Band Saw blades

[HB280ZT]

Hi All,

 

I was just wondering what type of band saw blades you all are using for different materials in your fabrication efforts?

 

For starts my band saw, a Sprunger cira. 1940-1950 uses a 93 1/2†blade and it still works pretty good.

 

I am using a 4 tooth per inch wood blade for Aluminum.

 

Not sure about ferrous metal though? You know for cutting tubing, exhaust, etc?

 

Any thoughts, ideas, types, brands, etc?

 

Thanks for the help.

 

HB280ZT

[JMortensen]

I tried some of the fancier blades from mcmaster.com that have different sized teeth at different spacing, and found them to be expensive and crappy compared to the one that came with my Harbor Freight bandsaw which has 18 tpi. This blade cuts .120 DOM tubing no problem. Takes a while to cut, but I think that is a function of it being a cheap ass $160 HF saw. These blades are hecho en Mexico, surprisingly:

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=42374

 

Looks like they carry some 93 inch blades too.

[bjhines]

good move on the lower tooth count for aluminum. The finer teeth will clog faster when cutting aluminum.

 

Finer teeth do a great job on ferrous metals.

 

I have a woodworking bandsaw with poly tires on the drive wheels.. these do not do so well when cutting metal... It imbeds in the poly and makes a mess.

[Dayz]

As bhines said;

 

- For aluminum, I use my wood bandsaw with a wood blade. Always worked great, never worked with above 1/4".

 

- For Metal, I use the bi-metal blade from HF or anywhere else, they seem to last a lot longer than the cheap 9$ blade. Which is a single row of teeth.

 

My 0.02$

Dayz

[johnc]

I run a Starrett Powerband/DP variable pitch blade with 10-14 pitch. It works great on all materials except stainless, which kills most band saw blands very quickly. I also run a TAP-EASE crayon on the blade before every cut.

 

I use a friction saw bland for my band saw when cutting stainless or hard alloys.

[Brad-ManQ45]

Like Jophnc and others have said - for aluminum get a lower toothe per inch count for aluminum, but for steel of any kind a bi-metallic blace of 10-18 tpi works well.

 

I have a Jet bandsaw and didn't even bother with the stock blade - had a bi-metal blade already purchased when it came and threw the blade it cam with out...

[mikeatrpi]

I run a Rigid 18tpi blade from the depot in my JET. I have been meaning to buy a bi-metal blade but this one is still working so there's no need to replace it yet.

 

I have tried using WD-40, cutting / tapping oil, and just dry... so far, dry seems to work just fine.

[spork]

As for the Harbor freight bandsaw, I've used it with their wood blade and cut aluminum blocks 3" x 3". It actually cuts through it pretty quick. just set the blade for the highest speed and go to town.

[2126]

Most low cost bandsaws don't have a slow enough speed or power for cutting SS. Generally speaking, SS requires slow speed and high feed rate, otherwise the SS will heat up and harden itself....making it even harder to cut. Keep the material and tool cool, and SS cuts pretty easy.

[Guest BoostFab]

I'm using a bimetal blade made by Morse; i bought them at Enco. It works great on the medium speed on my 4x6" $100 harbor freight bandsaw. I have been cutting SS Schd 10 & 40 no problem, the blade lasted a long time too.

[WizardBlack]

I thought the rule of thumb was three teeth in contact with the metal?

[bjhines]

The 3 teeth rule is great for cutting sheet and thin plate to keep the teeth from hanging on the edge and deforming the metal. Thicker stock runs on a different set of rules.