Question regarding bandsaw blades.

[Kalimna]

Greetings all,
After something of a shock on Sunday when my bandsaw made a scarily loud, and percussive, bang, I discovered what happens when the blade snaps. Not much other than the noise, both from the machine and under-the-breath mutterings, it seems.
However, it got me wondering how often the blade weld fails? The blade in question was a half-inch on an SIP 01444, can't remember the tooth specifics. Is it possible that I had too much tension for the blade? I know the bandsaws own tension indicator is fairly unreliable, but it wasn't far off. The blade hadn't had an awful lot of use either.

Cheers,

Adam

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Before someone else gets in, ring and ask the man.

 

[RogerP]

Years ago I had a 3/4" blade fail at the weld and, as you say, apart from a very loud bang, nothing untoward - just a new blade and a quick change of trousers required.

Since then I've always used Ian's blades and they are guaranteed against weld failure.

 

[ColeyS1]

I had a big job to do which required leaving a sawn finish all round on windows and doors. first blade I tried was an Axminster blade, you could hear and feel every time the joint came around it didn't stay sharp for very long. An old injury usually means the bandsaw causes my back to hurt using the same pushing action with my arms- easy fix with a couple paracetamol every 4 hours.

After trying different bandsaw blades from various places I stuck in an m42 blade from tuffsaws. it's done probably 4 time's as much as the Axminster blade without showing any sign whatsoever of getting blunt. The weld seems also unnoticeable when the machines running as there's no vibration on the blade. The other major bonus- no paracetamol required on the m42 !! it really does cut like a hot knife through butter

if I had been doing a small amount on the bandsaw I'd never have believed the difference. I had around 3 days constant ripping, Im soooo glad the Axminster dulled and performed so cack and I had chance to try ians m42.
Top blades from tuffsaws- really did transform the machine !

 

[Kalimna]

Thanks for the replies. As it happens, the blade was from Tuffsaws, and checking my order history, it was 3/8" supercut, not half inch. I shall send them an email, but I'm not really after a replacement as I can't be sure exactly how much it has been used, and it was bought last April. Neither do I see it as a reason not to use Tuffsaws in the future. Prices and service both excellent.

Cheers,
Adam

 

[wallace]

Sorry for the hijack but does anyone know if a blade can be re welded. I had a wide blade on my 30" wadkin and someone pivoted the table, id just put a zero clearance insert in and hadnt V'd underneath. Now the blade has a kink in it. I was thinking i could cut it out and mig weld it?

 

[Penny]

Another random bandsaw question.

I have a Clark bandsaw. The blade is tensioned properly I think, in that It doesn't flex very much. However, it does twist horribly which of course badly affects the cut I am making, sending it off in all sorts of directions. Apart from quick cuts of narrow stock it's useless for any sort of precision cuts.

I can't afford a better bandsaw on my Forces Disability Pension, so what is causing this twist and what can I do about it?

 

[wallace]

Penny have you tried a decent blade, people on here like tuffsaws, are the guides set properly

 

[John Brown]

By a strange coincidence, I just had my first BS blade breakage this morning. Something went wrong with the tracking, and you could see the blade wobbling violently back and forth. I didn't get to the off switch in time(I have an Inca with the on/off control on the far side of the saw!), so the blade came off and wrapped itself round the driving wheel. Took a bit of fiddling to get it all out, but I did notice that the break was at the weld.

 

[CHJ]

Sorry for the hijack but does anyone know if a blade can be re welded. I had a wide blade on my 30" wadkin and someone pivoted the table, id just put a zero clearance insert in and hadnt V'd underneath. Now the blade has a kink in it. I was thinking i could cut it out and mig weld it?

Should not be a problem, when one of our 'on machine' electric (spot) welders was playing up we TIG welded the blades we needed.

I've Hard Soldered a blade for home use in the past, had to feather edge the joins to increase the joint area but it lasted the life of the blade.

 

[wallace]

Thanks Chas when you say feather do you mean like a scarf joint. And then overlap

 

[CHJ]

Thanks Chas when you say feather do you mean like a scarf joint. And then overlap

Yes, a bit fiddly on such a thin section, main problem was clamping the halves in line on a fire brick.

 

[woodfarmer]

I had a big job to do which required leaving a sawn finish all round on windows and doors. first blade I tried was an Axminster blade, you could hear and feel every time the joint came around it didn't stay sharp for very long. An old injury usually means the bandsaw causes my back to hurt using the same pushing action with my arms- easy fix with a couple paracetamol every 4 hours.

After trying different bandsaw blades from various places I stuck in an m42 blade from tuffsaws. it's done probably 4 time's as much as the Axminster blade without showing any sign whatsoever of getting blunt. The weld seems also unnoticeable when the machines running as there's no vibration on the blade. The other major bonus- no paracetamol required on the m42 !! it really does cut like a hot knife through butter

if I had been doing a small amount on the bandsaw I'd never have believed the difference. I had around 3 days constant ripping, Im soooo glad the Axminster dulled and performed so cack and I had chance to try ians m42.
Top blades from tuffsaws- really did transform the machine !

I have been using an m42 blade to cut recovered timber for kindling. Naturally there is the odd nail and staple. cuts well. the fastest cutting blade I have used so far has been a fastcut. I guess it does what it says

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Most blades that fail break at the weld because the welding heat will make that area a little fragile. However the numbers of blades that break is not high as they are usually discarded because they are blunt or worn out not broken.

Most blades can be re welded, the only problem is if the blade becomes too short for the bandsaw.

Ian at TuffSaws will re weld his blades, free if it's new or nearly new. I don't know if he limits how long his free service is.