long time though - perhaps I should get something coarser!
Sally

[Dennis]

The correct answern is that three teeth should engage at any one time when used vertically, but regardless, grade 1or2 will do a good job on thick sheet and wire.

Remember to grease frequently with beeswax, or candle grease, by running it along the back of the blade. Tipping the saw slightly forward and then righting again, seems to speed it up for sheet.

Dont skimp on quality of blade: Vallorbe (Cookson), or Bergeon (Walsh) are fvourites. Dennis.

I notice that I have cross posted with Sally and that she used far larger blades. I have never used larger than 2 on thicker metal, but that's the beauty of the forum- diversity. Dennis.

[china]

Size Thickness Blade Depth(inches/mm)
Teeth Per
8/0 .006″ / 0.15mm .013″ / 0.33mm 84 Per Inch / 33 Per cm
7/0 .007″ / 0.18mm .014″ / 0.36mm 84 Per Inch / 33 Per cm
6/0 .007″ / 0.18mm .014″ / 0.36mm 76 Per Inch / 30 Per cm
5/0 .008″ / 0.20mm .016″ / 0.41mm 66 Per Inch / 26 Per cm
4/0 .009″ / 0.23mm .017″ / 0.43mm 64 Per Inch / 25 Per cm
3/0 .010″ / 0.25mm .019″ / 0.48mm 57 Per Inch / 22 Per cm
2/0 .010″ / 0.25mm .021″ / 0.53mm 53 Per Inch / 21 Per cm
1/0 .011″ / 0.28mm .023″ / 0.58mm 51 Per Inch / 20 Per cm
1 .012″ / 0.30mm .025″ / 0.64mm 47 Per Inch / 19 Per cm
2 .013″ / 0.33mm .027″ / 0.69mm 44 Per Inch / 17 Per cm
3 .014″ / 0.36mm .029″ / 0.74mm 40 Per Inch / 16 Per cm
4 .015″ / 0.38mm .031″ / 0.79mm 37 Per Inch / 15 Per cm
5 .016″ / 0.41mm .033″ / 0.84mm 35 Per Inch / 14 Per cm
6 .017″ / 0.43mm .037″ / 0.94mm 33 Per Inch / 13 Per cm
8 .020″ / 0.51mm .045″ / 1.14mm 28 Per Inch / 11 Per cm
10 .024″ / 0.61mm .053″ / 1.35mm 24 Per Inch / 10 Per cm
12 .024″ / 0.61mm .065″ / 1.65mm 20 Per Inch / 8 Per cm
14 .024″ / 0.61mm .067″ / 1.70mm 16 Per Inch / 6 Per cm

[Maria]

That's the beauty of the forum, I never knew rule of thumb was 3 teeth engage at any one time . I have a selection of saw blades and just used what felt right / easiest. Although not my question Thankyou all for that knowledge .

[-Sally-]

To be honest Maria - so do I!
I knocked my organised blade holder on the floor - so now they are all just mixed up in a tub - I pick one out and if I figure it doesn't look right for the job, I try again - wouldn't have a clue what grade it was.
I know my coarest were 5s and the majority of the rest are 7/0 - 5/0. I like them thin.
Sally

[Goldsmith]

Here is my input, I have been piercing for over 56 years and have rarely use blades larger than size 1/0. I know there are difficulties sometimes cutting through thick sheets but you can cut 2.5mm. thick silver using blades from 4/0 upwards, it just takes longer with fine blades and you will have more breakages. It really depends what shapes you are piercing, if it is just long straight lines then the thick blades work well, but if I was cutting say a monogram from 2.5mm. sheet I would use size 0 blades. I use Vallorbe blades all of the time.

These are the ones I would use for 2.5mm.sheet detail piercing, they will also be OK for cutting 5mm. wire.



James

[china]

That is interesting James, I posted the chart, although I don't use many different sizes either, and I seem to mange Ok, probably because i can't be bothered changing the blade every time pick up the saw rather
than experience

[CJ57]

I've always used fine ones but I'm afraid I no longer know what they are. I find the friction of a coarse blades uncomfortable and a fine one always gives me a cleaner cut and I just have to be careful not to go too fast and get more breakages. I think it was Dennis who suggested having t lights to hand and as I used to buy hundreds of the damn things at Ikea they've proved to be really useful!

[Dennis]

I think it is worth mentioning here that if you are cutting the wire using a tube cutting jig and it is one with a slot, you will be limited to about 2/0 maximum.