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Old 10-07-2017, 12:50 PM
crystallographic crystallographic is offline
MetalShaper of the Month October '14 , April '16, July 2020, Jan 2023
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Western Sierra Nevadas, Badger Hill, CA
Posts: 4,388
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Mark,
Thank you.
Very good points, as I have cut a lot of 1/8 - and thinner steel sheet using the sabersaws.
Drill 3 close-spaced 1/8" holes to start the cut inside the sheet. Drill two 5/16" holes at opposite corners and cut towards the blank corners for square-ish openings.
As you say so accurately : I always pre-oil the cutline and then feel for the right blade speed. Heat is the enemy of blades.
A sandbag or two on the sheet helps absorb the misc vibes of saw racket and saw chatter.

I used to duct the saw's fan exhaust air with some metalwork and duct tape to blow the chips ahead of my cut - but now chip blowers are included with some, if not all, sabersaws ....

(ps, any time I see a "new" hardware store I go looking at cutting stuff - saw blades of any sort, drills, snips .... you never know until you seek ... )
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Last edited by crystallographic; 10-07-2017 at 12:52 PM.
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