Low-Speed Effects on Thick-Slicing

A previous study showed that as knife-cutting speed was reduced from 500 to 5 feet per minute, the depth of fractures caused by the slicing also decreased. The purpose of this study was to explore cutting speeds much slower than 5 feet per minute to see if additional improvement in slice quality was possible. Slices of clear, flat-grained red oak, southern pine and aspen, 1/2 and 1 inch thick, were cut at 0.05, 0.5, and 5.0 feet per minute using a modified metal milling machine. The oak and southern pine were cut at 1900F, and aspen at 1400F, with compression and restraint applied by a conventional-with-restraint pressure bar. Physical damage, thickness variation, and forces were measured. Except for 1-inch-thick red oak, the change in cutting speed from 5.0 to 0.05 feet per minute had little effect on the depth of knife-side fractures. For 1-inch-thick red oak, knife fracture depth decreased from 0.48 inch at 5 feet per minute to 0.06 inch at 0.05 feet per minute. No relation between thickness variation and cutting speed was found.

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