Metal Cutting Radial Arm Saws

Original Saw Company produces all Metal Cutting Super Duty Series motors in our Northern Iowa facility.

Producing our own motors allows us to uphold a high level of quality in our machines.

We produce totally enclosed, fan cooled (TEFC) motors. Cooling ducts move air through the motor laminations to keep them cool. In addition, the motors are made to keep the internal portion of the motor sealed from dust and contamination. Our motors also have the benefit of an integrated electro-mechanical brake system. Due to this braking system, the saw continues to operate even if the power drops out.

Electronic brake systems cannot compete with the durability or reliability of our electro-mechanical brake systems.

We manufacture Original Saw Company Metal Cutting Radial Arm Saws from high-quality heavy cast iron and cast aluminum. These American castings provide a rigid, vibration free cutting platform. Because of this, the radial arm saw performs many different sawing operations. As a result of this construction, we can proudly say our machines are the best in the industry. Many machines we produce today will be used for generations.

The Metal Cutting Radial Arm Saw comes standard with a manual chain feed assembly. This feature gives the operator better control of the carriage versus pulling the carriage by hand.

The Metal Cutting Series comes with the standard t-slot aluminum extruded top. This top allows for you to easily attach our aluminum fence, clamping systems, table surface options, as well as your own clamping jigs or cutting fixtures. These all come mounted to a extruded leveling frame for easy leveling of the entire table assembly throughout the life of the machine.

The exclusive door style guard allows quick and easy blade changes. The guard should be opened only when the blade needs to be changed. This is a very important feature for the ferrous cutting application when frequent blade changes are necessary for optimum cutting performance and safety.

Cutting non-ferrous material such as aluminum, copper and soft brass is done effectively on the Original Saw Metal Cutting Series. Above all, blade choice is an important factor.

First, consider the wall thickness of the material. Most of the time extruded aluminum is being cut. If the wall thickness is under 1/8”, choose a high speed steel blade with approximately 250 to 300 teeth. On the other hand, if the wall thickness is 1/8″ or greater, use a carbide tipped non-ferrous blade with a negative 5 degree hook. Using this type of blade will lower the chance of the blade grabbing the material and will provide a smooth finish.

Secondly, consider the stiffness and shape of the extrusion. If your extrusion has a thin wall with a flat area, flex may occur during cutting. In addition, there is a chance the wall may chatter during cutting. This can cause the carbide teeth to chip or break if the material is too thin.

Thirdly, in most non-ferrous cutting applications we recommend a mist coolant system The mist coolant system will extend blade life and cut quality will be improved. Not using a mist coolant will allow the blade’s gullets between the teeth to “clog up” with material. This will require more frequent blade sharpening.

To summarize, look at the wall thickness, stiffness and the shape of the extrusion. Equally important is choosing the proper blade and considering a mist coolant system. This will result in quality cuts.

Cutting ferrous material (steel) can also be done quickly and effectively on Original Saw Metal Cutting Series machines. Material up to 8 gauge can easily be cut with our high speed steel blades. These blades, which run at 3400 RPM, are friction cutting blades. They melt the material rather than cutting it.

With this type of cut, the advantage is speed over cut quality. The cut is very accurate, however, there will be a slight burr because of the friction cutting action. Material thickness, speed of the carriage and the type of material are factors that affect the burr size.

Most importantly, mist coolant on ferrous material cutting is prohibited and will make the burr size much larger.