Bandsaw blades come in a plethora of styles, number of teeth per inch, alloys and tooth shape. For the home woodworker which of the many different types of bandsaw blades is the best one to use when cutting hard wood lumber?
Anatomy of a bandsaw blade
Let’s first start out discussing the anatomy of a bandsaw blade. Unlike a circular saw blade, a bandsaw blade must be able to with stand being flexed repeatedly while being used. Bandsaw blades are made from spring steel. Steel that has the ability to flex a certain amount and then bounce back to its original shape. Stretch the blade beyond the certain amount will cause the tooth to fail (rip off the blade) or the blade to break. Both are bad for the operator of the bandsaw.
Bandsaw blade teeth
Bandsaw blades are categorized by the number of teeth per inch (TPI). Regular blades typically have fourteen teeth per inch. The high TPI bandsaw blades are ideal for fine scroll work where smooth cuts are required.
Home woodworker tends to buy bandsaw blades with too many teeth per inch for the wood he wants to cut. Cutting a hardwood lumber with a 14 TPI blade will result in a long cutting time and slow stock feeding times.
For ripping or dimensioning rough stock use a lower TPI blade. The common name for such a blade is skip tooth. It gets its name from the fact that the blade skips every other tooth. It typically has about half the number of teeth that a regular bandsaw blade does. With fewer teeth per inch, each tooth must do more work when cutting; however, the horse power needed to drive the blade is the same as when using a regular blade. The blade produces more course chips and less fine sawdust.
Tooth Shape
The next thing to consider when selecting a bandsaw blade is the shape of the tooth. The gullet of a tooth is the curved part of the tooth between the tip and the base of the bandsaw blade. The gullet depth is the distance from the tip to the tooth to the back of the gullet. The gullet depth and shape contribute to how much material the tooth can cut and hold while traveling through the stock. The deeper the gullet the more saw dust and wood chips the tooth can hold. The shape of the gullet must be smooth and a flowing curve.
Any sharp angles will eventually result in the blade cracking and breaking. Check the blade carefully before purchasing especially discount bandsaw blades where the manufacture might have taken a short cut or two to lower the cost of the blade.
When running at full power under load this could be fatal. I have had a bandsaw blade break on me, fortunately for me I was just powering up the machine and was a safe distance away from the tool. The blade broke and was flung out of the bandsaw.
In part two of this series we will continue discussing the anatomy of bandsaw blade and how it plays into the roll of selecting the right blade for your woodworking tasks.
