Worn out band saw blades, good for anything?

[dfkrug]

Yes BiMetal only. The Neo carbon blades are throw aways. If you can forge the BiMetal blades you will like what you get for sure. BiMetal means Blade 1 material, Teeth another. They actually electron weld a thin band of teeth to the high carbon band. In my early days I used to make Lenox bandsaw blades on a computerized machine. When I left there I made sure I had a Banana box full of blades to get me through. Wish I had a forge to mess with.

My understanding is that the cheapo bandsaw (and hacksaw) blades are called "carbon steel". Good for cutting wood, plastic, or
maybe aluminum. The "bi-metal" blades are made of 2 materials, high-speed steel (HSS) for the teeth, and a softer mild
steel for the rest of the carcass. The former is hard and somewhat brittle, and the latter is softer to resist breakage.

I have never had any bandsaw blades that are harder/tougher than bi-metal with HSS. For example, cobalt-steel, like my
drill bits. Do they even make cobalt bandsaw blades?

 

[yomax4]

My understanding is that the cheapo bandsaw (and hacksaw) blades are called "carbon steel". Good for cutting wood, plastic, or
maybe aluminum. The "bi-metal" blades are made of 2 materials, high-speed steel (HSS) for the teeth, and a softer mild
steel for the rest of the carcass. The former is hard and somewhat brittle, and the latter is softer to resist breakage.

I have never had any bandsaw blades that are harder/tougher than bi-metal with HSS. For example, cobalt-steel, like my
drill bits. Do they even make cobalt bandsaw blades?

There is a Carbide option that some of the saw mills used to buy. They were normally made special at the manufacturer.

 

[CADplans]

I used this saw for a dozen years doing production cutting.

I used flood cooling/lube.
By the time the blade would no longer cut, the blade was so fatigued, it was useless for any further use.

I was amazed,, it seemed like the entire blade was full of cracks,,,
that was after way more than 100 hours of cutting.

 

[4570Man]

The only way I can imagine cutting them is with a carbide cutoff wheel in my dremel. .

A regular $2 abrasive cutoff wheel will cut just about anything.

 

[yomax4]

There is a Carbide option that some of the saw mills used to buy. They were normally made special at the manufacturer.

Another option with the Bi Metal blades was using a Matrix blade. One inch could be 10 tooth and the next inch 14 tooth all the way around. 6/10. 8/12, 10/14 and 14/18 tooth. This caused better chip removal and supposedly increased blade life. I use mainly 10/14 unless I cut sheet material then I use 14/18.

 

[bigdeano]

I cut some pieces to use as shims to shim lathe tools to correct height.

 

[4570Man]

I cut some pieces to use as shims to shim lathe tools to correct height.

What kind of tool holders are you using?

 

[bigdeano]

What kind of tool holders are you using?

My bench lathe just has a 4 sided turret that will take anything up to 5/8 square. Anything smaller, like a high speed toolbit I have to shim up.

 

[Tor Arne]

Take a piece 5 "long and grind away the teeth, wrap 4" with electrician tape then you have a nice tool to scrape off old gaskets and dirt from the things you're working on.
I've made some that have come in handy

 

[Gary Fowler]

I used a band saw blade to make a trigger spring for one of my guns once. It was still working when I sold the gun.