Cold Saw SFPM &
RPM Calculator
Dial in the right cutting speed for your cold saw blade. Pick your blade size, set a target SFPM for your material, and get the spindle RPM to run, for mild steel, stainless, aluminum, brass, and copper.
These speeds are for HSS cold saw blades on low-speed cold saws. Cermet and carbide-tipped blades on high-speed and CNC saws run far faster, so don't apply these numbers to them. Running cermet? Use the Cermet Blade Calculator.
Calculate RPM from SFPM
Pick your blade, choose a material or enter your own SFPM, and read the RPM.
Cards show the RPM for every blade size at your target SFPM. Red edge marks your blade.
What is SFPM?
SFPM stands for surface feet per minute: how fast the cutting edge of the blade moves against the material. It depends on two things, the RPM of your saw and the diameter of your blade.
Use it to match your machine's RPM to the cutting speed you want, for clean, safe, consistent cuts.
Recommended SFPM by material
Starting speeds for HSS cold saw blades, in surface feet and meters per minute.
| Material | Shape | SFPM | m/min |
|---|
Too fast, too slow, and glazing
What happens when the speed is wrong, and what you get when it's right.
Too fast: rubbing
When SFPM is too high, the teeth stop cutting and start rubbing, making friction instead of chips. That heat dulls the blade fast and can cause tooth glazing, a shiny, hardened layer on the tooth tips that makes cutting even worse.
Too slow: grabbing
Run too slow and the blade can grab, deflect, or chip. It stresses both the machine and the teeth, especially in tougher materials like stainless or chromoly.
Right speed pays
Correct SFPM means clean, accurate cuts, longer blade life, and less wear on your machine. Pair it with the right tooth count from the HSS Tooth Calculator.
Need the right blade?
M2 and M35 HSS blades in bright finish, vapor steam black oxide, TiN and TiAlN for all ferrous and non-ferrous metals and saw types. Built to order on German CNC equipment and configured by experts. Call (855) 729-7732.