ok sorry for the off topic question but.. as some of you know I am a H.S. Metal shop teacher.. I am having a problem with our low speed metal cutting bandsaw.. I may have been sent the wrong blades this year.. as i used all the old ones up and had to go from someone elses previous order.. anyhow in your opinion who makes the best METAL CUTTING bandsaw blades? I have been buying lennox but have noticed that some of the 7' 11" 1/2 inch 25 10HR blades havn't been lasting as long as i feel they should.. So what blades do you use? keep in mind this is for a high school metal shop program.. so to say that they will get abused is an understatement thanks in advance sawzall
We clobber our blades on a regular basis, so cheaper is better...but the Milwaukee blades from home depot seem to last longer than the rest.
Lenox blades, and here is where I buy mine. http://www.jlindustrial.com/endeca/searchResults.jsp?N=3695+4294966564 Glenn
Read up on mcmaster carr website abou the band saw blade tech info page - they have a great page on it. Bi-metal is best for metal cutting, then pick variable tooth if you are going to be cutting wide range of thicknesses. Use bimetal and carbon steel blades on both vertical and horizontal saws. Bimetal The best all-purpose blades available, bimetal blades cut a wide range of materials and forms including solids, shapes, structural material, and tubing. Also used for contour cutting, they last up to 10 times longer than carbon blades. The cutting edge is high-speed steel containing 8% cobalt, which provides excellent heat and wear resistance even without coolant. This edge is welded to a flexible, high-strength alloy steel backing that resists heat, abrasion, and shock. Hard-Back Premium Carbon Steel For light to medium duty saws. Good for general purpose cutting of solids, structural material, and tubing. The hardened, spring-tempered back allows higher tension and feed pressure than flex-back blades. Also, the rigidity of the blade provides straighter, faster cuts and increased blade life compared to flex-back blades. Flex-Back Carbon Steel The lowest initial cost for general purpose cutting on light to medium duty saws. Flexible back provides greater fatigue resistance at higher speeds than hard- back blades. Band Saw Tooth Styles Variable Tooth Regular Tooth Hook Tooth Skip Tooth Variable Set Raker Set Wavy Set Variable Tooth, Variable Set Bimetal blades only. This versatile tooth style, combined with the benefits of bimetal, makes these blades unbeatable for all of your metal-cutting needs. They outperform raker-style blades in all applications and make smooth, fast cuts in structurals, tubing, and solids with less noise and vibration. The design incorporates varying tooth sizes and gullet depths over a predetermined length. Teeth are set alternately left and right, with a straight raker tooth included at set intervals. This design reduces harmonic vibration, noise, and chattering while increasing blade life. Unlike other tooth styles, the number of teeth per inch (TPI) will vary. For example, a 10-14 TPI variable-tooth blade has segments with 10 TPI, increasing to 14 TPI, and decreasing back to 10 TPI; so one blade can cut a wide range of material thicknesses and replace blades with 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 TPI. Regular Tooth, Raker Set Bimetal and carbon steel blades. A traditional style for general purpose cutting with a wide range of applications. Blades have deep gullets. Teeth are a uniform size with uniform spacing and are set in a left-right-straight pattern over the entire length of the blade. The straight tooth clears or "rakes" chips from the work. Regular Tooth, Wavy Set Bimetal and carbon steel blades. Best for cutting thin sheet metal, thin-walled tubing, and pipe. Teeth are a uniform size with uniform spacing and are set in a "wave" pattern right to left. Wave pattern eases the strain on individual teeth. Because the lack of a raker tooth may cause an uneven cut, these blades are not recommended for cutting solids. Hook Tooth, Raker Set Bimetal and carbon steel blades. Designed for fast cutting at reduced feed pressures. Great for cutting hard wood, plastic, and nonferrous metal. Sharp teeth with a 10° positive cutting angle bite quickly while the wide, rounded gullets provide good chip-carrying capacity. Skip Tooth, Raker Set Available in carbon steel blades only. Cuts soft materials, including soft wood, plastic, cork, and gummy nonferrous metals. Use when coarse teeth and a narrow blade are required. Blades have wide, shallow, flat gullets for increased strength and good chip-carrying capacity. Cutting Applications Use this chart as a general guideline to select the proper blade and tooth style based on the material you need to cut. Blade Material/Tooth Style For Cutting Solid Rounds and Rectangles For Cutting Pipe, Tubing, and Structural Material To Be Cut Good Better Best Good Better Best Aluminum, Copper, Brass Flex Back/Skip Hard Back/Skip Bimetal/Hook Hard Back/Raker Bimetal/Raker Bimetal/Variable Bronze, Cast Iron Hard Back/Raker Bimetal/Raker Bimetal/Variable Hard Back/Raker Bimetal/Raker Bimetal/Variable Lead Flex Back/Hook Hard Back/Hook Bimetal/Hook Flex Back/Hook Hard Back/Hook Bimetal/Hook Carbon, Structural Steel Flex Back/Raker Hard Back/Raker Bimetal/Variable Flex Back/Raker Hard Back/Raker Bimetal/Variable Low-Alloy Steel Flex Back/Raker Hard Back/Raker Bimetal/Variable Flex Back/Raker Hard Back/Raker Bimetal/Variable High-Alloy Steel Hard Back/Raker Bimetal/Raker Bimetal/Variable Bimetal/Raker Bimetal/Variable Tool Steel, Stainless Steels Bimetal/Raker Bimetal/Variable Bimetal/Raker Bimetal/Variable Nickel and Titanium Alloys Bimetal/Variable Bimetal/Variable Wood Flex Back/Hook Hard Back/Hook Bimetal/Hook Plastics, Fiberglass, Graphite Flex Back/Hook Hard Back/Hook Bimetal/Hook Note: For carbide-tipped band saw blades, see page 2196 ; for carbide-grit edge band saw blades, see page 2197 . Teeth Per Inch (TPI) Selection More teeth per inch are required for thinner materials, harder materials, and where the finish is most important. Fewer teeth per inch are required for thicker materials, softer materials, and where speed of cut is most important. In general, three to six teeth should be in contact with the work at all times (three teeth is the minimum for bimetal blades; six for carbon steel). When cutting metal, having 6 to 12 teeth engaged is ideal. Variable Tooth Blades Solid Rounds and Rectangles Dia. or Width * Teeth per In. Upto.225" 14-18 .20"to.40" 10-14 .325"to.625" 8-12 .50"to.825" 6-10 .65"to1.25" 5-8 1.00"to2.75" 4-6 2.25"to5.875" 3-4 4.50"to9.00" 2-3 Variable Tooth Blades Pipe, Tubing, and Structural Wall Thick. x 3 = Teeth per In. Upto.15" 14-18 .15" to.25" 10-14 .25" to.40" 8-12 .40" to.55" 6-10 .55" to.80" 5-8 .80" to1.75" 4-6 1.75" to3.50" 3-4 3.50" to6.00" 2-3 Regular, Hook, and Skip Tooth Blades Solid Rounds and Rectangles Dia. or Width * Teeth per In. .0625"orless 32º .0625"to.125" 24º Upto.125" 18 .125"to.25" 14 .25"to.50" 10 .50"to1.00" 8 1.00"to3.00" 6 3.00"to5.00" 4 5.00"to8.00" 3 * At the extremes of each range, select fewer teeth per inch for rounds, more teeth per inch for rectangles. Multiply wall thickness by three, then determine teeth per inch. For example: a wall thickness of .250" x 3 = .750". For this thickness, you require a blade with 5-8 teeth per inch. º Available in carbon steel only. Looking for Other Sizes? Popular sizes and styles of band saw blades are listed from page 2189 through page 2197 . Coil stock is listed on page 2196 . Also Available: Additional sizes. Please provide the following information when ordering band saw blades: For bimetal, ask for 4026A888 ; for hard-back premium carbon steel, ask for 4055A888 ; for flex-back carbon steel, ask for 4068A888 . Also specify coil or welded blade length, blade thickness, teeth per inch, tooth style, and tooth set. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2188
Starrett Bi-Metal, and match teeth/inch to material The cheapest solution in the long run is to buy a bulk reel and a band welder with a tempering option. David
I've never had to order one, they always seems to be there, but I heard an interesting story from a dude I work with. A guy who owned a shop decided he was sick of buying blades, so he cranked up the saw to about 8 times the normal speed and turned the blade around, blade-teef ays-backards. Worked pretty good for saving money, cut through the stuff as long as he used some coolant. Found out the old fart who owned the shop was my uncle. Honestly, when I found out it was him, I believed it. He's a very rare natural engineer. Thanksgivings are about the cubic inches of oxygen in a room compressed to a given amount, venturi size needed to run a 12" diameter hammer at X amount of lbs and stick a goddamned wooden pylon through 4' of water and 3' of sand. He can't really read very good, though. Whatever.
Just don't use cheap blades. I inhereted some of those when I moved into my shop. We averaged only two cuts through 2"x1/4" angle iron before they got dull, and yes, they were metal blades.
Ellis blades are the best I've used. Price is good. They're in MN. Let me know if you want contact info.
I have good luck with Starret bi-metal blades too. MSC will cut and weld any length you need, guarantee the weld. 7'11 1/2" is a standard though, as you know.
Is this a machine without the blade welding capability built in? That's the best for your shop, then you can teach the students how to do that function too. If the saw you have doesn't have the feature, get an accessory that does, and buy bulk blade. The administrator and the students will be amazed at your superior knowledge.
The welding teacher at the local community college has used the same lennox blade in their saw for about 2 years. It's been welded together about 7 times though!
For sure Starret blade bulk spools. Welding your own is easy to learn and does not take very long. Another reason to weld your own is the ability to weld the blade while in a peice of work in order to make inside cuts without a lead in cut. Lay out your inside cut, drill a large hole inside the cut out area, run the precut blade stock through the hole, weld the blade, temper, dress, then install on saw and cut out inside piece and when finished break blade to remove work peice. Hope that is clear. dave
Another tip I've gathered from woodworking books (hey, tools are tools!) is to never leave your band saw "parked" with tension on the blade. Always uncrank the tensioning knob when you're done using it. They say the constant tension on the blade will stretch the blade a bit, and then when you use it, it's not tight. These guys resaw 1/16-inch pieces off 2x6 planks--the long/tall way, so getting a straight cut is horrendously important for them. Woodworking magazines have many advertisers that sell tensioning knob conversion kits that have a handle with a cam--lift the handle, the blade has tension, pull the handle down and the tension is released. The economy kits are simply a crank handle to replace the twist knob on the top of the machine. But either way, they take releasing the tension on a bandsaw blade very importantly for increasing the lift/effeciency of the blade. -Brad
Do you have a spot-welder? I teach shop (wood) also, as you probably know. And, my room used to be the casting/sheet metal/machine shop. So, I have some stuff sitting around. Anyway, I have a really old roll of Lenox, American made stock. When new, it says it had 100' on it. I doubt if any was cut off of it. Here are the specs: Neo-TYPE hard, black, carbon steel Band Saw Stock 1/2 025 18w 30.5m 12.5 .63 You're welcome to it.... BTW, if your kid's are missing, look for them in the back corner spot welding pop cans...... I may have more... EDIT: are any of your concrete blocks cut in two? There in is the answer to your mystery...
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