Cutting 1/4" steel with Carvex

[Sailor Soane]

Hi all,

I'm wondering if anyone has spent any time cutting steel with a carvex. I'm looking for an easy solution for cutting 1/4" and smaller. Many thanks in advance for any experience and/or advice you may have.

 

[nclemmons]

I've cut 3/16" many times and feel like 1/4" would not be a problem.  Just use the right blade and a slow speed. 

You might try the blade - HS 75/3 bi Jigsaw Blades

Product number is 486554

Depending on how much you are cutting, consider a little water to keep the blade cool.  I use an 12 oz water bottle.

 

[Svar]

I've cut 20 mm steel with my Bosch. It works, just very slow.

 

[Kev]

Straight lines I'm assuming? ... or at least wide arcs [smile]

Just be aware of the heat you'll build up as you cut, take it slow.

 

[Holmz]

A band saw spreads that heat out over more teeth.

I think that one would not want to use a lot of pendulum action for steel??

In any case, almost any jig saw would work.
It is more dependent upon the blade.
The best jig saw with the wrong blade will not work as well as one of the worst with a decent blade.

 

[Rip Van Winkle]

Most higher end jigsaws currently manufactured should be able to cut 1/4" mild steel without a problem. At least if you go the specs listed by the manufacturers.

It was mentioned once in the past on one of the FOG forum threads that the Trion had a very robust drive mechanism, and the only Trion Festool Service in the USA had seen that needed repairs done to the drive mechanism had been used extensively to cut heavy stainless steel. I don't know how robust the drive mechanism in the Carvex is, but 1/4" mild steel shouldn't be an issue, especially if you're not cutting steel on a routine basis.

For cutting steel you would want a high speed steel (hss) or bi-metal blade. The general rule is that at least three teth should be touching the cut material at all times, so for 1/4" steel you would want a blades with 12 tpi or higher. More teeth will produce a smoother cut but also cause more heat when cutting. If you were cutting stainless or other higher alloy steels this would be more of a problem than if you were cutting mild steel. I'm not sure how the heat produced will affect the plastic base plates for the Carvex. Festool does make the steel baseplate for cutting metal, which is an improvement over the plastic only baseplates available for the Trion jigsaws.

You would want to use some sort of lubricant on the jigsaw blade. Cutting paste would be good if you can find it. Otherwise light machine oil or grease would probably work.

In the past when cutting steel with a bosch jigsaw I used to own, I used Bosch Progressor metal blades. I brlieve the bosch model number is T123X. The blades have a tooth pattern with smaller teeth towards the top, gradually becoming larger further down the blade. The bosch blades sliced thru steel quickly amd without too much heat. The bosch blades are usually readily available from home centers and some hardware stores. It should be mentioned though that Festool doesn't like non Festool blades to be used in their jigsaws.

As far as bandsaws go, even metsl ones may be quick if properly set up, but if the bandsaw has s dull blade, it may be far less efficient than a jigsaw, and bandsaw blades are far more expensive than jigsaw blades, which can lead to dull blades being used.

 

[bertv]

Hah, afaik Festool jigsaw blades are manufactured by Bosch…

 

[Sailor Soane]

Many thanks for the replies. Super helpful!

 

[Rip Van Winkle]

Hah, afaik Festool jigsaw blades are manufactured by Bosch…

I thought the festool blades were made in Germany, probably by either Wilpu(Wilh. Putsch GmbH & Co. KG) or MPS Sägen GmbH.

 

[McNally Family]

The Carvex specs list 3/8" (10mm), cutting depth with steel. 

 

[jdw101]

Hah, afaik Festool jigsaw blades are manufactured by Bosch…

I wonder if this is in fact true.  I have actually had much better performance generally from Bosch branded blades over Festool branded.  Interesting.

 

[Rip Van Winkle]

Hah, afaik Festool jigsaw blades are manufactured by Bosch…

I wonder if this is in fact true.  I have actually had much better performance generally from Bosch branded blades over Festool branded.  Interesting.

Festool jigsaw blades are mostly, if not all, manufactured in Germany.

Bosch jigsaw blades are mostly manufactured in Switzerland.

I listed a couple possible OEMs for the Festool blades in a post above. If you're in the USA it's much easier to just buy the blades from Festool.

 

[Naildrivingman]

Also, I would not use dust collection. I was told by an authorized Festool vendor that Festool doesn't warrant against damage to CTs or surroundings when cutting steel. I have not confirmed this with Festool, but I do think it is sound advice at the very least.

 

[antss]

Does festool warrant surroundings when cutting anything?

They used to (in the USA anyway) offer a spark arrestor for the CTs for the express purpose of cutting metal  :

I think your dealer was making it up as he goes along.  It's also possible that FT has changed their policy too, in which case it begs the question - why ?

 

[Naildrivingman]

Does festool warrant surroundings when cutting anything?

They used to (in the USA anyway) offer a spark arrestor for the CTs for the express purpose of cutting metal  :

I think your dealer was making it up as he goes along.  It's also possible that FT has changed their policy too, in which case it begs the question - why ?

Do they not warrant their products when used according to their guidelines and with their accessories and something fails?  IE, I believe I read hear at FOB that they warranted a repair to a CT circuitboard that shorted out due to a static charge even though all antistatic components were used.

According to the vendor I referenced, he said that FT stopped offering the spark arrestor because too many CTs were catching on fire when one bag was used for both metal and wood reclamation.  I don't know anything about the spark arrestor.  The instructions could very well have stated that wood and metal spoils should not  be collected in the same bag.

 

[Cheese]

They used to (in the USA anyway) offer a spark arrestor for the CTs for the express purpose of cutting metal  :

It's also possible that FT has changed their policy too, in which case it begs the question - why ?

Festool USA used to (think spring 2016) offer an aluminum blade for the Kapex, an aluminum blade for the TS 55 and an aluminum blade and a steel blade for the TS 75. They also offered a spark arrestor. All items have been discontinued [mad] in the USA [mad] but are still available in the rest of the global markets.  [crying]

Why?...Product liability/litigation issues in the US.

 

[Svar]

Festool USA used to (think spring 2016) offer an aluminum blade for the Kapex, an aluminum blade for the TS 55 and an aluminum blade and a steel blade for the TS 75. They also offered a spark arrestor. All items have been discontinued [mad] in the USA [mad] but are still available in the rest of the global markets.  [crying]
Why?...Product liability/litigation issues in the US.

I dunno. Other tool manufacturers supply all kinds of blades and no spark arrestors. Don't they operate in the same environment? Chinese knockoff firms bring in a "new" power tool model every month, but Festool needs 10 years for some approval? I'm not buying that.

 

[antss]

Anyone else buy a spark arrestor besides me ?  Can't imagine they sold enough to the woodworking crowd to make the SKU anywhere close to viable.

Festool by some accounts here is VERY risk averse. And , I suspect easy enough to attach a judgement to - which the shareholders back home would likely notice in their dividends.  The Chinese co. you mention is going to hide behind a wall of secrecy and even if you win you won't collect because they'll roll up shop and be back under a new shell in short order.

I still think that festoolUSA should make available their entire line of accessories available here even if they don't stock them in Indy.  I can see little downside to a just in time ordering system for stuff like spark arrestors or metric ts55s and MFS.  Guys wait months for woodpecker gizmos, don't you think they'd wait a bit for toolies and small planers too ?