Anyone Familiar With Baileigh Cold Saws?

[projectnut]

If you have a lot of cutting to do, use an air hose to clear between cuts. Same as on a mill when doing multiples with lots of part changes. Sweep or vacuum it all up at one time when you're done.

In theory that's a great idea. However, in this particular situation I would think it would at best be impractical, and quite possibly extend the cleanup time and effort far beyond the time it takes to vacuum up the chips. I have a cheap shop vac dedicated to this one machine. It took less than 3 minutes to vacuum up all the swarf on and around the machine.

With the coolant flow set at the maximum I was splashing coolant and errant chips in a 2-foot diameter circle around the entire machine. With the coolant flow dialed in there's enough to keep the blade clean and cool, but not so much it's slopping all over the floor or causing the swarf to plug the drain path.

Here are a few pictures the machine in what I hope is going to be a temporary location. As you can see it's in close proximity to the desk, drawing board, and one of the lathes. It's fine where it is if I don't need to cut anything longer than about 30". Anything longer than that will run into the headstock of the Seneca Falls lathe. The longer-term plan is to move some of the bar and round stock and put the machine against the back wall of the shop near the hydraulic press. I say longer term in that there's no way I'll have the time or the energy to do it in the near future. At the earliest it'll be a wintertime job.

 

[MrWhoopee]

In theory that's a great idea. However, in this particular situation I would think it would at best be impractical, and quite possibly extend the cleanup time and effort far beyond the time it takes to vacuum up the chips. I have a cheap shop vac dedicated to this one machine. It took less than 3 minutes to vacuum up all the swarf on and around the machine.

With the coolant flow set at the maximum I was splashing coolant and errant chips in a 2-foot diameter circle around the entire machine. With the coolant flow dialed in there's enough to keep the blade clean and cool, but not so much it's slopping all over the floor or causing the swarf to plug the drain path.

Here are a few pictures the machine in what I hope is going to be a temporary location. As you can see it's in close proximity to the desk, drawing board, and one of the lathes. It's fine where it is if I don't need to cut anything longer than about 30". Anything longer than that will run into the headstock of the Seneca Falls lathe. The longer-term plan is to move some of the bar and round stock and put the machine against the back wall of the shop near the hydraulic press. I say longer term in that there's no way I'll have the time or the energy to do it in the near future. At the earliest it'll be a wintertime job.

That's no place for a cold-saw. At least hang a shower curtain around it.

And in case you didn't see my shop vac/coolant story:
A friend with a cnc shop had a coolant spill. The grunt vacuumed up the coolant but neglected to empty the vacuum. A few days later someone turned it on. The explosion blew the top off and straight up where it dented the roof 18' above. The coolant had begun to "ferment", filling the space above with methane.

 

[Larry$]

The coolant had begun to "ferment", filling the space above with methane.

Yikes! I don't use coolant because of the mess and I don't do production work. Less tool life isn't a big deal.

I was given an old Italian made cold saw when a plant was closing. It was a total mess. Caked on coolant loaded with chips. Missing all identification. Took a lot of time to tear it down to the last bit, clean, paint and reassemble. All the compressed air system was damaged or missing. The head travels up & down on a cast dovetail column. The tapered gib had been replaced with plastic, Acetal? I've been hoping to find a piece of cast iron to make a new one but the plastic is working. The original stop system is missing. Has a cobbled together on right now. Two speed 3 phase motor. Worm gear reduction running in oil. It came with one new blade in addition to the installed one. Blades are steel. Parts are cool after the cut.

The cold saw is so much better and faster than using a band saw. Cuts "almost" look machined. I've only used it a few times to cut many multiples. The air operated vice operates automatically when the handle is moved to start the cut & releases when the handle is raised.

 

[MrWhoopee]

The cold saw is so much better and faster than using a band saw. Cuts "almost" look machined. I've only used it a few times to cut many multiples. The air operated vice operates automatically when the handle is moved to start the cut & releases when the handle is raised.

The Brobo I ran when working for Fred had dual air vises. I was cutting a large quantity of pieces to length with +/-.005 tolerance. It saved milling the ends. I caught my finger in the vise once. Your mind doesn't work that well when you're in pain. Took me a long second or two to realize I needed to lift the saw head to release the vise instead of trying to pull my finger out.

 

[projectnut]

Before positioning the saw where it is in the pictures I went to YouTube and watched close to 2 dozen videos of cold saws operating. There were several brands featured as well as a few purely instructional videos that didn't give much information of the machine being used. The brands of machines highlighted included Brobo, Scotchman, Baileigh, Jet, Dake, Eisile, Kaka, Behringer and a few others I've never heard of. The demonstrations took place in a variety of locations including the fabrication shop floor, industrial tool rooms, and dealer showrooms. Those in the dealer showrooms were in close proximity to other machines. In fact, in a few instances the machines were close to white painted walls and sitting on grey painted floors. None of the saws were spewing coolant or chips on the floor or on the surrounding machines.

A close look revealed in every case the coolant flow was sufficient to keep the blade cool and the swarf from the cut, but not so strong as to splatter the operator or the surrounding area. In addition, the maximum blade speed mentioned of 54 rpm was far below the threshold of flinging coolant and swarf beyond the coolant trough of the machines.

Before doing any cutting in my shop I duplicated the parameters of the videos as close as possible. Through the course of the day, I made approximately 50 cuts on a variety of materials. All were 6061 aluminum, but different shapes and sizes. Sizes and profiles included 2" x 3" x1/4 rectangular tube, 1 3/4" solid round stock, 2" diameter 1/8" wall tube, and 2" x 2" x 1/4" angle. The rectangular and round tube generated very little swarf as compared to the solid round. However, in every case the swarf and coolant were contained within the boundaries of the saw. Picture #2 in my post #21 shows the saw after the saw was vacuumed. The floor has not been swept, vacuumed, or otherwise cleaned. The stain on the mat in front of the lathe is from a rectangular shop towel container that's barely visible behind the lathe.

I can understand keeping a saw of this style isolated from other equipment when used in a commercial or production situation. However, in this situation I'm fairly confident I can keep the swarf and coolant under control with the limited use the saw will get. If things do get out of control where it is I can temporarily isolate the machine with some large sheets of cardboard I have in stock. If all else fails, I can always move it to a less populated area of the shop.

I appreciate the heads up about cleaning the vacuum after each use. When the saw was still in the garage, I was vacuuming out the swarf when it was still soaked with coolant. I emptied the vacuum before returning it to the shop. It was a disgusting messy ordeal. Since the machine has been in the shop, I've waited some period of time after cutting before vacuuming it. With the machine properly leveled the coolant drains back to the reservoir quickly and the swarf dries. It's much easier and less messy to clean, and the vacuum itself is easier to empty.

 

[Larry$]

I'm fairly confident I can keep the swarf and coolant under control with the limited use the saw will get.

From my experience, I don't think you will have any problem. I cut dry and the hood keeps chips contained. With the slow turning blade chips don't fly like on a miter saw. It does seem to make a lot of chips but they are easily vacuumed off. I was surprised at how cool the work stayed. Even when cutting a 2" round of 4130! So much better than using my band saw.

 

[projectnut]

From my experience, I don't think you will have any problem. I cut dry and the hood keeps chips contained. With the slow turning blade chips don't fly like on a miter saw. It does seem to make a lot of chips but they are easily vacuumed off. I was surprised at how cool the work stayed. Even when cutting a 2" round of 4130! So much better than using my band saw.

I considered dry cutting but given the shortened life of the blades I decided to go with the flood coolant. Blades cost on the average of $150.00 each depending on the number of teeth, and the profile needed to cut different materials. I'd like to make them last as long as possible. Sharpening them is another $35.00 with shipping. There aren't any shops in the area with the machinery necessary to sharpen these blades.

Eventually I plan to have at least 6 blades for different size and composition materials. I'm not willing to spend that much now as I feel I need to learn a lot more about the saw before making that kind of investment. This is the 5th metal cutting saw in the shop, and as such I haven't yet determined how much use it will get. In addition, I have a 7" x 12" horizontal bandsaw, a 6" x 6" power hacksaw, a 14" dry cut saw, and a 10" vertical bandsaw. At this point the bandsaw does 90+% of the work with the power hacksaw getting about 5%. The dry cut saw and vertical bandsaw only get used on special occasions. Time will tell where the cold saw fits in the mix. If I had to guess right now, I would say it has the potential to become the second most used saw doing in the neighborhood of 30% of the work.

 

[FOMOGO]

Nice job on the saw. Mike

 

[mattthemuppet2]

Agree, cool saw, but what an awesome shop!