Wear testing of saw teeth in timber cutting

Wear of saw teeth for timber cutting has been evaluated with the objective to establish an experimental method for saw steel development. Laboratory t est results are compared to wear as determined in a case study. The case st udy was made on band saw tools, exhibiting abrasive, corrosive, cracking an d chipping wear mechanisms. Laboratory tests were performed cutting pine wo od using the martensitic saw steel grade, UHB 15LM, hardened and tempered t o 1370 MPa tensile strength. The parameters, cutting speed, feed and depth, were chosen to be similar to saw mill conditions. A circular plate with tw o saw teeth was set up in a milling machine and each tooth was run a total cutting length of 10000 m, equivalent to a normal 8 h work shift in a saw m ill. Wear mechanisms were identified and characterised. The test method was found to simulate the saw mill conditions, and future wear studies using e xtreme cutting process parameters are possible. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B .V. All rights reserved.