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G0640X 17" Wood/Metal Bandsaw
-29-
Blade Care
A bandsaw blade is a delicate piece of steel that
is subjected to tremendous strain. You can obtain
longer use from a bandsaw blade if you give it fair
treatment and always use the appropriate feed
rate for your operation.
Be sure to select blades with the proper width, set,
type, and pitch for each application. The wrong
choice of blades will often produce unnecessary
heat and will shorten the life of your blade.
A clean blade will perform much better than a dirty
blade. Dirty or gummed up blades pass through
the cutting material with much more resistance
than clean blades. This extra resistance also
causes unnecessary heat.
Blade Break-In
The sharp teeth tips and edges of a new blade are
extremely sharp, and cutting at full feed rate may
cause fracturing of the beveled edges of the teeth
and premature blade wear.
To properly break-in a new blade:
1. Choose the correct speed for the blade and
material of the operation.
Note: We strongly recommend using mild
steel if cutting metal during the break-in
phase.
2. Reduce the feed pressure by
1
⁄2 for the first
50–100 in
2
of material cut.
3. To avoid twisting the blade when cutting,
adjust the feed pressure when the total width
of the blade is in the cut.
4. (For Metal Cutting Only) Use the Chip
Inspection Chart
on Page 38 to check the
blade efficiency for metal cutting.
Blade Breakage
Many conditions may cause a bandsaw blade to
break. Blade breakage is unavoidable, in some
cases, since it is the natural result of the peculiar
stresses that bandsaw blades must endure. Blade
breakage is also due to avoidable circumstances.
Avoidable blade breakage is most often the result
of poor care or judgement on the part of the
operator when mounting or adjusting the blade or
support guides.
The most common causes of blade breakage
are:
• Faulty alignment or adjustment of the blade
guides.
• Forcing or twisting a wide blade around a
short radius.
• Feeding the workpiece too fast.
• Dull or damaged teeth.
• Over-tensioned blade.
• Top blade guide assembly set too high above
the workpiece. Adjust the top blade guide
assembly so that there is approximately
1
⁄4"
between the bottom of the assembly and the
workpiece.
• Using a blade with a lumpy or improperly fin-
ished braze or weld.
• Continuously running the bandsaw when not
in use.
• Leaving the blade tensioned when not in
use.
• Using the wrong pitch (TPI) for the workpiece
thickness. The general rule of thumb is to
have at least two teeth in contact with the
workpiece at all times during cutting.
Blade Care &
Break-In