bandsaw blades

[river1]

i'm finally getting around to converting my wood saw to cut metal :?

what is a good all around blade to use? tooth count? blade width?

while i know you should get a couple of blades and swap for different materials in reality i know i probably won't. hence the need for a good all around metal blade. i'll be cutting mostly steel tubing with some steel plate and aluminum thrown in

thanks jim

[mrloboy]

In our saws we use 14T/inch pitch bimetal blades and they work fine for 20 gauge to 1/4" quite well. A finer tooth would be better for the 18 & 20 gauge stuff, but we don't use it enough to warrant a blade change. Remember to adjust your blade speed. The wood saw will be running significantly faster.  Rick

[GPster]

Just some information that maybe someone will straighten out. What seems to be common for metal is "cut off" saws and they are using a blade that is called 1/2" wide. If your wood saw is not equipped to run a 1/2" blade you might be setting up for problems. The most common (cheap) metal saws seem to use a blade that is 62 1/2" long and for all around cutting they seem to be using a 14/18 tooth count. You can find blades as low as $7.00 to $15.00 but good blades run about twice that much (Frank can get them for about $15.00 each in quantity) but good blades might cut 4x longer. I used to have an industrial tool repair shop near-by that bought the blade in quantity and could weld them together whatever length you wanted which was handy because they would break at the weld and my saw could run a little shorter blade so they could trim the ends and re-weld them. They closed the repair shop because of lack of business but a bigger city might have that advantage. GPster   PS I don't talk as much as Wayne, my fingers(@) get tired

[enjenjo]

As a rule of thumb, you want at least two teeth in contact with your material at all times. So cutting 20 ga, you would go with 24 or 28 tooth blades, Now when cutting tubing, you are cutting two thicknesses all the time, and I have been able to get by with 18 tooth blades. The blades I use most of the time are a variable pitch, 14/18 tooth Bimetal Morse  blade from Enco Tools. Price runs from $15 for my small saw to $30 for my big saw. They also have it in you weld lengths.

I used to use cheap blades from Harbor freight, or the Tool connection, but they would wear out quickly, sometime in less than an hour, on tough materials. The Morse blades last for months.

Most machine shops have a band saw blade welder, but the quality of the weld is dependent on the skill of the operator.

[Pete]

If you plan on doing a lot of sawing and later getting a bigger saw, it would be much cheaper in the long run to buy a blade welder.
I got a new one several years ago for $700...It has paid for itself many times over.
A 100 ft. roll of blade is anywhere from $40 to $150 depending on the type and quality..Of course the more expensive lasts far longer.
I have a Doall for most contour sawing and have a converted wood band saw I use exclusively for friction sawing..The only conversion needed for this is more horsepower, in my case 3hp. I can friction saw 3/16 mild steel with it.

[enjenjo]

and have a converted wood band saw I use exclusively for friction sawing..The only conversion needed for this is more horsepower, in my case 3hp. I can friction saw 3/16 mild steel with it.

Tell me more!!!

[Pete]

Well, not too much to tell...It is a very old Delta saw and all I did was put a 3 hp motor on it and change the 3 groove pulleys so I could get the blade speed up aroung  8 to 10K FPM...
Be sure to wear long sleeves and complete face shield when friction sawing...Sparks and kerf go everywhere and is is HOT.

It helps if you are lucky enough to have 2 saws that take the same length blades..Then you can just transfer the worn blades to the friction saw. It doesn't care if there are any teeth on the blade.

[enjenjo]

Well, not too much to tell...It is a very old Delta saw and all I did was put a 3 hp motor on it and change the 3 groove pulleys so I could get the blade speed up aroung  8 to 10K FPM...
Be sure to wear long sleeves and complete face shield when friction sawing...Sparks and kerf go everywhere and is is HOT.

It helps if you are lucky enough to have 2 saws that take the same length blades..Then you can just transfer the worn blades to the friction saw. It doesn't care if there are any teeth on the blade.

I'll keep this in mind as I look at used equipment. I passed on a wood cutting bandsaw a few weeks ago. It was a Delta too.

[Glen]

Jim I have rcvd great service from the "Saw Man" in phoenix.  I call them and tell them what I want and they have suggested other products that would perform better.  They also ship out the same day USPS and I rcv them the next day.  That is a huge benefit to me.  They also keep my order history on file so when I call a year later they pull it out and send me the same order again

I am very impressed with what they have provided me.

[river1]

thanks glen

i'll look him up

later jim