best metal band saw blade?

[nekshot]

A friend was cleaning out his garage on saturday and loaded a metal band saw on my truck for me to get it out of his hair. Obviously this is a chink piece of work but hey it works(motor runs) but needs a blade. It is a 64 1/2 inch blade by 1/2 inch wide. I looked at grizzly for blades and they have bi-metal and carbon tool steel blades. Which is best for metal. I mess around with 4140 steel at times and what tooth per count would you recommend. I sure have gone thru alot of hacksaw and saw zaw blades in my time. Maybe that will change! thanks for your input.

[dragonrider]

Lennox or Starrett. Either will serve you very well.

[bangerjim]

You probably have one of these:

http://t.harborfreight.com/horizontal-vertical-metal-cutting-bandsaw-93762.html

Made in China under many MANY names......all same quality (?). They are good for occasional non-production cutting of metals. I have one to just cut off brass bar stock......3/4 to 3". Cutting CS.......?????. Hydraulic units work much better than these little gravity fed units!

Keep tooth count higher for hard metals and lower for soft stuff like brass and aluminum.

You can get blades at your local Harbor Freight store.

banger

[Reg]

Bi-metallic blades only. Handle them carefully, no dropping onto the work and they will last a very long time. Regular carbon blades on metals like 4140 tend to turn to mush in a very short order.

[cwheel]

I'm another who likes Starrett or Lennox, but I only use these in my larger saw with coolant. Your 4X6 saw will work quite well with Bimetal blades in 4140 with caution. Enco has them at a reasonable cost that last well in that saw. Saw should have a 3 step pulley, mid speed for 4140, slow for SS, high for Alum. Keep the number of teeth 10 or more for normal cutting. Thin work, more teeth. You just don't have the HP to drive a course tooth blade in that little saw. They are very versatile saws for their size, and great for home.
Chris

[bigdog454]

I use nothing but Starrett ( 12-14) bi-metalcost a little more but last 8 times as long. I cut a lot of stainless. try to keep a min of 3 teeth in the metal at all times; the thicker the metal the coarser the blade, but a finer tooth will cut thick metal just fine.
BD

[country gent]

Thickness or cross section of work thin is a finer tooth blade thicker is a coarser blade, this heeps blades from grabbing and overloading with chips. Coolant is a big help when cutting heavy stock. A round wire brush mounted behind the saw guide will help keep chips from sticking. Mount it on a bearing so it rolls along with the blade, no real drag just pushing chips out of the blade. Work slow and easy with it but keep the blade cutting dont let it "rub" thru.

[marvelshooter]

You want a 14 tooth bi-metal blade from a name like Starrett or Lenox. A wax stick made for sawing is also very helpful.

[Alan in Vermont]

Lennox or Starrett in a bi-metal blade. If you're cutting solid stock of an inch or more go with a 10-14 tooth configuration. Thinner materials or pipe/tubing a straight 14 tooth will work or a, IIRC, 14-18 tooth wavy config. Ease the blade down slowly until the cut is established. To get square cuts you need to make sure the blade tension is right, as well as the adjustment of the guide rollers(the ones against the sides of the blade, two sets, one on each side of the cutting area of the blade) so they are touching the blade. The part the guide rollers are mounted on are also adjustable to get the cut square and at 90° to the saw table.

Nothing wrong with these little saws as long as you get a good one, some of the sleazy, cheesy Chineze one are just about trash

I bought a Delta back around 1990 or so and it is still going and cutting true with tune-up every so often.

Stay away from Harbor Fright for your blades, no matter what BJ says.

[nekshot]

Ok, thanks fellas I am good to go. This will sure beat a hack saw and I have a nice old wood band saw that I opened the throat (highth) to take 7 inch stock for ripping and it works well so this unit does not scare me. Now I just need to find someone throwing out a 110 volt mig!

[MattOrgan]

I agree strongly with whoever warned against HF blades. They are junk and cost about the same as the excellent American made Morse brand sold by Enco. Not as nice as Lennox or Starret, but close. Get on their emailing list and you'll get their frequent free shipping codes and discounts. They are a great company to deal with; fast shipping, great service. I bought a pin gauge set from them. When it arrived one of the pins was missing. One email and three days later a replacement was on my porch. No drama, just great service.

[monge]

Lennox hold up good and are reasonably priced watch the tooth per inch count makes a difference on how long they last and the material your cutting!

[jmorris]

As above, Lennox/Starret with tooth counts appropriate for the material you are cutting. Tubing can tear teeth off of a blade that has too few teeth per inch and solids can clog then ruin blades with too many teeth per inch. Sometimes you can help a blade with too many teeth per inch out a bit by how you load the saw.

Instead of cutting angle clamped like "L" position it like "^", so it's not cutting the wide flat. If you want to cut bar stock "-" will load up where "i" will not.

[Dutchman]

I had one of the Central Machinery 4x6 bandsaws for 30 yrs then decided to move up to a better machine with this one from Enco. This one is 7x12" and uses a 3/4"x93" blade. Has coolant pump but I've not hooked it up yet. I'm still using the carbon steel blade that came installed but I bought a bi-metal blade and two spare carbon steel blades (cheap). This one cost $650 delivered. Its a much better machine.

http://images107.fotki.com/v70/photos/4/28344/12582412/DSCF3536-vi.jpg

[CLAYPOOL]

There is video and walk through over on either U-tube or weld talk @ Hobart. If its not there, they can guide u to it. It's been a while since I saw it. Mine is a wells and a better machine, but according to the experts they will shape up.

[bangerjim]

Not saying to buy HF blades. S is better. I have and use both. Was in a bind once and grabbed a couple HF's down the street on a Sunday...(try that with S!) Used that blade on soft and medium brass bar for 2 years! When it got dull after cutting some 1" 316 barstock, I changed to the S ones I had ordered. Changing blades is a PITA.....something you do NOT do except when absolutely necessary!

HF is not highest quality but will do in a pinch.....especailly with 3 stores within a 6 mile radius of me.

bangerjim

[crabo]

I use a bi metal 6-10 combination blade and really like it. I get mine from D&R Saw in Dallas. I think it is a 3/4 x93" and costs about $40. They last a long time and I use a wax stick. I cut a piece of metal off a 2x 1/4" angle that measured .017.

I made the rolling stands so I can move material and extend my bed of my saw.

[jmorris]

I have found some great deals on blades on eBay. My to large saws take 11'6" X1" blades and I have "won" new blades for $20 before.

I also won this saw for $200 about 8 years ago. Came across it looking for a manual for my other one.

Video
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/tools/th_VID_20130403_142706_262_zps1dd44c50.jpg (http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/tools/VID_20130403_142706_262_zps1dd44c50.mp4)

[deltaenterprizes]

Home Depot sells fine tooth metal cutting blades in 64 1/2" length for about $10 if you get in a pinch after hours or on the weekend