Bandsaw blades

[michael howarth 1Participant @michaelhowarth1]

[michael howarth 1Participant @michaelhowarth1]

I have just had a bandsaw blade fail on me…….split at the weld. It is only a cheapo carbon blade and I am not particularly enthusiastic about trying to braze it together again. I now need to buy a couple of blades as replacement and spare. I have only had two breakages in as many years but they seem to fracture for no apparent reason and I can only guess at fatigue in the joint. The question is, do I buy more cheapos to throw away when they break or do I buy the more expensive model that allegedly has more life in it…..bimetal or whatever. I am aware of the old saying about how you get what you pay for but unfortunately I have found out to my cost in the past that this is not always true. Do these things ever come with a guarantee of any sort?

 

Any advice will be gratefully received.

 

Mick

[Raymond AndersonParticipant @raymondanderson34407]

Try STARRET, very good blades, they will weld to whatever length you need and are available in various tooth forms and M2 and M42 Hss.

Regards,

Raymond.

[maurice bennieParticipant @mauricebennie99556]

Hi Mick, try “Trucut” spurside saw works

saw servicing The Downs,

 

ROSS-ON-WYE

HERTS.HR95LR tel.no. 01989567360

They do Bi metal blades. I have had good service from them .I hope they are still there.

Best of luck Maurice.

[Billy MillsParticipant @billymills]

Bimetal blades last much longer than the price difference against cheapies, also great in hacksaws. Can’t see how you could guarantee a blade against the user doing dumb stuff then blaming the blade. Get the right blade and done with it Mick.

 

Billy. 

Edited By Billy Mills on 04/01/2012 16:20:17

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

I agree that Bi-Metal last longer and Starret is a very good provider of material. fortunately I can resistance weld / anneal my own blades so they are a little cheaper!

[John CoatesParticipant @johncoates48577]

I bought 5 blades for £35 posted from tuff_saws on ebay. He used to work for a major blade supplier. I followed the advice on a previous post on this site in buying from him and he was very helpful in responding to my email questions and advising which tpi baldes to buy for which material

[michael howarth 1Participant @michaelhowarth1]

Were they bimetal or carbon John?

[John CoatesParticipant @johncoates48577]

Posted by mick H on 05/01/2012 13:29:27:
Were they bimetal or carbon John?

Can’t find the details in my ebay account for what I bought as it was last July. His advert for similar saw blades says “industrial quality with hardened teeth”. His website is http://www.tuffsaws.co.uk and he used to work for Dragon Saws. I found him very helpful. He lists carbon blades on his website.

[michael howarth 1Participant @michaelhowarth1]

Thanks John…sounds as if they are carbon but I will ask for a quote for HSS.

[haroldParticipant @harold]

Posted by John Coates on 05/01/2012 13:43:18:

Posted by mick H on 05/01/2012 13:29:27:
Were they bimetal or carbon John?

Can’t find the details in my ebay account for what I bought as it was last July.

This anywhere close?

 

HTH

[michael howarth 1Participant @michaelhowarth1]

Yes Harold it is pretty good……I have just spoken to Ian at Tuffsaws and he has given me a very similar price…….the icing on the cake is that he GUARANTEES that if the blade breaks at the weld he will reweld it free of charge or if it cannot be welded he will replace it free of charge. Seems to me he can’t be fairer than that.

[michael howarth 1Participant @michaelhowarth1]

Yes Harold it is pretty good……I have just spoken to Ian at Tuffsaws and he has given me a very similar price…….the icing on the cake is that he GUARANTEES that if the blade breaks at the weld he will reweld it free of charge or if it cannot be welded he will replace it free of charge. Seems to me he can’t be fairer than that.

[TerrydParticipant @terryd72465]

Posted by mick H on 05/01/2012 13:49:39:
Thanks John…sounds as if they are carbon but I will ask for a quote for HSS.

Hi Mick,

 

He also lists M42 HSS blades on his site.

 

Terry

[michael howarth 1Participant @michaelhowarth1]

Terry….just ordered 2 blades…Starrett M42 10/14 varitooth for the princely sum of £32.35 including p&p. I’m happy with that ……not a great deal more than I was paying for the cheapos.

Edited By mick H on 05/01/2012 16:08:03

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

I oredred off Ian of Tuffsaws when he was still off work. he emailed back to say he’d post it on Tuesday. True to his word I got it on Wednesday and was more than a little surprised to discover it had ‘Starrett’ on it. I have some Starrett hacksaw blades and they have been incredibly sharp and long lasting – I finally wore out the last one, and discovered that an old one I put to one side cutter better than a new cheap one.

 

The bandsaw blade went through nice cast iron like butter. I’m going to keep it away from steel for as long as possible, apparently they benefit from ‘breaking in’ on softer metals.

 

Neil

[John CoatesParticipant @johncoates48577]

I can do no better than repost the advice that Ian gave me in response to my questions. Hopefully others will find this useful:

 

“The tooth pitch depends more on the thickness being cut rather than the material. 14 & 18tpi are the most popular tooth pitches and these will cut pretty much most types of metal and thicknesses.
24tpi tends to be used for thin sheet material and below. 14tpi for non ferrous metals. Stainless can be a bit of a pain to cut as it’s a very hard material so you might have to use a lower cutting speed if your machine has a selection of cutting speeds.

Cutting fluid can make a big difference in the getting the best cut and making the blades last longer, but they can be used to cut dry as well.
You should be fine with a selection of 14tpi and 18tpi blades, but if you know the thicknesses being cut or wall thickness if tubed, then I will gladly recommend the best 14tpi would be the best option with possibly one or two 18tpi just
to see the difference and which you prefer.
24tpi will cut ok as well, but because it’s a fine tooth pitch then it tends to be a slow cut and the teeth will go blunt a lot faster than a blade with the proper tooth
pitch.
When blades are new, the teeth are pretty sharp and for metal cutting the tops of the teeth need to be slightly rounded to get the best out of them, so the first five to ten minutes of cutting should be at a slow feed rate just to run the blade in and not damage the teeth. If this is done, then the blade cuts better and lasts longer.”

[michael howarth 1Participant @michaelhowarth1]

My blades arrived this morning and the invoice was for a pound less than I thought at £31.85! Gave one of them a trial and those gentlemen who recommended them are quite right……they are like chalk and cheese compared to the carbon variety, so many thanks for the advice you gave. One other piece of advice I would welcome is regarding how much tension should be put on the blade and how can this be measured ?

 

Mick

[Billy MillsParticipant @billymills]

Sitting down Mick ? Around 25,000 psi for a bimetal blade so its that figure divided by the cross sectional area. You can get tension measuring gadgets but most people “twang” the blade by ear. In practice would suggest as tight as you feel comfortable with on your own saw, perhaps around 5mm total deflection in the center over a 100mm distance for a hefty push and pull, that would be kinder to bearings and guides than the full Monty tension in the home workshop. Perhaps only the big machines run anywhere near the blade makers tension.

 

Some larger bandsaws do have tension indicators but some are about as accurate as weather forecasts or politicians. Would advise taking off the tension between sawing sessions as good practice, essential if you have rubber tyres on your wheels ( mainly on woodworking or general use bandsaws).

 

Glad you like the bimetal blades, made the conversion long time back, as you said chalk and cheese.

 

Billy.

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

The tensioning on the small metal cutting bandsaws can be a bit difficult to accurately set, but the beauty of these machines is that it doesn’t have to be that accurately set up – as long as the blade isn’t slipping in when it’s cutting and the cut is nice and straight with no bow in it, then the tension is ok.

This is the advice I got from Ian at Tuffsaws.

 

Neil

 

 

You can get a tension meter but these are pretty expensive – around £300! The tension meters tend to be used on the bigger machines where they are cutting all day every day and are a bit of an overkill for 99% of bandsaw users.

I just tend to tension the blade enough so that it’s not slipping and just keep an eye on it and add a little more tension if the blade starts to slip or if the cut isn’t straight.

Sorry I can’t be more helpful with the tensioning – when I’m cutting, I try and keep it as simple as possible, add enough tension to stop the blade cutting and generally you can tell by the sound of the blade cutting if it’s not right.

[michael howarth 1Participant @michaelhowarth1]

Referring back to my post of 5th Jan 2012 re blades guaranteed by Ian at Tuffsaws, I had one of his blades fail and returned it last week. It was returned to me this morning and true to his word he has re-welded it. Pretty good service 2 1/2 years on but the Starrett blade is still in good nick and well worth repairing.

Mick

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

It's amazing how long those Starrett blades will last, I suppose a bandsaw is an ideal environment for a cutting tool, constant speed and no shock loads.

Neil

[colin hawesParticipant @colinhawes85982]

When I use a coolant/lubricant on my Warco bandsaw I find that the blade is likely to slip off whatever the tension. Is this because blade runs directly on the metal driving wheels with no rubber face or is I more likely to be due to incorrect adjustment? It works perfectly when dry cutting. Also is it worth fitting blade brushes to wipe the blade before it travels into it's guides to avoid a possible accumulation of metal dust between the blade and wheels which I suppose could cause excessive tension or lop-sided running? Colin

[simondavies3Participant @simondavies3]

I had the same problem with lubrication until a jewelery making friend suggested using wax – just apply the end of a candle to the blade teeth and sides as the cut is starting and this appears to give enough lubrication without causing problems to the rubber coated wheels.

Simon

[colin hawesParticipant @colinhawes85982]

Thanks for the tip Simon I will try that next time. Colin

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