Time to order new bandsaw blades

J

jawilder

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Jun 27, 2006
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I broke my last bandsaw blade last night and would like your advice on what to order next.

I've used both the Lenox diemaster2 and Olson bi-metal blades and honestly I think the Olson blades lasted longer, although I've gone through two of them in 8 months.

Both of the Olson blades broke whereas the Lenox diemaster2 blades got dull. I'm considering the Lenox Tri-Master carbide blades. Any opinions on them?

I mostly cut out 3/32" 52100, 1/4" stainless, and 1/4" micarta on by bandsaw. What brand and tpi do you use?
 
Starrett is what I use. BiMetal 24 TPI.
They last a long time.
 
Lennox diemaster 2 for me have worked out well. Do you cut dry? What thicknesses are you cutting most of the time? What steel?
 
I have had good luck with the blades that Jantz sells. I believe they are Starret in bi-metal around 14 tpi.
 
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My last batch of Starrett bimetal blades didn't hold up well at all. About a dozen of them broke before they were barely broken in. I kept them to reweld them, but upon inspection they're filled with cracks so it would be pointless. It appears to me that Starrett has let their quality slip. Measuring tools too. I really hate to see that.

I've had to change to a different brand of bandsaw blades. I'm using Lenox now. ~ 6-8 TPI
 
jawilder said:
I broke my last bandsaw blade last night and would like your advice on what to order next.

I've used both the Lenox diemaster2 and Olson bi-metal blades and honestly I think the Olson blades lasted longer, although I've gone through two of them in 8 months.

Both of the Olson blades broke whereas the Lenox diemaster2 blades got dull. I'm considering the Lenox Tri-Master carbide blades. Any opinions on them?

I mostly cut out 3/32" 52100, 1/4" stainless, and 1/4" micarta on by bandsaw. What brand and tpi do you use?
Click to expand...


Are they breaking on the weld ?





I had a similar problem as Nathan, at least 3 blades all cracked like this throughout the whole length.

I returned them and complained a little.

HFPortabandBladefailure_zpse72c4f13.jpg
 
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Well looks like you guys jinxed me... My brand new Starrett blade just snapped right at the weld after barely any use.:eek:

Lenox here I come!
 
I gave up on the Starret blades because they would break at the weld time and again.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
My last batch of Starrett bimetal blades didn't hold up well at all. About a dozen of them broke before they were barely broken in. I kept them to reweld them, but upon inspection they're filled with cracks so it would be pointless. It appears to me that Starrett has let their quality slip. Measuring tools too. I really hate to see that.

I've had to change to a different brand of bandsaw blades. I'm using Lenox now. ~ 6-8 TPI
Click to expand...

Yeah I was very sad when I noticed that Starrett had sent production of some of their old standby models overseas. We used Starrett bandsaw blades for over 10 years and as soon as they started sending their measuring tool production overseas, they started snapping. Probably not a coincidence.
 
I did have a brand new Starrett that sheared a bunch of teeth on the first use. I discarded it, and stuck another one on and it has held up fine. I may look into Lennox. Are they available in 24 tpi?
 
KCGGBC said:
Very sad.
Click to expand...

Very sad indeed. Makes me sick really. Same thing like Nicholson files. They've been in business a long time, have a successful profitable business model and a good name. Some shortsighted knucklehead moves production oversea for a temporary higher margin, makes a fat bonus, ruins the name and the brand.
 
True.
I've been breaking more Nicholson files than I ever that possible in the last few months.
Pretty soon the only way to get a quality tool will be to make yourself!:eek:
 
The best luck I've had from all sources is from Fastenal.
Regardless of the source - make absolutely sure you BREAK IN a new blade:





Blade Break-In Procedure

All band saw blades, regardless of the manufacturer, need to be "broken in". When new, the teeth are just too sharp. Cutting at full rate will cause fracturing of the feather edges which will lead to premature blade failure. Breaking in a saw blade wears off this ultra sharp edge and allows the blade to retain its cutting ability longer. Each manufacturer has their own preferred method for blade break-in. However, they all share the same principles:

Maintain recommended band speed
Reduce feed pressure to ½ normal rate
Run at these settings for the first 50 square inches of material cut (150 square inches on mild and low carbon steel)

Note: If you are unsure what the normal feed pressure is, start light. Increase feed pressure until good, curly chips start to form. After cutting the recommended area, slowly increase the feed pressure until you reach your desired cutting rate.
Special consideration must be given while breaking in a saw blade on nickel-based alloys. (Stainless Steel, Inconel, Hastelloy, D2 Tool Steel, etc.) These alloys tend to work harden very quickly; therefore, sufficient feed pressure must be applied during the break-in period to remove some material. As a general rule, alloys sawed at lower speeds need more pressure during break-in period.
 
What Karl says about blade break in is true, and *VERY* important in my experience. If done properly, a premium bi-metal blade will last virtually forever on a large bandsaw.


The OP didn't state what kind of saw he was buying blades for, and that's relevant info IMHO.

Lenox Diemaster blades are designed for contouring, i.e. cutting curves. They're great for a vertical bandsaw when you're cutting out handle and liner materials, although there are some better blades out there for cutting thin titanium.

For a horizontal saw, I can't recommend the sawblade.com 701 Series - Haltbar M42 HP blades enough, but they only come in 1" width or bigger, and they're designed for solids primarily. Broken in correctly, I've yet to wear one out, I use them primarily for cutting damascus billets. They're dirt cheap, and blow all the Lenox blades away, even the QXPs that I've tried. (the blade stock is from Germany, and sawblade.com makes them to order) They've also got the regular M-42 premium 601 series, which goes down to 1/4" height, which I've also used and are great.

Personally I've got a small horizontal harbor freight saw that I abuse for cutting crap that I won't let touch my larger saws. I get bi-metal blades locally for it, because no matter which blades I've put on there, the slop in the saw, and the random scrap and stuff of various sizes I put in it, the blades loose teeth fast, and never cut that straight to begin with.


I keep a course 4-6 tpi blade in my billet chopper, have a handful of various pitch blades for the vertical, and then keep a medium range all-around blade in the small chatterbox for the random stuff.


On the issue of Starret, and Nicholson, they're just brands now, and ones that are leveraging whatever reputation someone spent decades building, on short term profit. They can not be trusted anymore.
 
I ordered blade with them too last July - 201 and 601 series. So far, the blades are working very well.
 
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