Where to get good band saw blades

[Yonak Hawkins]

I've had a bad string of luck lately with band saw blades. I use 3/16" X 4T & 1/4" x 6T blades and, from the last three places I bought, they have failed at the weld within just a few hours of use. These vendors are : SuperCut, Woodcraft Bands and Saw Blade Express. I have to say all but SuperCut were great about exchanging or re-welding the blades free of charge but, the hassle of sending them back, the cost of the postage, the constant downtime of changing the blades on the saw and just the general frustration have taken their toll. Isn't there some place that sells band saw blades with quality welds ?

Further information : Blades break on both an older 14" Delta and a new 14" Rikon. I have adjusted both these saws correctly with proper tension and guide placement. I don't cut curves tighter than what is recommended for the blades. I burnish the back edges of the blades upon installation. I don't feed too aggressively or otherwise stress the blades when cutting.

I forgot to add that I cut 1-3/4" ash with the 1/4" blades and 3/4" maple with the 3/16" blades. Also, as an above-the-reply redirect to Erik, the blades that I have had replaced also have broken at the weld so it's not really one try and done.

[Erik Loza]

Spectrum Supply
Industrial Blade-dot-net
Bandsaw Blades Direct-dot-com

Your choice of brand and style and like I always say: Don't give up on a particular blade because you got a bad batch. I've been doing this for over ten years and seen blades with bad welds from all sorts of vendors, even ones with great reputations. Also, I personally feel that many folks are too quick to blame the blade. Can't tell you how many times I've seen folks dull a brand new blade (myself included...) from pushing the feed rate too hard/wrong tooth style for particular species or moisture level of wood/etc. In other words, sometimes it truly is the blade's fault but a lot of time, it's not. Best of luck with it.

Erik

[Bruce Wrenn]

When you have broken blades from three different suppliers, I think the problem is either something on your machines, or operator error.

[Frederick Skelly]

I've always gotten good performance from Suffolk's Timberwolf brand. Just bought a few more last month and they work well on my 12" JET. I have an Olson on my Rikon 14" and it's held up well.

[Joe Adams]

I always buy mine from Suffolk machinery (dot com).

[Andy London]

I buy from Lee Valley and have excellent results, sometimes from Suffolk or there is a local shop that makes them and their blades are amazing. It does seem odd you are breaking so many blades, I use the bandsaw often for many things and it's rare I break one, running a Delta with a riser kit.

Andy

[Jim Becker]

I have to agree that breaking multiple blades from multiple manufacturers sends up a bit of a red flag relative to the machinery and/or cutting technique. For the latter, it's important to allow the saw to cut at it's own rate for the configuration of the blade installed. (choosing the right tooth pattern is part of that since the blade needs to be able to clear material during the cut) Proper alignment and proper tensioning is also important because otherwise, there are additional stresses placed on the blade that can cause premature failure.

Personally, I use Timberwolf blades and while I've occasionally gotten a bad weld, in general, I wear them out long before there's risk of breaking them.

[glenn bradley]

Recurring message here; seems like there may be a question as to the type of blade and its intended use. If the welds are breaking on smaller blades I assume a lot of curvy work, yes? If so, are we talking about bandsaw boxes and other thick cuts with small blades? Even using a Carter Stabilizer and putting a blade through all the abuse that provides I have had no failures with Timberwolf or Carter Blades. I though Woodcraft's bands were Timberwolf but, I could be mis-remebering.

[Yonak Hawkins]

When you have broken blades from three different suppliers, I think the problem is either something on your machines, or operator error.

Naturally, this occurred to me, as well. ..But how do I tell ? I believe I have the blades tensioned properly. It seems right from my experience but what's the test ?

All my guides are properly set. I let the wood do the cutting and I do not force it. I don't cut curves that are too tight for the blade and there is no burning or binding.

I cut 1-3/4" ash using 1/4" X 6T blades and 3/4" maple using 3/16" X 4T. Should I be using skip tooth or hook tooth or something else ?

This happens on two different band saws, as well. This seems to be happening in just the last year. Prior to that I rarely had blades break and I do a lot of band saw work. Is there something different about how blades are made or treated recently ? Is there a new prevailing method of welding that may be the cause ? This is a significant frustration for me.

Breaking at the weld seems to indicate the welder, not the blade manufacturer but, maybe they're using a different alloy now or something. I just don't get it.

[Andrew Hughes]

It could be the tires,?Maybe the crown it high or the rubber is hard on the old saw?

[Yonak Hawkins]

As a followup : I bought a re-solder kit from Lee Valley and repaired all my broken blades. I used one of the repaired 3/16" blades recently and it did not break, even after using on twice the number of parts I cut when the new blade was new and it broke at the weld. This re-confirms my suspicion that the original welds were bad.

[Paul F Franklin]

Regarding tension...Google bandsaw blade flutter test for a way to confirm your settings.

6TPI is too fine for 1 3/4 stock...I use 3 TPI hook tooth blades for everything above 1/2 inch.

[Jim Finn]

I use and recommend Supercut carbide re-saw blades. I suggest you watch the Snodgrass video on band saws. He mentions tensioning there. I have never broken a blade since tensioning them the way he mentions.

[Yonak Hawkins]

For a 2 month period early this year had a frustrating series of episodes when I had 9 band saw blades break at the weld. Then I got some silver solder and a jig from Lee Valley and I repaired the blades.

I just wanted to report that in the past 6 months since then I'm still using the first blade of one size and I'm on the second blade of the other size (the first one finally got too dull to saw straight). I normally use my band saw one full day each week or 10 days.

This is the most confounding thing. I wonder if anyone else has had such a terrible time with new blades breaking at the weld after only a few hours of use. I'd sure like to find an answer. These blades were from 3 different internet vendors.

Also, I can't recommend silver soldering of band saw blades highly enough. The repairs are still holding up after over 100 hours of use, each blade. Be sure to use the jig manufacturer's suggestion of a fixture to grind the blade ends properly. A shop made one is easy to fashion.

[Andrew Hughes]

Hi Yonak,One reason that blades will break is a saw that vibrates a lot from unbalanced wheels or bad tires.
So does your saw run smooth with very little or no crazy vibration.
I hope you don't have it chained down to keep it from hopping out the door and down the road?
What saw do you have.

Aj