precision tube cutters

[michäel2]

Hi all, i hope im posting this under the right heading i apologise if i got it wrong.

after opening a new batch of relatively expensive german hole saws i decided that time has come to spend so more mulla on better cutters. the cutter that i checked today where nearly 2 mm out of round, the fellas i buy them of are nice enough, last time the refunded the lot but it leaves me no where.
i am using the paragon arbors so ideally i would buy something that would fit them, how ever its not a must. so far i have seen offerings from a company in portland called torch and file as well as the silva cutters.

i would like to ask what the experiences are with these products also are there other options i havent seen yet ?
thanks,mick

[zank]

The Starrett hole saws I use wobble quite a bit out of the box. I chuck them up in the lathe and take a skim cut off of the face that meets the Paragon arbor. Boom. Plenty good enough.

[EnginCycles]

What you need to measure is the size of the hole not how out of round it is. Often they are not true but cut a hole or miter exactly what you need. Keep in mind this is an extremely disposable consumable item. I gave up on the good cutters as they are high maintenance with flood coolant needed and getting them sharpened constantly. I have no loyalty to a brand as they are all about the same. Ultra fine tooth are crazy out of round but work very well. I have made all my arbors and they are 1" in diameter which helps on rigidity. A 4,000 or 5,000 lb machine helps also!

[Eric Estlund]

A 4,000 or 5,000 lb machine helps also!

Truth, this. I moved my main tube mitering from an 800lb mill drill to a 4500lb horizontal. Same cutters, same fixturing- much better results. I did fine on the 800lb machine for years and am happy to go back if i ever need to, but a heavier more rigid machine makes a difference.

[Eric Estlund]

I have no experience with the Torch and File LAN cutters, but LAN is Andy Newlands at Strawberry bicycles. Andy has been making and distributing high quality tools for a long time. He makes the cutters and has them ground and sharpened at McKenzie Tool Grinding. They have been working together for decades, and McKenzie is a known high quality sharpening service as well. I've never used the cutters, but I don't doubt they are a high quality product.

[michäel2]

thanks for all the answers.
the mitters i am getting at the moment arent to bad, certainly workable but i thought that given the wobles in the saws i use that those mitters would become better by using a better saw. as much as a love to have something like a bridge port ( are they really that heavy ??) i will have to make do with my cute old centek we came a long way and we havent always got along in the past but were going just fine for now. the one arbour is certainly something i will start using, i think i might give those lan cutters ago.problem with the holesaws i have been using was that the welded area created a flat spot in the saw but i keep in mind the idea of skiming the back.
thanks all for your imput as alway really appreciate good hands on feedback , mick

[EnginCycles]

A Bridgeport is a rather light duty mill. It is around 1800 lbs for a 42" table. I personally use a Cincinnati 2MH universal (for main tube mitering) which is a 5000 lb horizontal mill with a 50 taper spindle and power feed on all axis. It is a beast and has a ton to do with the finished product. Also a rigid way of holding the tube matters as well. I am telling you the LAN cutter will not solve any issues. Rigidity is king here.

[hmbatrail]

A few years ago I sprung for the LAN cutters. I quickly went back to Starrett hole saws. The LAN cutters were nice but the amount of coolant required and if your feed rate was just a whisper off or if there was any movement in the fixturing or if you simply cast an evil glance at them the tooth would snag and blow out the tube and cutter.

Starrett constant pitch 6tpi hole saws. A quick skim in the lathe at the shoulder where the arbor mounts and I've had good results. I also have a bunch of the Rockford Ultra 10tpi hole saws which I will use as well.

[jerk]

the cutters don't need to anywhere near round- the hole does and this depends more on what's spinning the cutter and what's holding the thing you're cutting than the tolerances of the cutters.

don't worry too much about it. they're disposable items and for our purposes most of the good stuff is good enough.