Quick question: in your experience, does 3 TPI beat 4 TPI for beef femurs on a 5/8" blade? I’ve been spec’ing 0.022" kerf, set-tooth 5/8" at about 3,200 FPM on 2 HP saws and consistently seeing cleaner cuts with less bone dust and 10–15% faster feed; curious if anyone gets different results with a variable pitch?
But i’ve had 2/3 VP on a 5/8" hook beat straight 3 TPI on femurs by a hair if I drop to about 3,000 FPM, bump tension a notch, and keep wax fresh — less dust, no extra chatter. “3,200 FPM” can run a bit hot on VP with 2 HP, so try 2,900–3,050 and watch amp draw; if the bones are freezer-hard, ease feed or it’ll snowblow. What lube are you running?
3 TPI’s been best for me too, but swapping to a raker set and cutting femurs a touch colder (about 28–30°F) reduced dust more than pitch; keep the upper guide about 1/4" above the cut and bump tension slightly. @levi_m90’s 2/3 at about 3,000 FPM also behaved nicely — worth a quick A/B?