Influence of mechanical properties and mineral salts in wood species on tool wear of high-speed steels and stellite-tipped tools – Consideration of tool wear of the newly developed tip-inserted band saw

This paper is the third in a series of work done on a novel technique for bandsawing, which uses a tip-inserted saw, and is gaining increasing popularity in Japan. It builds up on previous reports on the novel technique for bandsawing, which considered cutting tool hardness, tool wear, accuracy of kerf width, washboarding, and surface profiles of the workpiece. In this paper, ash content analysis and three-point static bending tests were conducted to clarify the influence of mineral salts and mechanical properties of wood samples of Elais guineensis (Oil palm), Strombosia glaucescens (Afina), and Cryptomeria japonica (Sugi) on cutting tool wear. The cutting tools were made from Stellite and High Speed Steels (HSS) of designations SUS420J2 and TiN coated SKH 51 according to the Japan Industrial Standards (JIS). Among the tested wood samples, the highest cutting tool edge recession when machining with SUS420J2 and TiN coated SKH 51 tools were recorded in Oil palm in spite of Afina possessing the highest mechanical strength properties. On the contrary, Stellite in spite of possessing the smallest hardness (HV580) among all the tested cutting tools recorded the lowest cutting tool edge recession when machining wood samples of Oil palm. However, Stellite recorded the highest edge recession when machining Afina, a high density species. Ash content analysis and a scanning electron micrograph of wood samples of the tested wood species show the presence of high proportions of mineral salts in the transverse, radial and tangential sections of Oil palm. This could perhaps account for the high cutting tool edge recessions recorded in wood samples of the Oil palm. The studies have demonstrated that silica accumulation species could have significant effect on tool wear of high speed steels.