Can Mitre Saws cut cardboard?

Section62

gazfocus said:

A bit of an odd one for you. I have a need to start cutting cardboard tubes (the sort you get when you buy posters, etc). An actual cardboard core cutting machine is about £4k so in the spirit of saving money, I'm looking for a cheaper alternative. The blade on the dedicated machine has no teeth and is more like a pizza cutter type blade but I wondered whether a mitre saw would give a clean enough cut or would the teeth on the blade cause a rought cut? 

If anyone has any thoughts, would love to hear them. I figure seeing as a mitre saw can be bought for under £100 at screwfix it may be worth a go but thought I'd ask first.

Cutting cylindrical sections with a power saw is dangerous (in addition to the risks of working with blades) because the cutting action will try to rotate the workpiece, potentially dragging you hands(/body parts) into the path of the blade.  Cutting hollow cylindrical sections is doubly dangerous because a toothed blade the blade can dig in to the thin wall and jam.

Ideally you'd clamp the workpiece so it can't rotate, but secure clamping isn't really compatible with cardboard tube as it will crush under the load.

Hand cutting may take much longer, but it would be far safer.

Murmansk

However you end up doing it, it might be worth wrapping the tube in a length of masking tape which you will subsequently remove after cutting - to make the edges a bit less likely to be jagged

FreeBear

Section62 said: Ideally you'd clamp the workpiece so it can't rotate, but secure clamping isn't really compatible with cardboard tube as it will crush under the load.

A Vee clamp would typically be used- Some have serrations in the jaws to reduce the risk of rotation. Or if you are only ever cutting one size of tube, a saddle type clamp with a quick release lever could be used. For thin walled or more delicate tube, sliding a solid rod up the inside would help to resist any crushing force.

TojoRalph

@Section62 I appreciate it's an old thread, but having had the same question, the answer is yes. Using the standard toothy blade on my KGS 216M, standard 50mm tubes cut nicely. Tube hand held, zero issues with rotation, xlzeronissues with compression and cut was as clean as I could have hoped for. That's a photo of cuts and the end cap popped on a cut end. Is it as perfect as factory cut? No, but it's as good as anyone needs for shipping materials.