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cuts like butter

C

coffeeguy

Well Known Member
I was having difficulty cutting my rudder stops with my tabletop bandsaw. Took forever and would warm the material even while using lubricant. Upon examination the blade looked pretty well used and abused over the last year. Since they are 62" long I can't usually find local 24 tpi blades so I decided to order a few replacements online. Opened the mailbox today and there were my sawblades, sitting patiently waiting to be called to action. I installed one and started cutting the remaining cuts on the stop, a diagonal one that went thru a lot of material. Wow. Took seconds. Effortless. Saw blades and drill bits always seem to get replaced only after I realize I should have done it a long time ago.

Jeff
 
Replacements not lasting long.

My neighbor and I have both noticed the 9" replacement bandsaw blades are not lasting as long as the originals. They seem to break in the weld joint before they get dull. Anyone else have this experience and have a brand recommendation?
 
Timely post.

Just broke my bandsaw blade this past weekend. Assumed I let it get too dull.

If there's a preferred replacement blade, I'm all ears.
 
Amazon

I always keep a couple of blades in inventory for this very reason. Any sign of slowing down and I replace it. I have found Amazon.com about the best source for replacement blades. Bosch is my preference but for our purposes about any brand will work.
 
Starrett Blades

Starrett Blades
You WILL pay more for them!
The WILL last much longer, cut much better and make you much happier!
McMaster Carr is a quick easy source for Starrett blades.
 
As you guys know or may not know, I cut stacks and stacks of 4130 steel tubing for the weldments that go into your airplanes, I have tried them all over the years, Lenox is the clear winner, these blades just keep hanging in and cutting, I get several years out of one of these blades, all the others start losing teeth after just a run or two.
 
Ok thanks for that link. I was curious about TPI and width of the blade you are using. I think I currently too fine of teeth. I have a delta bandsaw so it's similar to the grizzly. $200 is a little pricey but that youtube video was impressive.
 
tpi for material

I saw something somewhere (that sounds definitive, doesn't it) where you should always have 2 teeth in contact with the material at all times. Since I normally cut very thin stock I opted for 24 TPI. Yes, I should probably change the blade to 18 TPI or less for some of the larger material, but you know that goes.
 
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wilddog said:
Second the Starrett blades, you can order them any length and teeth you want.
Click to expand...

Maybe something has changed in the years since I tried those, they cut great but by the second run had vast stretches of missing teeth and I paid a premium for them compared to the Lenox.
 
That is an interesting report Russ. I have had extremely good luck with Starrett blades for the last 6-8 years. I run a 144" long blade in my Do-All horizontal saw and they last for years while cutting significant volumes of mild, alloy steels and stainless steel. Flood coolant probably makes a significant difference as most bench-top bandsaws are dry cut. I do however run them dry in a Do-All vertical bandsaw as well with great success.
 
N329JR said:
That is an interesting report Russ. I have had extremely good luck with Starrett blades for the last 6-8 years. I run a 144" long blade in my Do-All horizontal saw and they last for years while cutting significant volumes of mild, alloy steels and stainless steel. Flood coolant probably makes a significant difference as most bench-top bandsaws are dry cut. I do however run them dry in a Do-All vertical bandsaw as well with great success.
Click to expand...

I'm running a big horizontal with coolant, no stainless steel but piles of 4130.
 
Lenox tools

Russ McCutcheon said:
As you guys know or may not know, I cut stacks and stacks of 4130 steel tubing for the weldments that go into your airplanes, I have tried them all over the years, Lenox is the clear winner, these blades just keep hanging in and cutting, I get several years out of one of these blades, all the others start losing teeth after just a run or two.
Click to expand...

Interesting you say you get good service from Lenox bandsaw blades - they also make the longest lasting step drills. I'm guessing they are the same company.
 
Two teeth in the material is the way to go but impossible with thin sheet. Heat kills the blades hence coolant and cutting oil mix. This is not necessary with thin sheet, especially aluminum. As the video points out, the surface of the saw table is important, the thinner the material the more important it is. Good saws have inserts around the blade that align with the table to a thousandth or two, but are too expensive for occasional (hobbyist) use. The video is the way to go. You don't need to spend big bucks for Bi-metal blades to cut soft material, most any flex back blade is fine and 25% the cost of the Lenox Bi-metal blades.

As any quality sheet metal shop will tell you, a band saw is not the hot set up for cutting aluminum sheet today but hobbyist have little choice because water jets and the like are not yet available at reasonable prices. If you are cutting a lot of straight cuts take your quality material ( they will probably not have 2024 T3 or T6 on the shelf, and certainly not in .016 or .025) and have them shear it for you. Ask them to shear a test piece before you leave the rest of the job, if the cut has a slight curl just before the shear burr find another shop, their shear blade needs sharpened.
 
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