Vecturo Blades

[Eko]

I was [this] close to ordering a Vecturo but am now having a moment of pause regarding blade options.

Are any of the Festool StarLock Universal blades capable of cutting thin-walled aluminum? If not can I use a different brand of metal cutting StarLock blade with the Vecturo?

Thanks.

 

[squall_line]

I was [this] close to ordering a Vecturo but am now having a moment of pause regarding blade options.

Are any of the Festool StarLock Universal blades capable of cutting thin-walled aluminum? If not can I use a different brand of metal cutting StarLock blade with the Vecturo?

Thanks.

Most of the Festool BiMetal / Universal blades are indicated for non-ferrous metals such as aluminum. (per the description: Used for machining various different materials such as wood, laminated wood, painted wood, composite materials, GFRP, plasterboard, non-ferrous metals and plastics)

Absent that, the OSC 18 is compatible with all Starlock blades, so if you have a preferred brand that is easier to find locally or already in hand, you're welcome to use that as well.

 

[Eko]

Thank you, [member=75217]squall_line[/member].

 

[Cheese]

Another option is that Bosch & Fein both offer carbide blades that I've used on aluminum, steel & plaster. The Fein blades are also TiN coated.

Here's the Bosch blade for the older OS 400 vs the Bosch & Fein blades for the newer OSC 18.

[attachimg=1]

 

[Eko]

Thanks, [member=44099]Cheese[/member]!

Do you have a preference between the Fein and Bosch blades in terms of quality and durability or are they pretty much equal?

 

[Cheese]

Thanks, [member=44099]Cheese[/member]!

Do you have a preference between the Fein and Bosch blades in terms of quality and durability or are they pretty much equal?

I've used the Fein & Festool wood blades and never really found a difference between them.

[attachimg=1]

For the carbide blades, I've only used the Bosch and it has excellent life. I used them extensively in removing sections of a plaster wall in a bathroom.
Here's a photo after cutting through about 8' of plaster. You can see the teeth on the outside of the blade starting to round off while the teeth in the middle are still sharp.

[attachimg=2]

 

[Michael Kellough]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member]  the lower pic of the worn teeth is a good example of why blades should be curved instead of straight. At the end of every stroke with a straight blade the corner of the blade slams into the work, even if the stroke takes the blade out of the work. During the middle of the stroke the teeth barely touch the work.

I used a curved Bosch combo blade for the first time recently and was shocked at how little vibration there was.. The cut through melamine was also very clean, no chips.

 

[Cheese]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member]  the lower pic of the worn teeth is a good example of why blades should be curved instead of straight. At the end of every stroke with a straight blade the corner of the blade slams into the work, even if the stroke takes the blade out of the work. During the middle of the stroke the teeth barely touch the work.

I used a curved Bosch combo blade for the first time recently and was shocked at how little vibration there was.. The cut through melamine was also very clean, no chips.

I agree...that's the reason I've been stumped as to why Fein discontinued their Falx line of curved blades. This blade was introduced about 6-7 years ago with a lot of fanfare, then shortly afterwards, unceremoniously dumped from their product line.

Nice to know Bosch offers curved items...I'll have to hunt a few down at Menards.  [smile]

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

 

[Michael Kellough]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member]  Interesting to see the how the teeth are pitched symmetrically to keep the blade in the work and eject debris from the kerf. Maybe clearing the kerf was the main reason?

 

[Eko]

Thanks for the very helpful information everyone. I'll be ordering a Bosch Curved-Tec Carbide Extreme.

 

[PaulMarcel]

Kinda strange that they discontinued those blades, [member=44099]Cheese[/member]. I mean it says Patent Pending and a patent application isn't cheap. When I was using a standard non-curved Festool blade yesterday to cut out a square for a jig, I would have loved the rounded blade: as I plunged, the square-ended blade kept bumping the side-stock and nudging me over. Just a DC jig but still

 

[Cheese]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member]  Interesting to see the how the teeth are pitched symmetrically to keep the blade in the work and eject debris from the kerf. Maybe clearing the kerf was the main reason?

Dinner winner for you Michael.  [smile]

The blade's claim to fame was quick cutting without heat because the blade would naturally eject the sawdust from the kerf. The instruction sheet that came with the blade started with "IMPORTANT"

That kind of caught your eye and then they went into advising to move the blade back & forth in the kerf to keep it clean, they were quite insistent on continually moving the blade in the kerf.

And then 9 months later...they were gone.  [scratch chin]

 

[squall_line]

Kinda strange that they discontinued those blades, [member=44099]Cheese[/member]. I mean it says Patent Pending and a patent application isn't cheap. When I was using a standard non-curved Festool blade yesterday to cut out a square for a jig, I would have loved the rounded blade: as I plunged, the square-ended blade kept bumping the side-stock and nudging me over. Just a DC jig but still

It could be that the patent application was rejected (which is a laughable supposition, but just bear with me) and they decided that it wasn't worth the knock-off effect on their pricing to keep it on the market.

The lack of competitors knocking them off seems to contradict that, but it's a theory nonetheless.

 

[rst]

I’m pretty sure a Canadian guy came up with the curved blade idea.  When he or whoever started, they offered a couple free at a small fee for trial and feedback.  I got a couple of the first ones and now use the ones Bosch offers.  They are great for glaziers removing wood or putty stops.  I used one last week on an pod Anderson where the glass was as built into the frame assembly and glued.

 

[Michael Kellough]

I’m pretty sure a Canadian guy came up with the curved blade idea.  When he or whoever started, they offered a couple free at a small fee for trial and feedback.  I got a couple of the first ones and now use the ones Bosch offers.  They are great for glaziers removing wood or putty stops.  I used one last week on an pod Anderson where the glass was as built into the frame assembly and glued.

You’re right, but it was two guys in Canada. After 4 years in development they started posting about their creation on Reddit, nine years ago. What they came up with is a curved front bi-metal blade. They partnered with FEIN Canada for distribution.

“Our blade performs well on laminates compared to straight fronted blades which have more significant hammering issues at the corners of the blade. If I remember right, the hard layer on kitchen countertops is often melamine. It resists the entry of the corners on straight fronted blades which results in a heavy bash mark on entry.

The center cutting nature of Falx's a curved front results in a much cleaner entry in laminates.”

“The blade differs most notably in that it has a curved tooth profile. This really helps with ergonomics - it doesn't hammer and bash when it's plunging into material.

The blade's teeth also go in opposite directions so that helps with ergonomics, as well as a cooler cut. The opposing teeth balance the cut so you're not dragged in one direction or another which wears on you over time, in my experience.

We also have some different tooth geometry - dual angle relief angles which allow it to perform well in both wood and while cutting through nails. Our tooth set is unique - it creates a strong tooth but also keeps the steel out of the way of ejecting chips which has proved really important for a cool cut.

Lastly, the blade has a high-hardness low-friction PVD (physical vapour deposition) coating, like the big brother of TiN, which makes it more resistant to damage from nails, but also resists chips sticking which cause heat.

Don’t know what became of the company. Hope they made some money for their excellent idea.

 

[squall_line]

Looks like FALX's website is no longer.

They haven't posted on Reddit in over 9 years.

I don't have an account on the Canadian Woodworking and Home Improvement forums to be able to see when the last time was that they posted on that site.

The Internet Archive shows their site, falx.ca, was still active as of May 24, 2022, but the reviews were all from 2016 and earlier.  The website now directs to a broken Shopify page.

The knockoffs don't look that numerous, at the very least they don't seem to have the opposing tooth design and nearly as deep of a curve.  It's quite odd, really.