Broke my bandsaw blade this morning.

[Joseph D'Orazio]

I have the Craftsman band saw. I am a newbie and I dont know anything yet. I was just practicing using it and all of a sudden it just stopped. It stopped hard, the little motor was trying to go but the blade had it hung up. I quickly turned it off and then took the disable plug out of the switch. I open the top door and see the what appears to be a loose blade. I also notice part of the door latch fall onto the table top. I think it came loose and jammed the top wheel stuck. I open the bottom door and see where the blade is broken. I reckon I will get the honor of learning how to replace a band saw blade. One thing I have noticed, no matter what I do I can not rip a small log into anything resembling a straight piece of wood. I notice a lot of flex in the blade. I need to learn about those things as well.

Knowing that I am a newbie and dont know anything yet, do yall have a blade yall recommend for me? Or blades?

[Dave Wagner]

usually long rips require thicker blades, the smaller the blade, the tighter the turns and more flex. Could have been an old blade and maybe had some rust, which will weaken it.

The tension, adjustment rollers, etc.. all need to be checked.

You can probably get a manual online if you don't have one, just search on the model number and read thru it for the adjustments.

[Van Huskey]

What blade were you using? TPI, width and teeth profile. Were you cutting dry or green wood? Type of wood and thickness.

My guess is you were/are not using the correct blade for the cuts you are trying to make.

[Dan Lee]

Pickup books by either Mark Duginske or Lonnie Bird. Great place to start learning.

[Joseph D'Orazio]

Thank Yall for the responses. I was cutting some cedar boards when the blade broke.

When I was having a hard time with ripping the small logs they were green and oak. I managed to get them cut but not board straight. I still have them drying. I am going to get a planer and try to make little boards with it.

I dont know what the TPI on the blade was. It came with the saw. I will go look to see if there are any markings. Heck, I should just be able to count the teeth, ¿que no?

[Van Huskey]

It came with the saw.


That right there is probably your problem.

The blade is probably a high TPI, rather thin blade with regular teeth. With BS blades one type does not fit all. Plan to have at least 2 blades probably more to begin to get the most out of your saw.

Take a look at the charts at Spectrum Supply and or Suffolk they will give you ideas about which blade fits which task. You can also explain what you are cutting and you can get blade recommendations here.

I think you should consider 3 blades, one for resawing green, one for resawing dry and one for curves.

[Howard Acheson]

As you are new to using a bandsaw, let me suggest you first buy Lonnie Bird's Band Saw Book or one of the recent books by Mark Duginske. Amazon will have them. Either will tell you how to set up and align your saw. They will also tell you what you need to know about blades to use for the cuts you want to make. There is no single "all purpose" band saw blade. You need the proper blade for the type of cut you are making. These books will also give you lots of good info on how to get the best from your saw.

[Prashun Patel]

I also suggest you take some serious time to tune and understand yr saw.

You'll benefit from a book, but you can find out a great deal by just googling these subjects:

bandsaw blade tensioning
bandsaw blade selection

A bandsaw is one of the more fussy tools, so doing this upfront research will save you a lot of headache. You'll get it!!!

[Chris Padilla]

Clean up that cast iron top and get it butter smooth, too!

[Joseph D'Orazio]

I will get me some books and use google too. The blade has 5 teeth per inch. It is a ½ inch wide. I've got lots to learn. I've also got one of those red Craftsman table saws. I regret that purchase. Its not big enough to make a sled for or anything like that. I need me a saw with a bigger base. I also bought a used router and table, again Craftsman. Again, I regret that purchase too, its a little table. I did see a guy on youtube make a beautiful jewelery box with that exact router and table though. He had homemade fences and stop on it but I was encouraged though. I intend to develop some skill despite my bad purchases before I buy better equipment. I desire a dovetail attachment but I also really want to learn to do it by hand.

Ok, thank yall for the information and giving me a good direction to look in for dealing with my saw. Yall are the best

[Tri Hoang]

Pickup books by either Mark Duginske or Lonnie Bird. Great place to start learning.

If you don't like book, check out Mark's video on the bandsaw...it's money well spent.

[Kevin Lucas]

I could not tell the size of your saw but I have the Craftsman 10 inch version. Sears blades are way too thin to suit me. See if you can find a local shop that makes custom sized blades. I found one locally that charges 10 per blade and they're good quality. If not there are Timberwolf, Suffolk etc that folks here can tell you about.

As for tooth sizes I try and keep two blades I use a lot. 3 or 4 tooth per inch 1/2 inch blade for ripping and a 6 tooth 3/8 inch blade or so for general work. A side note in hunting bearings last week I found they were 6$ apiece at a local tool shop and the guy told me look online for a better price.

The saws a little under powered but a good blade and patience feeding it through you can get some good cuts.

[Joseph D'Orazio]

Thank You. I for sure want some good blades. I got stuck reading about yalls work benches. (Thats what I am doing right now). I need me one of them there work benches.

[Joseph D'Orazio]

That blade is 89½ inches. I found a three pack of blades for $45. Its a 12 inch saw.

[Joseph D'Orazio]

Well I went to Sears today and bought 3 blades for $46. I put the ½" wide 3 teeth per inch blade in it and run it for less than a minute and it suddenly stops in the wood and is bent up now. I don't know what I am doing wrong but I need to fix it, I need this band saw. It is a Craftsman 12 inch 22400 band saw.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Joseph,

It's time to step back, take a deep breath and get an education on setting up and using this bandsaw.

Check this out: http://www.amazon.com/New-Complete-Guide-Band-Saw/dp/1565233182?&camp=212361&linkCode=wsw&tag=wwwnorthwinda-20&creative=380789

$13.57 at Amazon. I have bought two of them. I bought the first one direct from the publisher and paid quite a bit more. A friend borrowed it and understandably didn't return it. I bought the 2nd one from Amazon. This book is a tremendous reference. I'd recommend you order one and gain some knowledge on using a bandsaw.

Good luck!

[Joseph D'Orazio]

Joseph,

It's time to step back, take a deep breath and get an education on setting up and using this bandsaw.

Check this out: http://www.amazon.com/New-Complete-Guide-Band-Saw/dp/1565233182?&camp=212361&linkCode=wsw&tag=wwwnorthwinda-20&creative=380789

$13.57 at Amazon. I have bought two of them. I bought the first one direct from the publisher and paid quite a bit more. A friend borrowed it and understandably didn't return it. I bought the 2nd one from Amazon. This book is a tremendous reference. I'd recommend you order one and gain some knowledge on using a bandsaw.

Good luck!Thank You. Done.

[Joseph D'Orazio]

I managed to find a manual this morning and learned that I have to adjust the tracking of my blade. I did so and everything is much better. That was a really stupid mistake to make. The mistake was figuring I was smarter than the machine and not going over a manual. I hope to carry that with me. That saw could have hurt me. Humbling really when I think about it.

[Van Huskey]

Glad to here you are on the right track, when you digest Duginski's book you should have a solid foundation and be able to get far more out of your BS.

[Donny Lawson]

The 1/2" 3tpi blade is good but make sure it's a "Raker" blade and you have to push the log through very slow.Listen to the saw and when you hear the saw start binding stop pushing and let the saw pick speed back up.Also the 12" bandsaw probally has a 1/2hp motor and is really underpowered for resawing.You really need a 1hp motor for that unless it's a small log.
Donny

[Joseph D'Orazio]

Thank Yall both. For the guy who erased his message, you are right, I should have read the manual. Like you said though, from behind your keyboard, whatever.

[Gary Hodgin]

Here are links to the books by Mark Duginske and Lonnie Bird and the Duginske DVD. These are very good sources of info about the bandsaw. My suggestion is to get one of the books as a reference and the video for visual assistance. For some things it's just easier understand if you see someone doing it rather than reading about how to do it. The book helps fill in the details.

http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Your-Bandsaw-Mark-Duginske/dp/B000H6ECBK

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1565233182/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000H6ECBK&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1C3HJNVDBC91JNR9ZV5R

http://www.amazon.com/Bandsaw-Book-Lonnie-Bird/dp/1561582891/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1283643398&sr=1-1

[Gary Hodgin]

Sorry, Amazon doesn't have the Duginske video. If interested try this link.
http://www.allbandsawblades.com/books_vids.htm

I've never dealt with allbandsawblades. I'm not sure about their customer service, but with videos and dvd's, you want to be able to return if something is wrong. I've had to do that a few times over the years.

[Joseph D'Orazio]

Thank Yall very much.

[raul segura]

http://www.americanfurnituredsgn.com/Band%20Saw%20Tune-up%20Dec%2003.htm
Search :
How to tune your band saw this was the first on the list. Many more.
My first band saw was a three wheeler circumference of the wheels were so small the blades kept breaking !

A tip I found for the blade guide blocks is to make your own out of some hard wood. Cut them to shape put them in a jar with some oil and let them soak. You can then refinish them later or just chuck them as you use them up.......Also I braze my own not to difficult if you practice a little. I'm cheep ,more time than money and much of the work I due on the band saw is unfinished work.

Id upgrade to a bigger saw as soon as I could,( easier said than done), I know, but it is well used on all sorts of things in my humble shop.

Good luck you wont regret getting into wood even if just for maintenance use. Youde be surprized what people are willing to give away locally on craigs list if you are patient and ask the right way.

[Joseph D'Orazio]

http://www.americanfurnituredsgn.com/Band%20Saw%20Tune-up%20Dec%2003.htm
Search :
How to tune your band saw this was the first on the list. Many more.
My first band saw was a three wheeler circumference of the wheels were so small the blades kept breaking !

A tip I found for the blade guide blocks is to make your own out of some hard wood. Cut them to shape put them in a jar with some oil and let them soak. You can then refinish them later or just chuck them as you use them up.......Also I braze my own not to difficult if you practice a little. I'm cheep ,more time than money and much of the work I due on the band saw is unfinished work.

Id upgrade to a bigger saw as soon as I could,( easier said than done), I know, but it is well used on all sorts of things in my humble shop.

Good luck you wont regret getting into wood even if just for maintenance use. Youde be surprized what people are willing to give away locally on craigs list if you are patient and ask the right way.
Thank You for the advice. I am still waiting on my band saw book to get here. I already know I am going to want a bigger band saw. I did make a band saw box the other day. Its kinda ugly but it is a band saw box with a drawer. I've got these ceder logs that I got when Hurricane Ike got us. They are only about 2 ft long and 12 to 18 inches across. I really want to resaw them and book match some pieces and make nice boxes or something like that. They are a few years old now. I think this month makes 3 years.

[Van Huskey]

I just thought of something when I saw this thread back at the top, are you rounding the back of the band?

[Joseph D'Orazio]

I just thought of something when I saw this thread back at the top, are you rounding the back of the band?
No, not yet. I am waiting on my book (maybe tomorrow) before I mess with it any further. I noticed I can change the wheel speed too.

[Van Huskey]

No, not yet. I am waiting on my book (maybe tomorrow) before I mess with it any further. I noticed I can change the wheel speed too.


That could be at least PART of your problem but I actually doubt it is all of it. If you are getting Duginski's book reference page 59 for rounding the back of the blade.

[Harvey Pascoe]

Making a band saw work perfectly is an art. Even after lots of reading, it still took me three years before I really had it down well. And then I spent another $1000 in aftermarket upgrades to get it there. I have the old 14" Delta but will now put my saw up against the most expensive on the market and get the same high quality results.

Be prepared for a high learning curve if you expect the best results from a band saw. Its the most versatile machine I own and well worth every penny spent on it.

[james bell]

I have a 12" Sears bandsaw and like you, kept breaking the craftsman blades. They are cheap and easily accessible (if you are close to a Sears store), but they don't last long.

I finally went to Timberline, Olson, and Spectrum for 1/8, 3/16 and 1/4" blades respectively (have a MM16 for resawing so don't need larger blades).

EXTREMELY happy with all of these brands of blades - been using them to cut 4" hardwood for bandsaw boxes and haven't had a problem yet.

[james bell]

Read your last insert - my sears is old and had a 1/3HP motor which couldn't resaw 4" pine with new craftsman blades, so I purchased the MM16.

However, wanting to do bandsaw boxes and the MM16 wouldn't take small blades, I purchased a 1.5HP motor from Grizzly and she will cut through basically anything. I also purchased Carter guides. This setup is much less expensive than going to a new 14" BS especially if you want the Carter guides.

[Joseph D'Orazio]

Read your last insert - my sears is old and had a 1/3HP motor which couldn't resaw 4" pine with new craftsman blades, so I purchased the MM16.

However, wanting to do bandsaw boxes and the MM16 wouldn't take small blades, I purchased a 1.5HP motor from Grizzly and she will cut through basically anything. I also purchased Carter guides. This setup is much less expensive than going to a new 14" BS especially if you want the Carter guides.
Thank You. I for sure need new guides anyway. I got this saw at Sears but it was a return. I never learned what was wrong with it. Still waiting on my darn book.