At 05:56 PM 12/9/02 -0500,
JanRwl@... wrote:
>I have another question for this group, while I'm "here": I "rough-cut" FR-4
>on a bandsaw, using 14-TPI "woodworking" blades. If fresh, a cut of just 1"
>through that will "total" a blade for woodworking. I do this actually too
>infrequently to warrant looking at carbide- or "bimetal" blade-stock.
>HOWEVER, it is a royal pain in the gluteæ to hafta change blades! Does
>anyone have a suggestion for BETTER rough-cutting FR-4 ("glass") stock?
Before we got a shear, we used a radial arm saw with a carbide tipped blade
(still do for ripping 4' x 3' sheet stock down to a size that the shear is
happy with). Before that, it was a strictly manual process using an Olfa
'P Cutter'. This is a cutter shaped something like a lino knife, except
with a smaller blade that is replaceable. The blade can also be
re-sharpened many times.
In use, just use a metal straight edge as a guide and pull the knife along
several times. The blade material is tough enough to score glass epoxy PCB
material with no problem. I recall that I'd take 4 or 5 heavy passes
before snapping the boards apart.
One advantage is that it generates only a little dust.
dwayne
--
Dwayne Reid <
dwayner@...>
Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd Edmonton, AB, CANADA
(780) 489-3199 voice (780) 487-6397 fax
Celebrating 18 years of Engineering Innovation (1984 - 2002)
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