

Knowing the SFM for the various settings of your bandsaw allows you to select the proper speed for the material you want to cut. Ready to start shopping? Find the right bandsaw blade at Know Your Surface Feet Per Minute (SFM) This is about the worst thing you can do for your bandsaw blade.Įxcessively under set bands will cut in a wavy motion. This creates hot, packed sawdust and leads to short cutting times and premature blade breakage. Too little set restricts airflow and limits the blade’s ability to pull sawdust from the cut. Too much set results in too much air and not enough sawdust and can leave tooth marks. The sawdust should be warm to the touch, not hot or cold. A good appropriate set is about 80/20, with 80% sawdust and 20% air being ejected. Choosing a Blade SetĬhoosing an appropriate set provides a balance between sawdust and air in the space between the body of the saw blade and the material it is cutting. Wavy set blades are made primarily with the small teeth recommended for cutting thinner metal sections, tubes, pipes, thin sheets, etc.
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The double alternate plus raker has an unset raker tooth following two left-right combinations.Ī wavy tooth set has groups of teeth set left and right, separated by unset raker teeth. You can see a blade’s set by looking down on the teeth.Ī raker tooth set has one tooth going to the left, one to the right, followed by a straight, or unset, tooth, which is called a raker.Īn alternate tooth set has one tooth going left, one going right, then left, right, etc. Variable Pitch blades have alternating sets of different sized teeth to provide a fast cut with a smooth finish, ideal for joinery and cutting curves. Hook tooth blades are commonly used for long cuts in thicker wood, hardwood, plastic and metal. This helps the blade to feed into the material more aggressively. Hook tooth blades have a deeper gullet-that is, larger teeth-and a positive 10 degree rake angle. Skip tooth blades have widely spaced teeth at a 0 degree rake angle to prevent clogging when cutting soft wood, non-ferrous metals and plastics. Regular blades are ideal for cutting thin materials with a fine finish. Regular tooth blades have proportionally spaced teeth and are ideally suited for general-purpose cutting and contour sawing. There are three basic tooth styles in bandsaw blades: regular, skip and hook. For thinner metals and plastics under 1/4″ use an even finer blade (18 – 32 TPI). This same equation applies whether you’re cutting wood or metal. A blade in the 6 to 8 TPI range provides good general-purpose performance. For general wood cutting duties in typical 3/4″ material, use a 4 TPI blade for coarse, fast cutting and a 14 TPI blade for slower, smoother cutting. Use coarse tooth blades (2 or 3 TPI) for re-sawing and cutting thicker materials. This adds stability and accuracy and applies to cutting in both metal and wood. Blades with fewer teeth cut faster, with slightly rougher finish.įor any kind of precision cutting, the rule of thumb is to always try to keep at least three teeth in the material at all times. Blades with more teeth cut slower and smoother. In determining teeth per inch (TPI), try to find a balance finish and feed rate.

The following chart shows ideal blade thickness for various wheel diameters. Thinner blades perform well for lighter work. Thick blades withstand more cutting strain from straight cuts but can break more easily from the bending and twisting action. The thickness of the blade depends on the diameter of the wheels, and the work to be done. Continual flexing and heating and cooling causes metal fatigue and ultimately, failure. Ready to start shopping? Find the right bandsaw blade at Bandsaw Blade ThicknessĬhoosing the proper thickness of the blade is important. The chart below shows the correlation between blade width and the minimum radius it will cut. On the other end of the scale, if you do contour sawing, use a blade that is narrow enough to cut the desired radius. This will keep the cuts nice and straight and you’ll get a decent feed rate without breaking blades. If you are doing re-sawing, cant or cut-off sawing, use your bandsaw’s maximum blade width. Start by consulting the manufacturer’s instructions. We use the word “width” but really it comes down to two things: The maximum capacity your bandsaw can accommodate and the minimum radius you want to cut. CHOOSING BANDSAW BLADES Bandsaw Blade Width Or keep reading to learn more about choosing and using bandsaw blades. Bandsaw blades come in a variety of widths, tooth designs, materials, and configurations.
