Broke a bandsaw blade today

[david brum]

I recently got a Lennox bimetal blade for my saw. I was really enjoying the uniform cuts that I was getting on the veneer I was making, even gloating to myself about how long the blade was lasting, when it broke today. I'll definitely try to fix it, but I wonder if other guys have had similar experiences with bimetal blades. My saw is 17" and I was using a 1/2" x 3T x .32 blade. I have broken wider, thicker blades on my saw, but never had a 1/2" blade break.

Here are some questions:

1) Can I use silver solder from the plumbing dept at HD and a propane torch to fix this? I do have brazing experience.

2) Does anyone know of a thinner bimetal blade? After using this one and seeing how much longer it lasts, I'm sold.

[Alan Schwabacher]

Olson MVP blades are bimetal and come in a 1/2" 3 TPI .025" size.

[david brum]

Thanks Alan. Have you used one?

[Chris Fournier]

I have silver soldered and TIG welded blades in my shop. I use a silver solder that has a higher silver content than the alloy that you'll get at HD which I get from a welding supply shop. i guess you'll have to give 'er a go and see.

[Tom Esh]

...2) Does anyone know of a thinner bimetal blade? After using this one and seeing how much longer it lasts, I'm sold.

FYI Lenox does have a .025 bimetal in 1/2 inch (4 tpi.) Mine just arrived and I haven't had a chance to mount it yet. I've been using Timberwolf 2-3 tpi for resaw which work great when new, but dull pretty quickly. I'll be happy if I can get 2 or 3x life from the bimetal.

[david brum]

I have silver soldered and TIG welded blades in my shop. I use a silver solder that has a higher silver content than the alloy that you'll get at HD which I get from a welding supply shop. i guess you'll have to give 'er a go and see.

Thanks for that, Chris. I'll try something from a welding shop first.

[david brum]

FYI Lenox does have a .025 bimetal in 1/2 inch (4 tpi.) Mine just arrived and I haven't had a chance to mount it yet. I've been using Timberwolf 2-3 tpi for resaw which work great when new, but dull pretty quickly. I'll be happy if I can get 2 or 3x life from the bimetal.

- Tom

Thanks Tom. I will be curious to hear a report on how the 4t cuts vs the 2/3.

[Gene Howe]

I use the Lennox bi metal 4TPI, .025 blade to resaw Mesquite logs. It cuts great and seems to stay sharp longer than the steel ones I was using.
I don't attempt to repair them.

[george wilson]

Blades with only 2 or 3 tpi are certainly going to dull faster,because they have so few teeth doing all the cutting. I'd use 4 tpi like Gene. Twice as many teeth as a 2 tpi blade,and if you don't hog through the wood too fast,plenty of room between the teeth to clear sawdust.

A .025" thick blade is very thin for a wide blade. The weld is going to be thinner,too. Might not stand tensioning as well. I use .032" blades,even in 1/4" widths,unless I have a special need for a thinner blade.

[david brum]

Thanks guys. I'll definitely try a 4t blade next time. Meanwhile, I picked up some silver solder and am going to attempt to repair my blade. If you see something in the news about a huge house fire in Seattle, you'll know I wasn't successful.

[george wilson]

When I taught shop back in the mid 60's,I had a 14" bandsaw,but no welder. I made a little jig out of wood to silver solder 1/4" bandsaw blades after I carefully scarf ground them to increase the size of the joint. I found that silver soldered blades,done properly,were a lot more boy proof than welded ones.

[Gary Kman]

I made a little jig out of wood to silver solder 1/4" bandsaw blades after I carefully scarf ground them to increase the size of the joint.

Me too. My jig is made of aluminum angle (steel or wood would work too). Something to clamp the two ends to in alignment with an open space to torch. Spring the scarf joint apart and insert a small piece of solder. When heated, the solder will melt and the ends will spring together. Sometimes the gods bless with success and some times they laugh.

[paul dyar]

Broke my Lennox 3/4" carbide tipped blade today. I called Lennox support to see if they reweld them, have not gotten a reply yet. Did you silver solder yours, and if so how did it work.
Paul

[david brum]

I finally got around to repairing my Lennox bimetal bandsaw blade this morning. I got a blade repair kit refill from Woodcraft. After looking around, these little kits are by far the cheapest option. It was a pretty easy repair, kind of like sweating together a plumbing fixture. I didn't do a great job of making the scarf joint level, so there's a bit of a lump, but it resaws just fine. I'll know what to look for, and can do a better job next time. The main thing is that I have a $45 blade that I don't have to throw away.

[Howard Acheson]

Here is some good info about using a band saw for re-sawing. There is a excellent video at the end which should probably be viewed first.

http://woodgears.ca/bandsaw/resaw.html