How to Tension a Band Saw Blade for Metal
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Running in a band saw blade for metal
Have you purchased a new band saw blade for metal? Read how to run it in correctly.
A new band saw blade has very sharp tooth tips straight from the factory. If you want it to cut straight and for a long time, it must be correctly run in before first use. Otherwise there is a risk of breaking off the sharpest microscopic tip and this can significantly shorten blade life.
So how should you proceed for the best result?
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Before first use, try to run in the blade ideally in a soft solid material. Set the feed pressure to 50 % and the blade speed to 50–80 % of the normal value. For correct running-in it is necessary for chip formation to occur. The chips should be fine and hair-like. Running-in time is 15–20 minutes.
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Every day before running the band saw at full power it is advisable to set the first cut again to a lower speed and feed pressure so that the teeth and the body of the band saw blade do not suffer a thermal shock (just as with a car engine it is advisable not to rev a cold engine to high speed).
If you run in the band saw blade correctly, you will use its performance to the maximum, save money and will not waste time changing blades more often. It is therefore definitely worth taking the time to run in a new blade.
Your questions
Good day, why saw blades crack, we would need more information for that, for example, whether the saw blade cracks from the tooth or from the back, whether it is not over-tensioned, etc. But try to find the answer in this article why saw blades crack.
You can buy a saw blade for any bandsaw in our shop.
For the Parkside PMB 1100B2, the size 1140x13x0.65 is used. I would recommend you try the 6/10 TPI tooth pitch and the 8/12 TPI pitch first and then compare. These are the two most useful pitch options.
Here is the link.
Thank you
Sincerely
Pavel Dudr
Good morning, for the Parkside PMB 1100 C3 bandsaw we recommend the EPIC GP 1140 x 13 x 0.65 mm bandsaw blade. The choice of teeth (TPI – teeth per inch) depends on the type and size of the material to be cut:
For solid materials, we recommend coarser teeth, e.g. 6/10 TPI
For profiles or thin-walled materials, finer teeth are better, e.g. 8/12 or 10/14 TPI
For each blade in our online shop, it is indicated for which material sizes the selected teeth are suitable.
If you need help with the choice, do not hesitate to contact us. Kind regards Dudr Saw Team
Good afternoon, everyone does it differently, but generally, the H clamping is recommended, as it eliminates situations where it would cut something for which it does not have the correct spacing (at the top and bottom it would have few teeth, and for the perpendicular part it would be too coarse).