Bandsaw Blades

[frugal]

My current bandsaw suffered from being in the wrong place when the garage roof leaked and needs a new motor (when I turned it on the main breaker to the house went rather than the ringmain fuse in the garage, or even the breaker box in the garage). I have been debating repair verses replacement

Every review of bandsaws I have seen all say that the first thing you should do is throw away the blade and buy a good one. The problem is that I have never seen anyone state what a good blade is?

I guess that if the manufacturer puts one of their own blades in with the saw that the manufacturer blades are rubbish? Or do each of the manufacturers have different quality blades? And how do I tell the difference?

 

[woodbloke]

I think general opinion is that blades supplied with a new machine are to be 'binned' without further fuss and one from a decent supplier fitted instead. I use the 14thou thick blades from Axminster which are very good but need to be ordered over the 'fone as they are not the same as the standard blades listed on the website or in the catalogue - Rob

 

[WellsWood]

The problem is that I have never seen anyone state what a good blade is?

You haven't read many bandsaw threads on here then :wink:

2 names that come up over and over on this forum:

Dragon Saws (which I can personally recommend highly)

DureEdge, who are in Stockport, and as far as I know have no web presence. Phone them on 0161 430 2647.

Hope this helps

 

[mufti]

I buy from the Bedford Tool & Saw Co and use metal cutting blades for wood. This was the advice of a well known woodworker many years ago and it works very well indeed. A bonus is the blades last.
My saw is a Startrite 14 s of good age.

 

[Digit]

When you say the main breaker went Frugal do you mean an MCB, an RCD or an Isolator switch?
Strange as it may seem water does not always ruin a motor.

 

[frugal]

When you say the main breaker went Frugal do you mean an MCB, an RCD or an Isolator switch?
Strange as it may seem water does not always ruin a motor.

I am not a sparky, but I turned the bandsaw on to test it, the power went out to the garage and the main house which seems to me to be a Bad Thing :? .

We have a main fuse box in the house with the modern RCD style switches rather than fuse wire. There is an RCD for the garage in this fuse box, and in the garage there is a sub fuse box with an RCD for the lights and a 32 amp RCD for the ring main in the garage.

I was expecting the 32 amp ring main RCD in the garage to trip if there was a surge in the power, but instead the main 100amp breaker in the house that connects the house to the national grid went. So I can only assume that the RCD for the ring main in the garage and the RCD for the garage in the house were not sensitive enough.

I know have the prospect of striping and rebuilding the motor, or getting a replacement motor from Record, or replacing the whole thing. My only concern is that it is an old Record Select which they do not sell any more and I am not sure if they will still have spares.

Plus the height adjuster on my Dewalt thicknesser jammed last night. The universe is trying to keep me out of the garage

 

[Fecn]

An MCB is a device which will stop the power when a certain current limit is exceeded - Very much like a fuse does.
An RCD is a device which measures the difference between the current on live and neutral wires... If the difference is above a few milliamps then it indicates that some of the current is going somewhere that it shouldn't (e.g. to earth.. or through your body) and then turns off the power.

If your motor got wet, I'd expect that the RCD would detect some of the power going to earth through the motor casing) but that wouldn't necessarily be enough to trip an MCB device.

The easy way to tell the difference is that RCDs have Test/Reset buttons on them whereas MCBs don't.

Cheers,

Fecn.

 

[Digit]

Unless you are in desparate need for use of the saw, leave it to dry out, you can help it with a hair dryer. If it is a brush motor remove the brushes as they can absorb water and cause the power to 'track' to earth.
If you've never stripped your thicknesser it's a case of remove the wind up handle, then remove the four cabinet top screws and lift the cabinet off. Also check underneath as the the lifting jacks are coupled together by a chain drive.
The whole assembly suffers from exposure to saw dust and a regular blow down with a compresor helps.
The chain needs to be correctly tension or the the cutter block can 'tilt', producing timber that is slightly thicker on side than 'tother.

Roy.

 

[mr]

Dragon Saws (which I can personally recommend highly)

The chap at Dragon whose names escapes me at the minute ( but I have a feeling he may be a member here? ) is extremely helpful took the time to talk me through various options etc to arrive at the right blades. Worth a call I think

Cheers Mike

 

[WellsWood]

Dragon Saws (which I can personally recommend highly)

The chap at Dragon whose names escapes me at the minute ( but I have a feeling he may be a member here? ) is extremely helpful took the time to talk me through various options etc to arrive at the right blades. Worth a call I think

Cheers Mike

This is he: link

 

[frugal]

The easy way to tell the difference is that RCDs have Test/Reset buttons on them whereas MCBs don't.

In that case they are all MCBs. Cheers.

 

[Digit]

I take it Frugal that that which 'dropped' was not an RCD device?

Roy.

 

[OPJ]

The chap at Dragon whose names escapes me at the minute ( but I have a feeling he may be a member here? ) is extremely helpful took the time to talk me through various options etc to arrive at the right blades. Worth a call I think

Cheers Mike

It sounds as if you're talking about Ian John. :wink:

So, you HAVE bought yourself a bandsaw then! I read your latest article in GoodWood last week on the drawknife and it made me wonder how much longer you were going to last without some 'help' in the workshop. :wink:

 

[frugal]

If you've never stripped your thicknesser it's a case of remove the wind up handle, then remove the four cabinet top screws and lift the cabinet off. Also check underneath as the the lifting jacks are coupled together by a chain drive.
The whole assembly suffers from exposure to saw dust and a regular blow down with a compresor helps.
The chain needs to be correctly tension or the the cutter block can 'tilt', producing timber that is slightly thicker on side than 'tother.

Roy.

You sir are a prince among men. Your name shall go down in the great book called People Frugal Owes A Pint

I managed to loosen the top screws (with the help of a spanner on the screwdriver to provide enough leverage). Things went ping back into some sort of shape, then I took the top off, and then loosened the matching screws at the feet of the posts. This let me twist the posts and loosen the stuck one. Then I raised up the body and tightened them all up again. Gave everything a good clean and it all seems to be in perfect working order again.

Thank you very much, you have made my evening

 

[Digit]

You're welcome!

 

[iajon69]

The chap at Dragon whose names escapes me at the minute ( but I have a feeling he may be a member here? ) is extremely helpful took the time to talk me through various options etc to arrive at the right blades. Worth a call I think

Cheers Mike

It sounds as if you're talking about Ian John. :wink:

That's me

Most bandsaw blades that come with new machines are of pretty poor quality and changing the blade will make a big difference to the way that the machine performs. unfortunately there's no way of telling how good a blade is just by looking at it and the only way to tell if a blade is any good is by trying it or by getting recommendations from other users.
It's also important to get the right blade for the type of cutting that's being done, a different tooth pitch, the blade thickness and blade type can also make a big difference.

I think general opinion is that blades supplied with a new machine are to be 'binned' without further fuss and one from a decent supplier fitted instead. I use the 14thou thick blades from Axminster which are very good but need to be ordered over the 'fone as they are not the same as the standard blades listed on the website or in the catalogue - Rob

Rob - what bandsaw do you use the .014 blades on? Is there a reason why you use .014? Would be interesting to know what type of cutting you do as well as most people try to get away from using the thin gauge blades if possible!

Ian