M42 Bandsaw blades

[yetloh]

Tried to phone Dragon Saws yesterday but unobtainable, so I guess they are still moribund. Put M42 blades into Google and it came up with Axminster although I couldn't find them on the site. So I rang the tech line and discovered they have started selling them only in the last week. Expensive at £54 inc VAT for my Felder FB400 142 inch blades in 3/4 inch width and a minimum order of 2 for a special size but I HATE changing bandsaw blades so decided to go with it. I will post on the quality.

Jim

PS They literally just phoned to say delivery will be 6 to 7 weeks instead of 10 - 14 days promised as they are out of stock of material having just made up a batch of standard sizes, so you may be OK if you want one of their stock sizes. Hope it's worth the wait.

 

[woodbloke]

Hope it's worth the wait.

It will be :wink: [-( :-# - Rob

 

[frugal]

I noticed in the back of this months F&C that there is an advert from Workshop Heaven for M42 bandsaw blades.

Given that Workshop heaven used to be a reseller for Dragon saw blades, I wonder if they have bought the stock and the tools to make them themselves now?

 

[OPJ]

While I'm still optimistic that Ian and co. will re-appear at some point, for what it's worth, Trucut also stock M42 blades, according to their website. Haven't dealt with them so, can't comment.

 

[Harbo]

Bandsaws - Handtools ah well ??

I used to buy Trucut blades before I knew about Dragon Saws and the Meat & Fish types.
Nice people to deal with.

Rod

 

[yetloh]

My mistake, intended to post in the general forum.

Does anyone know how these other suppliers compare in price with Axminster?

Incidentally, one of the reasons for seeking out the M42 blades is that of the four normal Dakin Flathers blades I have bought, two have been less than satisfactory. Maybe I have been unlucky but luck shouldn't come into it.

Jim

 

[WellsWood]

That they can be got at all after the (hopefully temporary) demise of Dragon Saws is good news indeed, but £54 :shock: ?!? - that's a bit steep I must say compared to what I paid Ian for mine.

To be fair though, they do last blinkin' ages and have other benefits:

That, my friends, is a 40mm galvanised nail cut in half lengthways when I wasn't paying attention. There was no discernable drop in performance after this little woodworking faux-pas. Needless to say I shall be replacing it with another M42 blade when (or should that be "if") it gives up the ghost.

 

[Ironballs]

I got 2 new blades yesterday for my new to me bandsaw, one is a 3/4" 3 tooth M42 blade and the other a 6 tooth thin jobby for doing curves. These are Dakin Flathers blades ordered via a local supplier in Cleckheaton, total cost including delivery was 60 odd quid, so a lot cheaper than Axminster - the blade length is approx 3.5m so not small.

Will let you know how they perform but I've never had a M42 blade before so nothing to compare it against

 

[OPJ]

I can vouch for the M42 blades (some of you will recognise this from a certain magazine...) 8)

My bandsaw was set on the slowest of the two speeds with extraction disconnected, just in case.

Finish wasn't great here but, then, my saw always runs a little awkwardly when it's in the lowest gear... It makes the feed-rate inconsistent. :? After these cuts, I put it back up to full speed and ripped some 6"x1.5mm veneers in ash and walnut - no problems whatsoever and the finish from the cut was fantastic; best I've had off any bandsaw blade

Here, I've compared both cuts against the finish fresh off my surface planer. This was with a 6-10tpi blade, probably a little fine for lots of deep-ripping. It's a shame it snapped on the weld about a month later. Ian was happy to re-weld it but, it's so tight on the wheels now that I save it only for rare occasions, as I fear it may snap again and I would then have to bin it! :shock: :wink:

 

[Jake]

They wouldn't be much good for metalwork if they faltered at a few puny stray bits, would they.

 

[ivan]

My saw takes 152" blades and Dragon charged about 20 odd quid a blade for bi metal on the last order, was for 5 or 6 blades in all, mostly 3/4 and 1".

 

[yetloh]

Sounds like I am paying well over the odds at Axminster which surprises me, but I shall know better next time.

Jim

 

[Anonymous]

Hamilton sell M42 blades

 

[matthewwh]

£54 sounds about right for your size of machine.

We are now getting our blades from Edwards Precision Saw Services, 43 different flavours including 11 M42's, all made up to order and dispatched the next working day.

You can browse through the different options available in the saws or power tool accessories sections of the website.

The quality is top notch, and they have agreed to match Dragon's promise to repair any blade that fails at the weld for the cost of posting it to them.

Cheers,


Matthew

 

[Jake]

£54 sounds about right for your size of machine.

At that price, I think one would be better off going double or quits and getting a full-on TCT blade.

 

[Ironballs]

Like I said, I paid 60 odd quid delivered for a M42 blade and narrow blade for curves, and that's for a 3.6m blade

 

[OPJ]

We are now getting our blades from Edwards Precision Saw Services, 43 different flavours including 11 M42's, all made up to order and dispatched the next working day.

EPS, eh? While I've not used them on my own bandsaw, I used to work for a firm who stocked up on blades from EPS and they did seem to perform very well, leaving a decent finish. Funnily enough, I never thought of trying them before!

What are they like for after sales service? If, for instance, I purchased a blade and it snapped (for no apparent reason) on the weld, would they match Dragon's old offer to re-weld and return the blade to me at no extra cost?

 

[matthewwh]

Hi Olly,

Yes, it's exactly the same setup as we had with Dragon, all you pay is the cost of sending it to them and they'll re-weld it and post it back to you for nowt.

They mainly do industrial blades for sawmills, big 4" and wider TCT jobs, so this is the first time they have sold to the general public. They were a bit skeptical about whether woodworkers would be willing to pay the extra for M42's, but we have passed on a good number of orders for the metalworking blades in pitches that translate well to woodworking, so they agreed to run up a few coils of 1/2" 3tpi hook specifically as a woodworking blade.

I'm running one on my machine at the moment and have given it some serious hammer; 4"-5" thick acacia, jarrah and goldfield burrs, resawing walnut and oak boards to the full depth of the machine and it just keeps on going, clean, straight and square every time.

 

[OPJ]

Thanks for your reply, Matthew.

Do they also offer quantity discounts, ie. order five blades and save five percent?

 

[matthewwh]

Hi,

No they don't, as that wasn't included in our arrangement with Dragon. But as long as you promise not to tell anyone :wink: I'll match it with a Workshop Heaven discount voucher to use against your next purchase.