Can A Cold Saw be Run Without Flood Coolant?

[GregSY]

The more I machine and cut without coolant - which I do a lot - the more I appreciate machining and cutting in a constant bath of coolant.

 

[projectnut]

I find my cold saw will walk inside of the cut. That is for miters and for straight cuts. The blade and vise are true/perpendicular. I played with feed pressure and found it to be finicky. A few cuts were fine but I had to use a lot lighter pressure than the experts said I should be using. Even then, it didn’t always give a straight cut. This was in square tubing because that it was what the jobs called for at the time. Maybe it’s better with round tubing?
What am I doing wrong? Has anyone else noticed this?


If the OP is angry I derailed the thread, let me know and I’ll start a new thread. I figured the original question has been answered appropriately at this point.

The cold saw I purchased has an adjustment to the head for blade tracking. Here's a link to an online manual. Page 34 shows how to adjust the head for better blade tracking.

https://www.baileigh.com/media/uploads/manuals/CS-350EU_07-2020.pdf

 

[gustafson]

I find my cold saw will walk inside of the cut. That is for miters and for straight cuts. The blade and vise are true/perpendicular. I played with feed pressure and found it to be finicky. A few cuts were fine but I had to use a lot lighter pressure than the experts said I should be using. Even then, it didn’t always give a straight cut. This was in square tubing because that it was what the jobs called for at the time. Maybe it’s better with round tubing?
What am I doing wrong? Has anyone else noticed this?


If the OP is angry I derailed the thread, let me know and I’ll start a new thread. I figured the original question has been answered appropriately at this point.

most likely a bad blade.

 

[BT Fabrication]

ive never had bad coolant, cleaned it out once in 4 years in the mill or bandsaw. just top up and keep the oil out of it in a mill. cold saws need coolant.

 

[projectnut]

ive never had bad coolant, cleaned it out once in 4 years in the mill or bandsaw. just top up and keep the oil out of it in a mill. cold saws need coolant.

Believe me coolant does go bad over time. This saw is 11 years old and I have no idea when the coolant was last changed or the machine was cleaned. Most of the remaining coolant is the consistency of warm jello. It's slimy and sticks to everything. It has to be scraped out of the coolant passages and reservoir with a putty knife. It has a smell somewhere between an outhouse on a warm day, and a pair of gym socks worn for a month then thrown in the corner of the closet.

At this point I'm about 75% through the cleaning process. All the saw parts except for the transmission are complete. The only other remaining part to be cleaned is the base cabinet. So far things have gone well with warm water, a scrub brush and dish washing detergent. Fortunately the saw hasn't set long enough for the coolant to become rock hard. It'll probably take another couple weeks to clean and reassemble the machine in my spare time. Spare time is at a bit of a premium in the spring months. Other than the normal day to day activities there's always the spring yard work and building maintenance.

 

[projectnut]

I've completed disassembling and cleaning all the machine components. I ended up taking a bit more apart than originally intended. It seems some coolant came through an unused bolt hole in the base of the saw and deposited swarf and dried coolant on top of the electrical box. The residue was so thick it made opening and latching the box a real PITA. As part of the cleanup, I removed the box from the base and even removed the wiring and back panel from the box to avoid damage.

It's time to give a few components a fresh coat of paint and begin the reassembly. As part of the project, I would also like to flush the gear box. It's supposed to take 1,5 liters of Mobilgear 630 SHC 220. When I drained it there was less than a quart in the gear box, and it was black. My intent is to refill the gear box, run it a few minutes, drain it and refill it with the proper gear oil. I'm wondering if there is any fluid or solvent designed to clean out the remaining gear oil, or whether it should be done with the recommended lubricant. One of the annual maintenance procedures is supposed to be the changing of the gear oil. I doubt it was done on an annual basis, and in fact doubt that it was ever done. I'd like to start using the saw with a clean and properly lubed gear box.

 

[M. Moore]

ATF works well for a flush. Do it twice and refill with the 220 oil. Lots of companies make an extra duty 220 gear oil. I use Philips 66 brand.