condeesteso
Established Member
Basically, WOW! - just fitted a meat & fish 3/4" blade to my BS500. Had it a while to try but just found a reason to fit it. Absolutely amazing. All credit to David Charlesworth for the idea in the first place. I expected the fine kerf (got that) and the low cutting load (got that) but the quality of cut is outstanding, and the finish is the same. It cuts so quick it's tempting to over-feed, but with an average feed rate as constant as possible, the finish (on beech in my case) was ready for a few passes with the smoother.
How will it last? It is stainless after all - I'll have to wait and see, but it may be better than I expected - the set is very little as the s/s stock is about 0.7mm, and kerf only a little under 1mm, blade tips measure about 0.9mm. So it's working less hard, and the small amount of set suggests a better wear-rate.
But to be honest, at about £11 for a 142" blade, if it lasts half as well as a steel conventional blade (about £18 - 20) it's fine, and I suspect it will do better than that.
I still need the 1" rip blades, and changing is a pain (all the tracking and guide set-up) but if I was running a slightly smaller bandsaw (say a BS350) and not needing to do the deep ripping / hardwoods that I do, I would very likely run these blades permanently. This has got me interested so I'm going to try a thin-kerf blade on the table saw soon.
Can I recommend 'justbandsawblades' (online) as a really good blade supplier - good choice of blades, (incl these stainless ones), very good prices, and above all the welds are really smooth unlike the Dakin Flathers I used before. Their Starrett and Hakannson are both very good, Hakannson having the edge in my opinion.
Obviously, with the stainless blades back off on the tension - being thinner they need about 60 - 65% of the same thicker steel blade (I did the cross-section sums, assuming the tensile strength is about the same). Also try running it well forward on the wheels - for some reason when centred mine was way off to the fence. Just lose the fence and use some scrap and 2 clamps. My bodge fence is about 2 degrees off square to the table.
Anyway, meat & fish blades - give 'em a go... after all if you are going to remove a finger or so, at least try and be hygienic, cos a rusty blade could cause tetanus.
How will it last? It is stainless after all - I'll have to wait and see, but it may be better than I expected - the set is very little as the s/s stock is about 0.7mm, and kerf only a little under 1mm, blade tips measure about 0.9mm. So it's working less hard, and the small amount of set suggests a better wear-rate.
But to be honest, at about £11 for a 142" blade, if it lasts half as well as a steel conventional blade (about £18 - 20) it's fine, and I suspect it will do better than that.
I still need the 1" rip blades, and changing is a pain (all the tracking and guide set-up) but if I was running a slightly smaller bandsaw (say a BS350) and not needing to do the deep ripping / hardwoods that I do, I would very likely run these blades permanently. This has got me interested so I'm going to try a thin-kerf blade on the table saw soon.
Can I recommend 'justbandsawblades' (online) as a really good blade supplier - good choice of blades, (incl these stainless ones), very good prices, and above all the welds are really smooth unlike the Dakin Flathers I used before. Their Starrett and Hakannson are both very good, Hakannson having the edge in my opinion.
Obviously, with the stainless blades back off on the tension - being thinner they need about 60 - 65% of the same thicker steel blade (I did the cross-section sums, assuming the tensile strength is about the same). Also try running it well forward on the wheels - for some reason when centred mine was way off to the fence. Just lose the fence and use some scrap and 2 clamps. My bodge fence is about 2 degrees off square to the table.
Anyway, meat & fish blades - give 'em a go... after all if you are going to remove a finger or so, at least try and be hygienic, cos a rusty blade could cause tetanus.
