What blades for Cutting Alnico ?

[copperheadroads]

Basically I've Been doing the odd custom pickup which sometimes involve cutting Alnico bars to size with a Dremel & using a fiberglass cutting wheel & I'm asking if there is something a little more efficient & a little quicker . thinnest kerf possible is a must .

[jack briggs]

for AlNiCo you want a cold saw, not a blade. rotary abrasive cutting wheel is the way to go.


cheers,

[Mick Bailey]

A diamond lapidary wheel used wet. They can be had as thin as 0.001", though thicker gives longer life. When used with a simple jig the cut is square and the edges don't break off. The finish is perfect and just a bevel needed to take off the sharpness. If you were on a budget you could use a diamond tile saw, though the kerf is probably too wide unless you can find one with a slim blade.

[J M Fahey]

In fact thatīs how Alnico is cut or adjusted to size at the Factory itself.

Iīm not into pickups but make loudspeakers and learnt that magnets are cast to size as close as possible to save time and then ends are ground flat and parallel (what you need in a speaker magnet structure) with diamond wheels.
Way too hard for anything else.

In fact, Alnico IS a very hard Steel alloy, Iīm quite certain you could make dies or tools out of it.

[copperheadroads]

In fact, Alnico IS a very hard Steel alloy, Iīm quite certain you could make dies or tools out of it.

it's hard but very brittle all you have to do is score it & snap it off with a pair of pliers , Most times it will break where you want it to ,but in cases where you want smooth finish edges , cutting it will work the best .

[ReWind]

I've cut it with a Laguna bi-metal bandsaw blade with no problem or discoloration (go slow and take pauses). I've also cut AlNiCo with a wet tile saw but, as mentioned, the wide kerf wastes material and causes excessive heating. A belt grinder has been great for small reshaping tasks.

[SonnyW]

Here's what I have been using lately, it is a mini- chopsaw with a 2 inch abrasive blade. The saw comes with a metal blade but I replaced it with the abrasive ones that I got separately. I have cut several dozen alnico rods without breaking the blade yet and that includes about 8 that were .250 diameter rods. (which is what I got it for) I haven't cut any bars with this one but I'm sure it would be fine for that too. I have used the dremel tool method a lot before this and I always was breaking the blades sometimes several on one cut. These blades are 2 inch diameter and 1/32 thick with a 3/8 hole.



https://www.amazon.com/TruePower-919...mini+miter+saw

https://www.amazon.com/Shark-Welding...JNXKWQ5QR80W30

Hope this helps

[copperheadroads]

A diamond lapidary wheel used wet. They can be had as thin as 0.001", though thicker gives longer life. When used with a simple jig the cut is square and the edges don't break off. The finish is perfect and just a bevel needed to take off the sharpness. If you were on a budget you could use a diamond tile saw, though the kerf is probably too wide unless you can find one with a slim blade.

do you have a link or source where i can find a saw with the thin .001" kerf ?

[J M Fahey]

.001" kerf ?

Is that a typo?
Are you talking about a one mil thick abrasive wheel?
Canīt even imagine such a thing unless, say, itīs *tiny* (say 1/4" diameter).

[copperheadroads]

look a post #3

[J M Fahey]

look a post #3

I did, thatīs why Iīm asking.
2 different elements are being mentioned, one is not called a saw by any description and *can* be had down to 1 mil thin; the other is called a "tile saw" , I checked a catalog and thinnest available goes from .01 to .019" thick, 10 to 20 times thicker than the first one, not surprisingly because itīs "something different".

But you seem to think they are the same, and ask about a .001" thick saw , which was never mentioned.

do you have a link or source where i can find a saw with the thin .001" kerf ?

[Mick Bailey]

Here they mention .001" thick saws;

Diamond Lapidary Blades - SMART CUT technology

Probably the thinnest practical size would be this one - 4" diameter and 0.004" thick;

http://www.gemcuts.com.au/pro-slicer...ter-saw-blades

[J M Fahey]

Yes, thinnest they mention is .004" ; some 400% thicker that desired .001" , which is what made me wonder.

[Mick Bailey]

There's mention of .001" saws on the home page of the first link - "PRECISION & ULTRA THIN SINTERED (METAL BOND)) Diamond Blades 0.5" to 72" in Outside Diameter, starting from .001" Thick"