Are my blades "galling" up?

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Was cutting a piece of .100 aluminum on my rockwell bladerunner (aka upsidedown jig saw with table)Out of 6 speeds I tried having it on the highest 6 and down to 4 and both of these blades took a crap after 2 inches at the most. Is this what galling up is? And how do I prevent this from happening?Both are bosch blades, one is 21TPI and the other is 36TPI.These were the best pics I could get.Torchmate 2x2 CNC with Flashcut CNC controlsHypertherm Powermax45 Esab ET220i Razorweld 195 MigRazorweld 200ac/dc TigTormach 770, Tormach xstechRazorweld, Vipercut/Vipermig, SSC Foot Pedal Dealer
Reply:Yes, fine pitch blades will load up on softer materials, especially when run fast. Lubrication will help, some people use beeswax or light oil. Friction is the main culprit. You want the blade to cut the metal out, but as you increase friction due to feed speed, travel speed, blade pitch, etc, it heats the metal up and starts to smear it. No fun. Best solution is to run the blade slower or get a coarser pitch.
Reply:Could be, but looks more like the teeth are just clogged up with the soft, kind of gummy aluminum.Galling is a microscopic welding of the material to itself (stainless steel bolt to a stainless steel nut, especially if they are the same stainless alloy and if no anti-sieze is used).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GallingUse a slower blade speed (jigsaw is more of a wood-wroking tool, so blades speeds are higher there than what is usually desired for cutting metal.)Another tip/trick is to coat the blade with some sort of cutting 'lube'.  Wax (candle, canning) can work for helping to cut aluminum.  Or a cutting/machining wax.http://www1.mscdirect.com/cgi/NNSRIT...-SearchResultshttp://www.freemansupply.com/CastrolStickWaxLub.htmhttp://www.acetoolonline.com/Champio...lub-wax-16.htmhttp://www.unitedmfrs.com/cart/detail.cfm?item=3728http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=2331http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutting_fluidhttp://www.tipsbytom.com/index.php/cutting-aluminum/http://www.wikihow.com/Cut-Aluminum  The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:Unless you have 2 bandsaws (1 for steel and 1 for aluminum) or change blades it can be difficult to keep the aluminum from galling up in the teeth.  If I recall correctly we were using a variable pitch blade 12-18 tooth and used it on both steel and aluminum.  When cutting aluminum we kept a block of bees wax on the saw and you just run it into the teeth every once in a while and it helps alot.
Reply:Use some oil or wax and increase your feed.Ian TannerKawasaki KX450 and many other fine tools
Reply:aluminum like to be cut with a coarse blade, I have even heard that Alcoa (huge aluminum supplier) cut some very large stock for forging with a chainsaw and a standard chainsaw chain, nothing special maybe just ground the cutters to a little different angle. For you, I would try a finer toothed HSS wood cutting blade. Metal cutting blades tend to have trouble with aluminum.
Reply:I use lava bar soap to prevent galling up tools when dealing with aluminum. Slow your feed rate down and and hit your blade with lava between cuts.  That will help a lot.
Reply:Try kerosene, works great when drilling holes. I also use a water based coolant sometimes and even wd-40 in a pinch. The coolant helps keep it cool and the slick tool clear the chips easier.Use a wood blade for aluminum. The metal cutting blades load up too fast. While in theory you should be able to go full out on aluminum... you may find slowing the blade down helps keep the vibration under control.This guide may help:http://www.virginia.edu/art/studio/s...wbladechrt.pdf
Reply:Rub some candle wax on the blade, works for me.Cheers Andrew
Reply:I have never lubed any of my aluminum cuts. I use like mentioned a variable pitch blade 12-18 (sounds right).  Even thick aluminum. I know its a bandsaw but still.