Homebrew PCBs

Hi Jan,

some choices are diamond saws and your big clunky chop saw.

my chop saw has a sever wobble and will not do any fine work so it is 
OK for roughing big sheets.

Harbor Freight sells a diamond tile saw for less than $100.00. tiny 
blade, but you can get a great cut, very accuratly. and you will not 
wear out that blade.

another choice it to clamp it on your mill and use a Vee point cutter 
to mill a slot.  both sides then break at the line and topuch up with 
a file.

Dave


--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Dwayne Reid <dwayner@p...> 
wrote:
> At 05:56 PM 12/9/02 -0500, JanRwl@A... wrote:
> 
> >I have another question for this group, while I'm "here":  
I "rough-cut" FR-4
> >on a bandsaw, using 14-TPI "woodworking" blades.  If fresh, a cut 
of just 1"
> >through that will "total" a blade for woodworking.  I do this 
actually too
> >infrequently to warrant looking at carbide- or "bimetal" blade-
stock.
> >HOWEVER, it is a royal pain in the gluteæ to hafta change blades!  
Does
> >anyone have a suggestion for BETTER rough-cutting FR-4 ("glass") 
stock?
> 
> Before we got a shear, we used a radial arm saw with a carbide 
tipped blade 
> (still do for ripping 4' x 3' sheet stock down to a size that the 
shear is 
> happy with).  Before that, it was a strictly manual process using 
an Olfa 
> 'P Cutter'.  This is a cutter shaped something like a lino knife, 
except 
> with a smaller blade that is replaceable.  The blade can also be 
> re-sharpened many times.
> 
> In use, just use a metal straight edge as a guide and pull the 
knife along 
> several times.  The blade material is tough enough to score glass 
epoxy PCB 
> material with no problem.  I recall that I'd take 4 or 5 heavy 
passes 
> before snapping the boards apart.
> 
> One advantage is that it generates only a little dust.
> 
> dwayne
> 
> 
> 
> --
> Dwayne Reid   <dwayner@p...>
> Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd    Edmonton, AB, CANADA
> (780) 489-3199 voice          (780) 487-6397 fax
> 
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