Replacing bandsaw blades and general bandsaw setup

[thedonutman]

I got a really cheap benchtop bandsaw off Ebay a while back and I managed to break the blade that came with it doing a rather tight corner on a guitar body.So I ordered another one from Dragon Saws and it broke at the weld the first time I used it. I contacted them and they were kind enough to give me another one for free. Installed that and I've been using it for a while.

I then noticed it doesn't cut as well as the one the saw came with even though it was brand new, same length, same width and same TPI. It still cut though so I didn't bother messing with it for fear of breaking it.

Fast forward a few months and very little use later, I've managed to break the second blade at the weld again - cutting 18mm MDF! I was trying to do a curve with it but it wasn't *that* tight.

I've still got both blades that have broken at the weld and they're pretty much brand new - anybody know where I can get them rewelded?

More importantly, how can I make sure the blade is installed and the saw set up properly to prevent unnecessary breakages in future? eg. What do I do with all the guides and how do I actually set blade tension? I got the impression that the blade was occasionally grinding against something in the saw itself when I used it.


Here's a picture of the bandsaw itself. It's got upper and lower guides and a tension adjuster that pulls the upper wheel towards the top.

 

[Frank S]

Donutman,PM me and I will send you a copy of the manual for my Draper which is a similar saw. This will give you the basic idea for setting the blade guides.Frank S

 

[studders]

I've successfully silver soldered several broken blades. Rutlands (spit) do a kit but its rather expensive for what it is. Easy enough to make your own set up, just google bandsaw blade repair for several examples.

 

[Steve Maskery]

One of your problems is that you are using a 3-wheeler. There is a reason why nobody makes them any more.....

The wheel bends the blade through a very tight turn and this severely shortens its life, as you have found. A two-wheeler is much kinder on the blade.

Any saw doctor should be able to fix your blades for you.

Cheers
Steve

 

[jpt]

I had the 2 wheel version of this a couple of years ago and had similar problems with the odd noise and blades going blunt quickly. Not long after I got it I took the top blade guard off to clean it and noticed some heavy grooves in it. I realised that the blade was occasionally hitting the guard so I removed it, this is not recomended as it is there for a very good reason, and tried a few cuts the noise had gone complettely and the blade lasted a lot longer.

The reason I worked out for this is that the adjustable arm it is attached to is not very sturdy so when you adjust it it can go out of allingment. I modified the guard and arm to stop this and all was well.

For cutting curves I use at most a 1/4" blade as I find anything else puts too much strain on the blade.

john