cutters- myth or truth ?

[loki-aka]

I was taught and told by some suppliers and others that cutting nickle-silver type blanks
with non carbide cutters, causes excessive cutter ware and/ or damage. I just installed a new HSS cutter last month and while the old cutter was worn, showed no outward signs, outside of typlical ware.

Perhap I'm missing something. May I have your thoughts though ?

[Eyes_Only]

Not to familiar with with the difference with metal but nickle silver I bet is a little more beefier than regular brass so that could be true. I've never seen the HPC 1200 Blitz have any trouble cutting any key we threw at it as long as it wasn't made of steel, but the Bravo machine in the shop I did notice had a couple of teeth chipped off so maybe we cut a key that was a bit too tough of something too many times on it and the cutter couldn't handle it.

But I think if you take it nice and slow with the cutting process you can reduce the amount of wear the cutter will develop.

[Wizer]

There are different kinds of nickelsilver (alloys?).
I´ve got original Abloy blanks that are nickelsilver but they wear the cutter really fast. I´ve been told I should use oil and cut very gently if I wanted to cut those. Silcas abloy blanks of same metal don´t wear the cutter nearly as much. I have cut about 3000 of silcas AY1 with one cutter and only calibrated the machine once.
In general I think HSS cutters cut nickelsilver nicely. Not much wear.
Maybe someone knows more about metalls and alloys?

[jdislandlock]

we have a blitz as well, pretty sure just basic semi auto.
But i know we dont cut steel on that machine we have old one for that, i do cut nickel silver every onece and a while casue i know some of the sc4 keyblanks i get are nickel silver, But as mentioned before, if you cut slower there is less wear.

[cedrice]

you need to be careful when buying the blanks. Almost all keys are brass, but if you get a great deal on bulk blanks, it might not be all that great a deal as the keys might have some steel, or other metal in them. Stick with the name brands like Ilco.

[ufd538]

12 one way, half a dozen the other. I have read that using cheaper(bulk pack) keys, the brass is more ferrous, therefore rougher on the the keys, and can actually rougher on the blade than a more pure(harder) nickle silver.

[Phatphish]

From my metal machining days a rule of thumb is the harder the material the slower the cut should be.
ie. Softer material = faster cutting and deeper cuts, harder material = slower cutting and shallower cuts.

Not sure how this might relate to key machines though as I have no idea if they have the ability to run at different RPM,s. If the blanks are hard (steel) then just make more and shallower cuts than you would use on pure brass.

[mtcrowe]

Depends on the nickle/silver blank. Some blanks say their nickle/silver, but their really brass blanks with a nickle/silver coating.

A true nickle/silver blank will require slow duplication, but still wear out your cutter wheel. I use carbon tipped cutter wheels, and if I have several large jobs using the LSA keyway then I have to replace my cutter wheel a lot sooner than usuall.

[ufd538]

Our LSA keys are just brass...nickle plated. They just wear your blade because the keys are so thick. I think the roughest cutting keys are yale original sectionals....nickle silver keys with thick blades.

not to contradict....or pick....I don't think we have ever gotten keys that claimed a nickle silver label and were only plated brass....but the majority of our keys are ilco, and the are a reputable company.

[fultonsupply]

I have had the Silca Bravo III for 3 years. about 4 months ago I changed the cutter for the first time, and boy was it worn and chipped. We go thru hundereds of keys a day easy but 85% are cheaper brass keys, and the of brand keys i use are amazing the KW1 is a little softer then I would like. But the rest are very good quality just like JET or ILCO. When I cut Nickel (silver) keys or original I definatly feel the tention on the machine so it can't be good for the blade. Also you MUST go slower on original or harder keys, compared to the brass which I can cut in less then a few seconds.

In the 4 months I got the new blade I feel a little bit of wear but I think it still has a year left in it.

How often do you guys change blades on your Bravo or semi auto machines?

[ufd538]

I dunno...when it needs it...I think we got our bravo,probably around a year ago. Maybe a little bit longer, and have not changed the blade. We do have a new one wait to be put on as soon as we need it.

Try to change the blade before it gets chipped up, then you can send it out for a resharpen, and saves money over new blades.

[mtcrowe]

Our LSA keys are just brass...nickle plated. They just wear your blade because the keys are so thick. I think the roughest cutting keys are yale original sectionals....nickle silver keys with thick blades.

not to contradict....or pick....I don't think we have ever gotten keys that claimed a nickle silver label and were only plated brass....but the majority of our keys are ilco, and the are a reputable company.

Oops, you're right. LSA are nickle plated...had a brain fart . The main ones I see that claim to be nickle/silver but are just plated are import brands that I got from buying out old lock-shops. I usually just box those, prefer to stick with LSDA and Ilco.