Question: What method? Cut silver for bracelet

[dlilazteca]

How to use a jewellers saw.

What fine tools are you guys using when you cut your precious metals to make bracelets a regular jewelers saw or some updated, scroll saw. Was looking into a scroll saw, what would you guys recommend, something priced in the entry level.

Ok had to edit the title. Here is a video so there's that are starting don't have the same problems I did. For some reason there are no instructions included when I bought the saw.

See video below.

Carlos De La O III

 

[Beathard]

Jewelers saw

 

[dlilazteca]

Gerry

Your right, I guess I was not using it right.

Found this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w6hJLYtEX0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Carlos De La O III

 

[Southern Custom]

You'll need a light touch with a jewelers saw. Rememeber to orient the teeth facing downward. You are cutting only on the pull stroke. The stock you are cutting needs to be held flat on a bench pin of some sort. The Bench pin is the small block of wood that sticks out from the center of a jewelers bench.
You'll need a couple of dozen blades. I'd suggest #1 size to start with. Lubricate the blade when the saw starts to get sticky. You'll break a lot of blades till you learn to use it properly. Let the saw do the work. And good luck! Oh, and Rio Grande sells some nice little clamp on bench pins made for saw piercing. At least they used to.
Layne

 

[Southtexas]

Scroll saw for cutting is possible but more of a pain than a pleasure. Most variable speed ones don't run slow enough to keep from overheating the blades and then they break. Hardly worth the effort since the jeweler's saw works so well. I use the scroll saw for other things but no longer for precious metals... Been there, done that.
I made a bench pin that clamps into my heavy shop vise. Added a catch tray under for the 'sawdust'. I set it up so that I'm sawing at about chin level so it's very easy to see and make precision cuts. Remember the bench pin part is consumable, work deep into the "V" so the metal can't flex and grab the blade.
Cliff

 

[dlilazteca]

Scroll saw for cutting is possible but more of a pain than a pleasure. Most variable speed ones don't run slow enough to keep from overheating the blades and then they break. Hardly worth the effort since the jeweler's saw works so well. I use the scroll saw for other things but no longer for precious metals... Been there, done that.
I made a bench pin that clamps into my heavy shop vise. Added a catch tray under for the 'sawdust'. I set it up so that I'm sawing at about chin level so it's very easy to see and make precision cuts. Remember the bench pin part is consumable, work deep into the "V" so the metal can't flex and grab the blade.
Cliff

Could you post s picture of your setup?

Carlos De La O III

 

[scott99]

Hi, you can use Bees wax for blade lube, I usualy lube the back of the blade so as not to fill the teeth. Use as much of the blade as you can, don't just use the center inch. DON'T RUSH!! Long slow strokes gets the job done the fastest. Many people break many blades bvecause the try and rush the job.

scott99

 

[Southtexas]

So simple it hurts Carlos... I make my own pins from scrapwood, screw on the strip at the bottom for the vise to grip. Obviously I do my sawing away from my engraving bench... the chips in the pic are aluminum, not silver. For the catch pan (not set up now) I put it low enough for the saw handle not to hit it. Usually use a lipped plastic tray sitting on temporary 'shelf' I screw to the lower side of the bench.
A cheap folding chair puts me at about chin level with the pin this way.
Cliff

 

[monk]

i once owned a medium-priced scroll saw. i found it to be next to useless for cutting metal. even tho it had speed control, way too fast for doing metals. i gave it to a neighbor who was doing craft type woodworking.

 

[golden forge]

Here is a couple of photos of the bench pin for saw work that I made about 16 years ago, it has held up great , and still gets used weekly. I use a GRS style bench pin, so I can swap it back and forth with the regular wood one, it makes things a bit quicker at the bench when working on a project.
Hope it helps.
Dave.

 

[Ron Spokovich]

I don't know if it was mentioned, but when selecting a jeweler's saw blade, you must have AT LEAST two teeth into the material being cut, when sawing. Less, and you'll be actually pounding the teeth, causing jams, and blade breakage will result. Lubes should be some sort of wax, like beeswax, paraffin, a candle, or bar of soap. Avoid liquids, as they are a mess. When ending the cut, take it easy, and you can break it by hand. Use of full strokes, with proper blade tension, will assure long blade life. I have blades that have their teeth wrapped around the circumference, like stripes on a barber pole, laying around somewhere and they'll cut in any direction. . .they're not for everything. With good quality blades and good frames, you'll do fine.

 

[bronc]

If I was going to do very many bracelets I'd be tempted to get a small variable speed band saw with a fine tooth blade. It would pay for itself.

Stewart

 

[Marrinan]

I buy my bracelet stock from rio. Minimum order is in six inch lengths. They charge $.50 for each cut. I general order mine pre-cut in 1/2, 3/4 and one inch strips of a 16 ga. My time is worth more that than the time required to cut. Perfectly accurate cuts six inch long. radius the corners and some time have to adjust length. Fred

 

[Southtexas]

If I were doing lots of straight cuts I'd invest in a shear rather than any kind of saw.
Cliff

 

[Marrinan]

I looked into shear they left mars on the sliver. Fred

 

[Southtexas]

back in school (don't even want to think how long ago) we used a shear. Used paper pasted to the silver, both sides. As I recall was simple 'school paste' let dry well before shearing. Water soak and it was gone.
Cliff

 

[silverchip]

I use a stomp shear for most of it or a pancake die in my press!!

 

[Eugene Carkoski]

By hand with bee's wax or tin snips. I have tried scroll saw once, even at slow speed it would break blades as fast as I could put them in. by the time you can change one blade you can be done by hand.