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Who makes the mini circular saw blades for angle grinders?

William Payne

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Years ago I spent a couple of weeks doing some work in an aluminium fabrication business. I remember noticing that the workers there used blades on their angle grinders that were basically a miniature carbide tipped circular saw or skill saw blade.

I have never seen these for sale however. I would love to know where to get them as I am doing more aluminium work.
 
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Showkey

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Maybe guys are repurposing blades from saws like this that have a full guard and blade cover when not cutting ............don’t think any would make an exposed saw tooth blade for right angle grinder. There are chain saw blade carving tools for right angle and they have their own issues.

9F5AF447-6092-4647-8ADA-48CD621BEE18.jpg


There many version of these small saws..........
 

Marvin Hagen

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Back in the 90s and early 2000s I had a Black and Decker top Gun that had saw and took a small blade also the Black and Decker versa pack that had a small blade. I bought a replacement from Makita carbide tipped
 

neophyte

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Seeing that you’re in New Zealand, there might be other options in your area.

Typically though, carbide tipped saw blades such as for circular saws are not manufactured with arbors that git angle grinders.
There are odd exceptions, but I suspect part of it is tool manufacturers trying yo avoid lawsuits when a blade kicks back and takes a chink out of the flesh of someone using the angle grinder with the toothed blade.
The lawsuit issue is known to be a major problem in the US, but sometimes less so in other countries.

As for blades that will fit on an angle grinder.
Arbortech is an Australian company that manufactured cutting blades that will fit on an angle grinder.
https://www.arbortechtools.com/us/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI26K_t72E8AIVkeDICh2KyQO3EAAYASAAEgIHGvD_BwE
They also manufacture one or more types of blade guards to keep the angle grinder safe while using the blades.
The original Arbortech blades were made for carving wood, had a one piece steel design that could be sharpened, and later a blade with carbide inserts that could be replaced.
The blade Arbortech makes for aluminum is called the “Trade Blade” or “Tuffcut”.
https://www.arbortechtools.com/us/trade-blade/
Supposedly the blades are able to be resharpened.
It looks like the blades cost about $95 Australian dollars.

As for the recommendation for Kett blades.
Those come in a few sizes, and are HSS blades available with different numbers of teeth for different materials.
The blades are made for Kett’s saws, which are basically a drill type motor with a saw attachment similar to most Kett shears.
I suspect the tooth design on these may be safer for free hand use.
 
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Todd.Brock

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I’m pretty good at hacking up my fingers with a grinding wheel. I’d be fingerless in short order. Lol. It’s always when you get a bit too comfortable...


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Kscardsfan

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I’m pretty good at hacking up my fingers with a grinding wheel. I’d be fingerless in short order. Lol. It’s always when you get a bit too comfortable...


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Same here. Complacency kills. Or at least maims. Guards exist for a reason.
 

Jmonnty

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neophyte

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Austel has a problem with this issue, too.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/revealnews.org/article/this-tool-cuts-fingers-and-gashes-faces-but-shipbuilder-still-uses-it/

I wouldn't use a saw blade on an angle grinder, IMO nice way to lose a finger.

Two quotes from that article.

“ Officials at Austal modified this Metabo grinder by attaching a saw blade with teeth. Metabo Corp. explicitly warns against attaching this kind of blade because it can “create frequent kickback and loss of control.”. “

“ A trial court in Mobile has allowed a lawsuit by eight current and former Austal workers to move forward so they can try to make their case. Their lawsuit claims the company intentionally endangered them by requiring them to use the modified grinders that had injured dozens of workers. ..... Also named in the lawsuit are the grinder’s manufacturer, Metabowerke GmbH and Metabo, as well as Southern Gas and Supply Inc., which distributed the tools to Austal. “

So the company that manufactured the angle grinder used, is getting sued despite warning against using this particular type of blade. (Metabo also likely manufactures some of the safer sngle grinders on the market)
And the distributor who dold the angke grinders to the manufacturer.

Also;
I’s like to see specifically what type of work is being done with the grinders fitted with the toothed blade.
The article says the blades aren’t used just for cutting, but also because they can be used for “cutting round edges in metal”.
Back before power tools were common, hand tools were used for cutting and removing metal, and files like Vixen/Dreadnought/Panser files with large rounded teeth were designed and made to remove metal very quickly, and with a curved tooth design that didn’t clog even on soft metals like lead.

The blades Austel were supplying to workers also don’t have an anti-kickback design.

The other thing that isn’t mentioned is that grinding abrasive discs would create aluminum powder, which is potentially flammable or explosive, especially if it gets mixed with ferrous oxide from steel dust( basically thermite). This can happen if a grinder is used for grinding both aluminum and steel.
 

neophyte

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If you’re worried about safety, there are different guards you can get gor some angle grinders.
This one from Arbortech is made for use some their carving blades.
It’s designed to fit over the open side of the angle grinder(while the regular guard is STILL attached), so that only the edge of the cutting blade is exposed, similar to the “cutting disc guards” that some grinder manufacturers make for their angle grinders.
The difference with the Arbortech guard is that the depth of cut can be adjusted for safety reasons.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071435NNQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Nowadays a number of power tool manufacturers also make dust guards that can be attached to their angle grinders for jobs like Tuck pointing.
The tuck pointing guards usually are adjustable for depth, and enclose the blade better gor safety.
Bosch, Makita, Hilti, Fein, and Metabo all offer these.
There are also aftermarket guards for similar purposes.
 

Rabid Badger

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How thick is the aluminum you're cutting?

I've cut aluminum sheet with a standard circular saw. Easy to control and you don't have to worry about a blade detonating at 11k RPM.
 
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