Looking for the best method to cut hyplon-Eva on angles, what power saws are best suited to perform this task,

Rich Kline

Band Saw, hands down. I do not knwo what you are attempting to do, but I can tell you that the results will be much better if you start with square blocks than if you use round stock. Hypalon you have no choice, it only comes round.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/2010 08:02AM by Billy Vivona.

If you're going to try round stock, use a wood chop/miter saw with a fine tooth blade. Works extremely well.

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I have used a manual hand operated miter box and fine tooth saw.
As Billy says, the square blocks are a lot easier to cut.

Best wishes,
Ron Schneider
Schneider's Rod Shop
Mountain Home, Arkansas
[www.schneidersrods.com]
mtnron40@yahoo.com
870-424-3381

Bill/Tom

Do you use a full size chop/miter -scroll saws, or one of the miniature saw models.

Rich Kline

I have a 9" tabletop Grizzly bandsaw, but I know a lot of NERBs went out and bought the $100 Rikon or whatever from Lowe's or HD and theywork just fine (less power so you have to go slower). The scroll saw I use is a loaner, I think it's a Delta middle of the road model. Problem with a scroll saw is it si VERY difficult to cut a straight line with.

What are you looking to do? Cut a straight 45 degree, make a random curve cut? I've played around a lot with both cylander & square blocks, the bored cylander is tough to work with depending on what you are looking to do.

Billy:
Looking to cut 45 degree angles, I have a wood lathe with mandrels for the straight cuts. been using a mider box with a dixon knife, worked pretty well, but knife is getting dull, and ther is no way to sharpen. Looking to upgrade the process.

Rich Kline

I use my standard DeWalt 12 inch model.

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OK, so you've been doing this already. Why not pick up a new knife?

Tom:
What type of blade do you use? How many teeth or is it a cutting wheel ?


Rich Kline

Regular wood blade, at least 80 teeth.

I can't imagine the mess an abrasive wheel would make in something like EVA.

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Tom,
I use a very very thin abrasive wheel to cut blanks, eva, cork rubberized cork, etc with no issues at all.
I suspect that there is actually less dust and waste using this method than using any type of hand or band saw.
I will agree that if you can spin the material to get a nice uniform cut, that a very sharp blade on a good knife does a great job on EVA and Hapalon.

Actually I use a kinsu knife that I picked up for a couple of dollars at a sportsman show many many years ago to do much of my rubberized cork, eva, and hapalon cutting. Virtually no waste or dust by using a good knife. In particular, I like to use a serrated knife because it simply does a better job.


Take care
Roger

Thanks for all the info, Billy they don't make the Dixon Knife anymore or I just can't find it on the net, I purchased it from one of those now out-of business rod building supplier, can't remember which one. I have a power miter saw just need a finer blade, thanks for that TOM, I will look into purchasing a scroll saw, and a new knife maybe a kinsu like Roger uses, once again thanks for the info. This site is the standard for rod building info.



Rich Kline

Rich, whatever you decide to go with, make sure it leaves a fine edge so that the maerial glues up properly. I use a Ginsu my Mom wasted money on years ago to rough cut EVA and knock edges off square stock. It's great for that, but doesnt' leave a smooth surface to glue 2 pieces together. I think you know this because you say you need a finer blade, the less teeth, the rougher the edge.

I'm surious what you are going to use the scroll saw for? I am using it to make my inlays, but that's all I've found it useful for.

Im planning on doing some more things with the EVA blocks I have... I have a band saw and it doesnt make the smoothest cut I really want....so monday I bought a 220 grit belt and side disk for my bench top sander to fine tune the edges.....round stock or square I should be able to make a pretty smooth gluing surface. Wish me luck!!

MJ

NERB that types with a bar of Ivory soap in his mouth.