wd-40 as metal saw lubricant?????

Larry Peterson

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I am currently using stick lubricant for my saws as I can't find any liquid lubricant. United has been out of stock of Master Mist since I got my saws in March.

I was looking at Freud (Freud is probably the premier mfr of woodworking blades) woodworking blades in one of my woodworking catalogs today and saw that they carry metal blades for aluminum and non-ferrous metals. I was suprised to see the following:

"Freud recommends ample use of a liquid lubricant when cutting. This can be accomplished with a squirt of WD-40 or other lubricant every 4 or 5 cuts or with an elaborate industrial drip system. Wax sticks are not recommended."

These blades have a link at http://www.freudtools.com/woodworkers/rep/sawblades/Industrial_Series/Specialty/html/Specialty_1.html

Does anyone have any experience with using WD-40 as a lubricant. I don't like using wax sticks and probably have a lifetime supply of WD-40 around here.
 
I use WD-40 when cutting. I have an old CTD saw that doesn't have a mister set up, and I have been using a squirt of WD on each blade before each frame I cut for 21 years. My blades are 100 tooth carbides and I cut wood and metal on them. The WD seems to work well, although I have nothing else to compare.

The disadvantage I find is that there is a slight oil build up at the front of the fence in the V. It is easy to clean up with a rag, but I am not sure if a mister would create that buildup or not.

When I change blades, I clean the inside of the saw cover, the belts, and all the fittings before putting new blades on, and I haven't noticed any build up of residue within the saw that would cause a problem.

I also clean the blades once in a while between blade changes, as sawdust, metal, and oil form a kind of film on the teeth. I think that this happens no matter what kind of lubricant you use when cutting. Some one told me once that it was good to keep the teeth clean, so I do. Don't know if this is true or not.
 
My mister hasn't worked since I bought the saw (probably a user problem) so I just put the fluid into a spray bottle and spray the blades every couple of cuts. I rarely cut metal so it works for me. The only problem with WD40 is its an oil and more difficult to clean off the moulding. Most of the cutting lubes used in the framing industry are water soluable so clean up easier.

Yes Terry it is a good idea to keep the teeth of the blade clean. Dirty blades have a tendency to heat up more when cutting. This can cause the blade to wobble and the teeth to dull faster. The main function of the lube is to keep the blades cool when cutting aluminum. When the blades start getting hot the aluminum starts sticking to the teeth so it's like cutting with a dull blade. The hotter the blade gets the more the rim expands, that's why there are expansion slots on your blades. If the rim expands more than the expansion slots can handle the blade can actually warp causing bad cuts. Interesting stuff huh?
 
WD 40 is Not a lubricant. It is a solvent for cleaning and is of the same family as jet fuel for planes.

The following is a posting I did previously on lubricating your saws and here it is again.

The best lubricant to use is a plant based lubricant called ACCULUBE. It was developed about 25 years ago by Boeing Aircraft when they were trying to figure out how to cut millions of pounds of aluminum environmentally safe and hazardous free. The lubricant is not toxic and the MDS sheet for the product does not list any harmful ingredients. Eventually the person who developed the system retired and Boeing gave him permission to market the lubricant and delivery system. It was eventually picked up by the ITW conglomerate.

If you are using a double mitre saw then you would use a specialized pump delivery system that delivers miniscule amounts of the lubricant with high volumes of air only as the saw cuts. So little lubricant is delivered a saw running for a full 8 hour shift and constantly cutting would only use 1 ounce of the liquid. The lubricant is expensive, but since so little is used and there is really nothing to clean up afterwards it is very cost effective.

There is so little lubricant delivered that you can leave the lubricator on when cutting hardwoods such as Oak and Maple and you get a much better cut and do not get a buildup of pitch and gunk on your blade. It will eliminate that burning you get when cutting these woods and you definitely prolong the life of your blades and reduce the cost of sharpening.

The ACCULUBE site will give you more information and show the type of pumps they use.

http://www.itwfpg.com/index_acculube.htm

Their air delivery pump systems are installed as OEM accessories on Pistorius and CTD double mitre saws. They are also available as add ons to older saws and I have done numerous upgrades to older saws with this system.

For those using a single blade chop saw we have discovered that the best delivery system is the PREVAL hand spray gun. You can see it at

http://www.prevalspraygun.com/

This will last for about 8 ounces of lubricant sprayed. These units are readily available at paint or craft stores and after searching for three years we found this was the best manual delivery system for the lubricant. You can purchase refill propellant units when the first unit that comes with the bottle is used up.

The spray bottle sold by ACCULUBE shoots the liquid out like a kids squirt gun and is suitable for machine shops but not cutting frame material.

Once you try it you will never go back to wax lubricant sticks. The only thing that the wax lubricant sticks do is gum up the inside of the blade cover with wax. These sticks need more wax than lubricant in them to hold them together and do not hold up when compared to ACCULUBE.

We sell both the PREVAL units and the ACCULUBE. If you want more information give me a call.

Alan
 
An added comment to Alan's comments. My CTD metal saw was having trouble spraying (OEM installation). I called them up (CTD) and found out that the one way valve in the bottle (tank) can go bad. I ordered one and it worked perfectly in a matter of seconds.
 
Years ago I tried p210 plexi spray polish. It worked so well I've used it for years. It cleans up nicely from the moulding.

framer
 
An added comment about old lubricating systems.

If you are using a lubricating system on your older Pistorius or CTC saw be careful if you are using the oil based lubricant that you add water to and put in the resevoir.

This is really a hazardous material and be sure to get a MSD Sheet on the product. If you cut a lot of metal the liquid mists into the air and it is a known carcinogenic It is not good to breath in the vapours from cutting. These systems are being phased out and do not meet current workers comp standards in most jurisdictions.

Alan
 
Thanks Alan, I was becoming afraid that I was the only one who knew that WD-40 was not a lubricant.

It was developed as a WATER DISPERSING agent & cleaner for the winding in marine motors.

But over the many years people have found many other uses for it. Lubricant is not one of the good ones. In fact, the locksmith industry LOVES WD-40 because of one thing: IT GUMS UP THE LOCKS OF CAR DOORS. Buy it's nature, it ATRACTS dust and dirt. Same as jet fuel; which is a first cousin of kerocene.....

baer
 
We have a Pistorius dedicated to metal moulding and we just use water with a small amount of a water soluable oil we get from Pistorius to keep the saw from rusting. I've always thought the purpose of the mist was to cool the blades rather than to lubricate them. I know there is a definite amount of water needed to get a good, sharp cut. We put about a half of a cup of the oil in a qal. of water. I guess to some extent a lubricant keeps the blades cool by reducing friction.
 
WOW!!! You people are amazing! It was suggested to me to use WD-40 by the supplier from whom I purchased the saw, rather than the wax sticks. The manufacturer seemed to think that it was ok, too, when I asked them. I had heard the things about WD-40 not being good for a number of reasons, and other people hotly insisting that it was fine to use. So nice to see people sharing so much information! Thanks!

Alan, a special thanks to you for your detailed posts with lots of good back up material!
 
WD 40 as a torch.

I am not willing to try this, but I have heard it has been done. A can of WD40 can be used as a torch if you are willing to light the liquid with a ingition source as you are holding down the nozzle. It is probably one of the properties of WD40 that the company does not want to exploit!

Alan
 
Alan,

Hair spray (Especially Aqua Net) works better. But I have seen the WD-40 use in a pinch. Especially when a small pointed thing is desired.... the red tube puts out a stream of fire instead of a wide volume torch.....
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ill gotten youth in the special effects industry... don't ask, you've probably seen the movies.
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baer
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Alan,

On the Acculube Site, they mention that it is also available in stick form.

For those of us with low volume facilities, would the sticks work just as well?
 
We found that the ACCULUBE in the bottle form dispensed in the Preval bottles, to be much superior to the Acculube wax sticks so we discontinued them. Plus you get a much better distribution of the lubricant on the blade with the spray than the stick.

Alan
 
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