L.S. STARRETT SAWING TECHNOLOGY

While best known for its precision measuring tools, The L.S. Starrett Company is hardly a newcomer to saw products. Within a decade of its founding in 1880, the company introduced a hacksaw blade with improved tempering, hardening and tooth setting to offer the best product available.

Now, during this first decade of the 21st century, Starrett has a program of on-going investment in saw-based R&D and manufacturing. The result is innovative new blades with clear cut advantages in a variety of applications.

Starrett Global Engineering Teams meet regularly to determine "Best Practices" and combine the expertise and talents of R&D engineers from three continents with sophisticated new tools such as Finite Element Analysis Modeling used to develop new tooth designs. In addition, modernized manufacturing with exclusive techniques, proprietary practices and multi-million dollar investments in new equipment ensure consistent quality.

While many other saw blade providers appear to be are scaling back R&D and relying on reputation and mature products, Starrett has introduced a steady stream of innovation. These include:

? bi-metal unique® Saw Technology which utilizes solid state diffusion bonding (rather than traditional weld or laser bonding processes) to join two strips of high speed steel wires to a backing steel. bi-metal unique is utilized in several band saw products, hacksaw blades, jig saw and reciprocating saw blades.

? Versatix? MP band saw blades developed specifically for cutting structural steels, sections, tubes and small solids. Versatix is a bi-metal blade with an innovative, patent-pending tooth design that easily copes with the shock loading conditions associated with intermittent cutting and similarly, with manual "pull-down" machines.

? Advanz? FS and Advanz? TS Carbide Tipped Blades, replacing our Type I and Type III blades, are built in new state-of-the-art manufacturing cells with improved procedures for superior toughness, shock and wear resistance, durability and blade life.

? Utilizing bi-metal unique technology, the Intenss? PRO-DIE band saw blades are ideal for contour and general purpose cutting of tool, die and mold steels, stainless steels, nickel based alloys and non ferrous alloys. They work well on both horizontal and vertical machines and are available in a variety of tooth pitches up to a maximum width of 1/2 in.

? Wide Band Blades feature improved blast peening and heat treating for better fatigue resistance, consistently straighter blades, and consequently, better welds ? large machine facilities now have a new, high-quality option.

? Unified Shank® are the only jig saw blades available that fit both universal and Bosch style machines.

To emphasize our renewed commitment to improvements, innovations and new products, we have reorganized our band saw line. The primary metalworking groups and products are as follows:

? Intenss? Series Bi-Metal Blades include Intenss PRO for high production cutting of a full range of steels up to 45 HRc, Intenss? PRO-VTH for large solid sections of exotic and nickel based alloys, Intenss? PRO-ST for heavy structural steel, and Intenss PRO-DIE.

? Advanz? Series Carbide Tipped & Grit Blades include Advanz FS and TS carbide tipped blades, Advanz CG carbide grit blades for tires, composite graphite and fiber reinforced plastics and Advanz DG diamond grit blades for ceramics, stone, marble and glass.

? Duratec? Series Carbon Steel Blades include Duratec PH hard-back toolroom and maintenance blades for low alloy, nonferrous metals, and Duratec FB flex-back blades for low alloy steels, nonferrous metals and plastics.

To find out more, visit starrett.com or call 978-249-3551.