Wood curling when cutting rings

Chris Abaya Cues

Chris Abaya Cues

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I was cutting rings a couple of weeks ago and I noticed that as the ring cutter blade got extremely hot, the rings started to curl up a little bit especially the thinner ones. I tried putting cooling lubricant on the blade on every cut and used my compressor to blow air directly at the blade while cutting the rings but it doesn't seem to help cool the blade enough to prevent the wood from curling. I also tried lower rpms on the blade using a variable speed control but it doesn't cut well at lower speeds - it seems to lose a lot of torque and the blade would stop turning at some point. Any suggestions? Thanks.
 
I can think of a few possibilities. The blade could be on backwards. You could be running your lathe forward instead of in reverse. The headstock might be spinning at too high of a RPMs speed. The blade could just be dull. Check those things and let us know what you find.
 
BECue said:
I am using KJ's ringcutter on my porter cable laminate trimmer.
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Sounds like your blade is dull. If this is not the case then I wonder how fast you are turning the wood. You will not need to be turning any faster than a couple hundred rpm. It you are going faster you may have issues.

Jim.
 
cueman said:
I can think of a few possibilities. The blade could be on backwards. You could be running your lathe forward instead of in reverse. The headstock might be spinning at too high of a RPMs speed. The blade could just be dull. Check those things and let us know what you find.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the replies.

Hi Chris. The blade is not on backwards. Both the blade and wood is rotating clockwise. The lathe is spinning at the lowest speed - probably less than 200 rpm. The blade is at 30,000 rpm. I can't imagine the blade being dull because it is new. Like I said in my original post, the curling happens after the blade gets too hot coz I used it continuously to cut multiple rings from a 10 inch wood stock. Do you guys cut rings this way or do you just cut a few at a time?
 
BECue said:
Thanks for all the replies.

Hi Chris. The blade is not on backwards. Both the blade and wood is rotating clockwise. The lathe is spinning at the lowest speed - probably less than 200 rpm. The blade is at 30,000 rpm. I can't imagine the blade being dull because it is new. Like I said in my original post, the curling happens after the blade gets too hot coz I used it continuously to cut multiple rings from a 10 inch wood stock. Do you guys cut rings this way or do you just cut a few at a time?
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Your blade needs cleaned. once it gets hot the resins in the wood will stick to it and fill the little fine teeth. I use a spray oven cleaner such as Easy-Off. Put into a small container, let the blade soak for a short while and then scrub with a short bristle brush and then rinse with clear water. Use rubber gloves as the solution contains lye. Only takes a couple of minutes and makes a world of difference.

Dick
 
Not perpendicular?

Is it possible that your cutter is not lined up perpendicular (or your router is not parallel, depending on how you look at it) to the billet? If you are cutting at angle that could cause the problem you are describing. :smile:
 
BECue said:
Thanks for all the replies.

Hi Chris. The blade is not on backwards. Both the blade and wood is rotating clockwise. The lathe is spinning at the lowest speed - probably less than 200 rpm. The blade is at 30,000 rpm. I can't imagine the blade being dull because it is new. Like I said in my original post, the curling happens after the blade gets too hot coz I used it continuously to cut multiple rings from a 10 inch wood stock. Do you guys cut rings this way or do you just cut a few at a time?
Click to expand...
With that fine tooth blade you need to keep it cleaned out. Many woods gum up a blade in a hurry. Check the bit every two or three cuts and keep a stiff bristle tooth brush on hand and clean the teeth out with it. If you never let it totally load it up it will clean out pretty easily.
 
BECue said:
I was cutting rings a couple of weeks ago and I noticed that as the ring cutter blade got extremely hot, the rings started to curl up a little bit especially the thinner ones. I tried putting cooling lubricant on the blade on every cut and used my compressor to blow air directly at the blade while cutting the rings but it doesn't seem to help cool the blade enough to prevent the wood from curling. I also tried lower rpms on the blade using a variable speed control but it doesn't cut well at lower speeds - it seems to lose a lot of torque and the blade would stop turning at some point. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Click to expand...

All that has been suggested is good advice for maintaining the saw/blade.
I seriously doubt that the saw is dull unless you've been cutting diamonds. It's solid carbide.
What you've described, generating heat, wood curling, suggests to me that you have the saw mis-aligned to the work. The saw is entering the work at an angle and in essence creating a side-load on the saw. That will definitely cause heat and will cause your 'cut ring' to curl. Please be advised that you need to correct this alignment problem ASAP. Excessively side-loading the saw could result in it shattering. Make sure that your guards are in place.

Take the time to true the saw to the work. The center-line of the router needs to be as close as you can get to the center-line of your lathe's spindle. The saw must enter the work at true perpendicular.
You might also check for run-out or wobble in your collet. Sometimes it takes several attempts to install the mandrel to run true, given the nature of single-split collets. A dial test indicator would be handy here.

Should you need further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly. I stand behind what I sell.
 
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