In this guide, I will tell you everything you need to know to make informed purchases when it comes to band saw blades. One thing that I’ve learned after years of using bandsaws is an “ok” bandsaw will cut very well with a great blade but a great bandsaw is not going to make your works easy if it has the wrong blade. Every workshop should have an irreplaceable machine called a bandsaw. However, some users have reported some teeth breaking near the welds. Which means that a fine pitch blade has smaller teeth, take smaller bite and leaves the surface smoother. Best Band Saw Blades. Narrow blades can cut smaller radius; however, they tend to break easily. For instance, a curve of a minimum radius of 5/16 inches is best generated using a 3/16 inches blade. They are also suited to both contour cutting and general purpose cutting. Regular tooth form bandsaw blades are preferred for their ability of being able to precisely cutting curves smoothly. POWERTEC bandsaw blades are often inexpensive, but they have superior design and quality. They are good at quickly cutting through soft material. Although the blade is not very sharp, the above features come at an affordable price. It also means that the blade will make larger cuts. In fact, it is the most important factor in the whole bandsaw operation that could decide the outcome of your work. Treat it with care when maintaining these kinds of blades. However, the downside to these blades is their inability to make smaller, more accurate cuts. Picking a blade with the right width is always need to be done with consideration. Armed with this knowledge you should have no issues walking into your local hardware store and picking out the best blade or blades for your band saw. The blades can cut thin profiles in tubes, thanks to their 18tpi design. Here is my list of cuts that I make regularly so I can pick my bandsaw blades base on the width, pitch, thickness, and tooth form: Note: More than other bandsaw operation, resawing requires high demanding work and the right blade, I prefer a variable-pitch hook tooth blade. What this refers to is the number of teeth located on the blade. Hook tooth blades have deep gullets that allow these blades to take deep bites out of material on each cut. Worn or ineffective blade guides and thrust bearings take the blame here, especially in older saws. Want more precise and smoother cut? Mark Duginske’s book on the machine is an excellent reference: “The New Complete Guide to the Band Saw… These are not the best blades for making accurate cuts, but they are strong enough to cut through most metals without dulling. They are inexpensive and offer adequate hardness to cut softer materials like wood, plastic, plywood etc. Beam strength refers to the fact that a bandsaw blade supported between two sets of guides acts as a beam when the workpiece is fed into the blade. If a blade has a low number of teeth, then it is considered a coarse blade or rough blade. Timber Wolf Blade is a worthy feature in this list because of its superior quality based in trials and views of other users. Pay attention to the diameter of the wheels of your bandsaws. These blades have conventional tooth design usually with zero rake angle. These blades have shallow gullets to cut large sections. Tooth style options come in the form of hook, regular or skip. Your blades got dull when teeth and gullets covered with gunk making it difficult for you to continue your work. “The common knowledge is that the larger the diameter of the wheel is, the less likely the blade can get brittle and work-hardened by the severe flexing it undergoes as it spins around a small-diameter wheel” – The bandsaw book. blade. What is the proper blade LENGTH? Bandsaw blades manufacturers recommend that their blades not to be used on wheels with diameters or less than 12″. Poor welding can result in breakage. This is known as tooth set. A band saw blade with 6 to 10 TPI is good general purpose blade. Note: a thinner and flexible blade is more suitable for three-wheel bandsaws due to their smaller wheels as blades can easily break when they have to be worked tightly around small-diameter wheels. The best results come when cutting softwood or metal if the reviews of previous buyers are anything to go by. It is heavy duty and made of carbon steel, so it cuts through hardwood easily. It is my choice for resawing and ripping, especially in hardwoods. A wider blade needs more force to reach recommend tension, which means you should only use wide blades on bandsaws that have strong frames to provide required tension. I also own a 1/8″ and a 1/16” blade on hand for detail work and a Laguna Blade variable tooth blade for resawing. These types of blades make less precise cuts than regular blades. The teeth of a blade are slightly bent (offset) towards left and right to provide clearance to the back of the blade. This is often referred to as tooth pitch, given as teeth per inch (TPI). We explain how to consider these factors when you are buying this component. I’d rather put a $200 blade on a solid used $300 band saw than a $7 blade on a $3,000 Laguna. Choosing The Best Bandsaw Blades. If you equip your band saw with the right blade, there is nothing it can’t do. If the feed pressure is too light, the blade can get dull faster since there is not force for the tooth to bite into the material to be cut. For further knowledge of using bandsaw blades, checkout our bandsaw section for how to weld bandsaw blades, how to coil and uncoil a bandsaw blade, how to change bandsaw blades, and how to clean your blade. The blade is designed to withstand abrasion and shock. While thick blades are tough when making straight cuts, they are not particularly effective for curves; they break easier than thinner blades do. The advanced micro-view inspection system that is employed by the manufacturer guarantees consistent quality. Bandsaw blades are designed for cutting various materials and cuts. Resawing? The next thing that you need to understand when it comes to saw band blades is the idea of course blades and fine blades.