What steels to avoid with a bandsaw

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

My portable bandsaw recently started losing power at the lowest speed for some reason. It runs but then stops when I start cutting steel.

One of the hamsters that turn the wheel inside has died. Remove the brushes and blow out his remains. While doing that put in new brushes.

For a coolant running bandsaw you need one made for that. There are no tires, just steel wheels. HF makes a good 7X12 that has coolant flow. It is a good tool to have in the shop, especially for cutting thick solid things.. I have cut 7" round stock in it many times. It lists at $900, but regularly goes on sale for much less. Also, check and see if you can use the 25% off coupons on it.

 

[robwil]

Hello, im a hobbyist knife maker and a few months ago i decided to get a portable bandsaw. Now that ive been using it for a while i noticed that there are steels that will dull my blades fast. Ive noticed D2 is one i get a inch or two in and it will no longer cut.

Im wanting to make a list of steels to not use on a bandsaw, to save me and other knife maker's some time and money. Im getting in some Z-Tuff soon, has anyone tried cutting it on a bandsaw?

I try to see if anyone else has asked this question but i couldn't find any other threads about it.

Steels ive cut on my bandsaw with no problems 1075, 1084, 1095, 80crv2, A2 and if i remember right some AEB-L.

Thank you, Gabriel

The type of saw blade you use will make a great amount of difference, as will the condition of the steel you are trying to cut. If you use just a high carbon steel saw blade they do not hold up well at higher speeds. the cutting speed can make a significant difference as well. I am assuming the D2 and your other steels are in an annealed state when you cut them. The more wear resistance the steel will have such as D2 will have a higher wear resistance even when in the annealed state. Saw blades such as bi metallic which have teeth made for cutting metals and have a higher durability and edge retention than plain carbon steel blades. You haven't indicated how quickly your saw blades are wearing out, the number of teeth per inch or the speed you are running the blade at. It is best (in my experience) tp use a blade with more teeth per inch such as 32 teeth per inch for cutting steel. For softer material, nickel silver, brass, copper a more aggressive blade at slow speed will work all right.

Bob

 

[EntrancedVermin]

The type of saw blade you use will make a great amount of difference, as will the condition of the steel you are trying to cut. If you use just a high carbon steel saw blade they do not hold up well at higher speeds. the cutting speed can make a significant difference as well. I am assuming the D2 and your other steels are in an annealed state when you cut them. The more wear resistance the steel will have such as D2 will have a higher wear resistance even when in the annealed state. Saw blades such as bi metallic which have teeth made for cutting metals and have a higher durability and edge retention than plain carbon steel blades. You haven't indicated how quickly your saw blades are wearing out, the number of teeth per inch or the speed you are running the blade at. It is best (in my experience) tp use a blade with more teeth per inch such as 32 teeth per inch for cutting steel. For softer material, nickel silver, brass, copper a more aggressive blade at slow speed will work all right.

Bob

Im using a Milwaukee blade its a 18tpi bimetallic blade. Yes the D2 is in the annealed state, honestly the first blade I used was broken in on accident best I was hastiest on "going to hard" but it cut about a inch or two at a fast speed. Ive run carbon steel at fast feed rates with no issue.

 

[Lynn Westfall]

I started utilizing thinner stock and was loosing teeth, 1/8 10v didn’t help. After reading some good advice here, I switched to a 24 tip Starret with good results.