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Tool Talk Discussion Forum

Bed frame steel and carbide blade

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Tim B from MA

04-08-2007 07:13:02




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I lucked into a practically new Makita cutoff saw through craigslist - about half price. This model is sold with a 12-inch carbide blade.

I pick up bed frames on the side of the road any chance I get ... free lite angle iron.

The only problem is, bed frame has lots of hard spots - it's a beeatch to drill. Two questions:

Any one know why it has hard spots? It is because it is "spring steel" or just cheap recycled?

Do you think it will dull the carbide blade substantially quicker than good mild steel? Should I get abrasive blades for that purpose?

Thanks
Tim

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Dave in Tx

04-09-2007 18:21:57




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 Re: Bed frame steel and carbide blade in reply to Tim B from MA, 04-08-2007 07:13:02  
Tim, I have one of those saws, and is fine for cutting 3/16 and thicker metal. Thin metal and rebar will eat the blades up. Have used the same blade for 2 yrs on angles and plate and still saws good. Just no tin or light metal.



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Tim B from MA

04-10-2007 09:01:18




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 Re: Bed frame steel and carbide blade in reply to Dave in Tx, 04-09-2007 18:21:57  
Thanks Dave,

Do you ever use the blade on higher carbon steel like bed frames seem to be?



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dan hill

04-09-2007 03:01:38




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 Re: Bed frame steel and carbide blade in reply to Tim B from MA, 04-08-2007 07:13:02  
Bed frame stock is high carbon steel.



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JoeK(WI)

04-08-2007 18:03:53




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 Re: Bed frame steel and carbide blade in reply to Tim B from MA, 04-08-2007 07:13:02  
Have ised bedframe for many projects over the years and it varies greatly in characteristics.Believe it has to due with age and carbon content.I had some that are no problem to work and other pieces that were almost unworkable.The newer soft bend stuff is different than the old square cornered too.Being a lousy welder,I generally drill and rivet or bolt my projects and do not use the bedframe for projects where failure could cause injury,unless"overbuilt" to compensate for fracture failure which seems to be more prevalent in bedframe than in true angle iron.For example,I build garden tractor/ATV trailers w/BF regularily,but would never use it for a highway trailer or such.Have had real good luck drilling it with the old B&D Bullet bits(now sold as Dewalt Pilot Point,I believe,the ones with the stepped tip)at proper speed w/oil.

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LeMaverick

04-08-2007 11:25:31




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 Bed frame steel in reply to Tim B from MA, 04-08-2007 07:13:02  
I used to buy steel fence posts ("T" posts) from a mill that made products from scrap railroad rail. They also made bed rail. Both of those products tend to be brittle, a characteristic that is often associated with hardness or rigidity. I am not inclined to use bed rail for other applications.



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old

04-08-2007 09:31:32




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 Re: Bed frame steel and carbide blade in reply to Tim B from MA, 04-08-2007 07:13:02  
Bed frame is a lot hard then the average steel becuase of what its made for. That said I have a good number of deer stands that I have made from it and most are 10 plus years old and still standing on the trees I put them up on. All my deer stands are ladder types so that maybe why they work well because of welding about every foot of so for the steps

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Wardner

04-08-2007 07:45:40




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 Re: Bed frame steel and carbide blade in reply to Tim B from MA, 04-08-2007 07:13:02  
Not all carbide blades are created equal. Only a few are capable of cutting steel. I don't think you will find them at Home Depot.

I used one that belonged to a friend a couple of months ago. I thought I was cutting copper and aluminum but there was some 11 guage steel embedded in the heat exchanger. I was surprised to find the saw handled it without any damage.

I cut steel with a torch, portable bandsaw, abrasive blades, sawsall, carbon-arc, or shears. Not ready to buy a steel cutting circular carbide blade.

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Tim B from MA

04-09-2007 09:41:59




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 Re: Bed frame steel and carbide blade in reply to Wardner, 04-08-2007 07:45:40  
Hi Warder,

This blade was intended to cut mild steel - just not sure how much extra wear an tear bed frame (higher carbon steel apparentl) will have on it.

Some blade intended for wood seem to hold up fine cutting mild steel My dad gave me a B&D carbide blade for my circular saw several years ago. It has seen lots of use on wood, as intended, but so far I have also accidently cut slotes in two two steel rails on my B&D Workmate bench (about 3/16 thick bent rails) and 3 pieces of 1/2 inch rod that was "hidden" inside a square maple workbench top I was cutting in half to make two shallower benches. Both times I had no idea I was cutting through steel - no sparks, now unusual noices - cut just as easy as the wood.

That blade seems to be still about as sharp as new!

BTW, I still intende to get up there for some steel soon - just been extra busy, and did not make it up that way last week as I though I might.

Tim

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jbird

04-08-2007 07:32:21




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 Re: Bed frame steel and carbide blade in reply to Tim B from MA, 04-08-2007 07:13:02  
One time i was welding wire fencing onto bed frame angle, and as i was about two feet down the line, the welds were pulling right out of the frame! I only use it for non-stress applcations.It must be soft metal.



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Slowpoke

04-22-2007 00:00:39




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 Re: Bed frame steel and carbide blade in reply to jbird, 04-08-2007 07:32:21  
I cut up a bed rail to make a rectangle frame with nice 45� corners and took it to a welder for welding. He only had a mig welder to use. When he finished the first corner and started on the next, the first weld just fell apart. He welded the second corner and went back to reweld the first and the second corner broke apart. The metal looked like it had crystalized at the weld.



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Rustyj14

04-08-2007 08:04:53




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 Re: Bed frame steel and carbide blade in reply to jbird, 04-08-2007 07:32:21  
I was always under the impression that bed-frame angle iron was made that way for only one reason! Can you guess what that is? HMMM!? Note how narrow each side is. If it was made from mild, unhardened steel, how long would it last as a bed frame, with all of the uses, wear and tear, etc. imposed upon it?? I have also been told, if you want to use it for anything but a bed, that after it is arc welded it will break later on, near the welds! The heat from the welding will soften the steel near the weld, but won't take the temper out further along the piece! Now, don't take me to task, but the preceding was told to me by a welder in my past! Possibly, he was wrong, but i've never used that bed angle just to test his theory! Rustyj

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KEH

04-08-2007 15:03:52




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 Re: Bed frame steel and carbide blade in reply to Rustyj14, 04-08-2007 08:04:53  

I've used bed rails for many projects. Use AC welder with 6011 rod. Never had any problems with the welds breaking.

KEH



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Bus Driver

04-08-2007 17:01:54




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 Re: Bed frame steel and carbide blade in reply to KEH , 04-08-2007 15:03:52  
My experience is the same as KEH.



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Jim K

04-08-2007 14:24:14




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 Re: Bed frame steel and carbide blade in reply to Rustyj14, 04-08-2007 08:04:53  
Considering what rustyj14 is implying in the begining of his post. I am wondering if in fact that when bed rails are new they are soft Iron which becomes work hardened over time. LOL



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Rustyj14.

04-15-2007 10:44:40




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 Re: Bed frame steel and carbide blade in reply to Jim K, 04-08-2007 14:24:14  
Yas, you could say that all of the up and down movements could harden the components! Never thought of it that way, but its plausible! It probably gets stiffer from constant use! Or, is it the other way around? RJ LOL



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