Homebrew PCBs

I have searched the archives and have not been able to determine a 
consensus view of the following alternatives:

Large metal hand shear
Paper cutter
Metal brake shear
Band Saw, fine blade
Lapidary Band Saw, wet diamond blade
Lapidary Table Saw, 6in wet/thin diamond blade
Table Saw, carbide blade
Tile cutter, wet carbide blade
Tile cutter, wet diamond blade

Is there any tool that works well?

Dick

I have had great success with a small 4" table saw with a carbide blade.  it
also came with a lapidary diamond blade, which disintegrated within a few
inches of cutting (it was run dry, just as a test, as the table saw isn't
set up for wet)

the carbide toothed blade is a bit loud, and it does of course leave a
relatively wide kerf compared to the small boards I am usually cutting, but
it cuts the PCB like butter and hasn't shown any signs of dulling after a
handful of boards.

-Evan

On 3/16/06, patt896 <d.patten@...> wrote:
>
> I have searched the archives and have not been able to determine a
> consensus view of the following alternatives:
>
> Large metal hand shear
> Paper cutter
> Metal brake shear
> Band Saw, fine blade
> Lapidary Band Saw, wet diamond blade
> Lapidary Table Saw, 6in wet/thin diamond blade
> Table Saw, carbide blade
> Tile cutter, wet carbide blade
> Tile cutter, wet diamond blade
>
> Is there any tool that works well?
>
> Dick
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Be sure to visit the group home and check for new Links, Files, and
> Photos:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs
>
> If Files or Photos are running short of space, post them here:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs_Archives/
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

On Thu, 16 Mar 2006 23:45:11 +0100, patt896 <d.patten@...> wrote:

> Large metal hand shear
>
> Paper cutter
>
> Metal brake shear
>
> Band Saw, fine blade
>
> Lapidary Band Saw, wet diamond blade
>
> Lapidary Table Saw, 6in wet/thin diamond blade
>
> Table Saw, carbide blade
>
> Tile cutter, wet carbide blade
>
> Tile cutter, wet diamond blade
>
>



> Is there any tool that works well?

I thought you had already identified one or two just above? ;-)

They'll all work OK.
It is mainly a question of what you need in terms of cut quality and what  
you can endure in terms of cost, noise, mess, dust, ...

I personally use a lever shear similar to this one:
<http://www.westwaymachinery.com/wnewimages/Sampson/LE-5SSlittingShear.JPG>

It is cheaper than a brake shear, and better than a handheld shear, and i  
had one already that only needed some attention to restore. The blade is  
even long enough to cut most of my PCBs in one go. The cut is the same as  
with any type shear, not totally smooth, but not too bad. I usually use a  
very coarse file, almost a rasp, to remove ends of glass fiber that might  
stick out. If you use such a shear you want to align the blades with shims  
so they pass without a gap between them for the cleanest cut.

I also tried a small table saw with a carbide blade (80 or 100mm diameter,  
many teeth, full carbide not only carbide tipped and much finer teeth than  
those wood blades typically are). It made a VERY good smooth cut, almost  
polished. But i would need to make a new shaft for this saw, and it is  
noisy and dusty compared to the shear.

I would not even consider any saw that does not have carbide or diamond  
blades, it will just dull too quickly. Shears do not seem to be badly  
affected. If you don't need perfect edges they appear to be the best  
choice.

ST

Most if not all will work well. It largely depends on how much cutting you
are going to do.
1/16 is a little think, but should still be quite manageable with a shear.
That's my preference. Quick, inexpensive and clean (fiberglass is very
annoying, so I strongly dislike any cutting methods that produce that dust,
and even drill boards with a vacuum cleaner running)

On 3/16/06, patt896 <d.patten@...> wrote:
>
>  I have searched the archives and have not been able to determine a
> consensus view of the following alternatives:
>
> Large metal hand shear
> Paper cutter
> Metal brake shear
> Band Saw, fine blade
> Lapidary Band Saw, wet diamond blade
> Lapidary Table Saw, 6in wet/thin diamond blade
> Table Saw, carbide blade
> Tile cutter, wet carbide blade
> Tile cutter, wet diamond blade
>
> Is there any tool that works well?
>
> Dick
>
>
>
>
>
>
>  Be sure to visit the group home and check for new Links, Files, and
> Photos:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs
>
> If Files or Photos are running short of space, post them here:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs_Archives/
>
>
>
>  SPONSORED LINKS
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--
Vlad's shop
http://www.krupin.net/serendipity/index.php?/categories/2-metalworking


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

patt896 wrote:

>Is there any tool that works well?
>
>  
>
  You've left out dremel tool cut off wheels, and the rotary PCB routers 
that are used for cutouts.  Both can do quite decently for small 
quantities.  Needs a mechanical system to move the board vs the bit for 
best results, drawer rails etc work well and are cheap..  Get some clear 
bags from Compusa and put your boards and the bits inside the bag, and 
everything is contained, it is very nice to not have to spend time 
cleaning up dust.  I'd take it over having to deal with what a saw would 
put out any day..

Alan

Straight cutting tin snips work well for small quantities of PCB. They
are cheap and readily available.

Grant

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?prod_id=165059&BV_SessionID=@@@@1270674738.1142711338@@@@&BV_EngineID=cchladdhfjkjgmgcgelceffdfgidgio.0&aid=10368321&pid=1319015&cj=1

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "patt896" <d.patten@...> wrote:

>
> I have searched the archives and have not been able to determine a 
> consensus view of the following alternatives:
> 
> Large metal hand shear
> Paper cutter
> Metal brake shear
> Band Saw, fine blade
> Lapidary Band Saw, wet diamond blade
> Lapidary Table Saw, 6in wet/thin diamond blade
> Table Saw, carbide blade
> Tile cutter, wet carbide blade
> Tile cutter, wet diamond blade
> 
> Is there any tool that works well?
> 
> Dick
>

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "patt896" <d.patten@...> wrote:
>
> I have searched the archives and have not been able to determine a 
> consensus view of the following alternatives:
> 
> Large metal hand shear
> Paper cutter
> Metal brake shear
> Band Saw, fine blade
> Lapidary Band Saw, wet diamond blade
> Lapidary Table Saw, 6in wet/thin diamond blade
> Table Saw, carbide blade
> Tile cutter, wet carbide blade
> Tile cutter, wet diamond blade
> 
> Is there any tool that works well?

It may not be the only cutting tool you need, but you should
definitely get a scoring knife:
http://www.stanleytools.com/default.asp?CATEGORY=FIXED+BLADE&TYPE=PRODUCT&PARTNUMBER=10-519&SDesc=5%2D1%2F2%26%2334%3B+Fixed+Blade+Scoring++Knife

There are some even better ones out there with carbide cutters that
last a long time.
http://www.btisupply.com/detail.aspx?ID=1492

Lay a straight edge along the line, pull a few strokes and the board
will snap in two with very little mess.  Then I generally slide the
edge across a sheet of silicon carbide paper to remove the glass
fibers that mey be hanging out of the break.  Almost zero kerf  and
dust.

Hi Dick,

I use this shear from Harbor Freight.  
<http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?
Itemnumber=90757>  It works great on material up to 1/16 thick and 8 
inches wide; I've used it on FR4 and CEM1.

Prior to getting the shear, I tried power mitre saw, jig saw, hack 
saw, utility knife, Sears handi cutter, tin snips, and paper cutter.

Nothing comes close to the ease, accuracy, cleanliness of the 
shear.  Only the power saw gave me clean edges.  I didn't like the 
idea of cutting even soft metal with my carbide blade and it didn't 
smell that good.  The Sears handi cutter was the second best, but I 
had to score with a utility knife half a dozen times on each side 
before I could "cut" through the board.  I was afraid I was going to 
cut off a finger...

Regards,
Dennis
 
--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "patt896" <d.patten@...> wrote:

>
> I have searched the archives and have not been able to determine a 
> consensus view of the following alternatives:
> 
> Large metal hand shear
> Paper cutter
> Metal brake shear
> Band Saw, fine blade
> Lapidary Band Saw, wet diamond blade
> Lapidary Table Saw, 6in wet/thin diamond blade
> Table Saw, carbide blade
> Tile cutter, wet carbide blade
> Tile cutter, wet diamond blade
> 
> Is there any tool that works well?
> 
> Dick
>

Thanks for everyone's advice.  I especially like the idea of using a 
shear/brake.  Just the tool to make RFI enclosures from K&S hobby 
brass sheets or stock pcb's.  Anyone know of a source for tinned 
brass sheets?

Dick

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "dl5012" <dl5012@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Dick,
> 
> I use this shear from Harbor Freight.  
> <http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?
> Itemnumber=90757>  It works great on material up to 1/16 thick and 
8 
> inches wide; I've used it on FR4 and CEM1.
> 
> Prior to getting the shear, I tried power mitre saw, jig saw, hack 
> saw, utility knife, Sears handi cutter, tin snips, and paper cutter.
> 
> Nothing comes close to the ease, accuracy, cleanliness of the 
> shear.  Only the power saw gave me clean edges.  I didn't like the 
> idea of cutting even soft metal with my carbide blade and it didn't 
> smell that good.  The Sears handi cutter was the second best, but I 
> had to score with a utility knife half a dozen times on each side 
> before I could "cut" through the board.  I was afraid I was going 
to 
> cut off a finger...
> 
> Regards,
> Dennis
>  
> --- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "patt896" <d.patten@> wrote:
> >
> > I have searched the archives and have not been able to determine 
a 

> > consensus view of the following alternatives:
> > 
> > Large metal hand shear
> > Paper cutter
> > Metal brake shear
> > Band Saw, fine blade
> > Lapidary Band Saw, wet diamond blade
> > Lapidary Table Saw, 6in wet/thin diamond blade
> > Table Saw, carbide blade
> > Tile cutter, wet carbide blade
> > Tile cutter, wet diamond blade
> > 
> > Is there any tool that works well?
> > 
> > Dick
> >
>