The Home Machinist!

I have a horizontal band saw that uses a 93" x .75 x .035 blade. I use Lenox blades and just put my last one on so before I order more is there anyone who knows of a better one?

Lenox is about the best you can get. Take the time to read about matching blade to material on their web site. Price is not an indicator of quality. The good makers make blades for different purposes but for most of our uses the blades are at the low cost end 'cause they're not exotic.

Pete

The last bandsaw blade I bought well over two years ago from enco because it was on sale for $6
It is a disston ( spelling? ) , I've used and abused the carp out of it . I won't lie and say it still cuts like new , but it still cuts very very good , it still cuts better then the starret blade it replaced did new .
I am pretty darn sure it's an anomaly of the band saw blade world and I'll be hugely disappointed in anything I use after this one finaly gives up the ghost .
But I for sure will buy another disston again next time .

Interesting you mention that, Stephen. The blade that came with my almost new, second hand, standard old Chinese saw cut everything I threw at it for a long time. It died, and I cried, when I stupidly set it to work on an old cast iron sash weight with out checking for hard skin.

Skinned the teeth right off.

Pete

curtis cutter wrote:I have a horizontal band saw that uses a 93" x .75 x .035 blade. I use Lenox blades and just put my last one on so before I order more is there anyone who knows of a better one?

I consider Lenox bandsaw blades to be top of the line. I use them in my Wells horizontal band saw (uses a 138 inch blade) and get excellent life from them.

Unless you are cutting hard materials or making lots of cuts a bandsaw blade should last quite a while. The usual enemy of the blade life is cutting speed. Set the speed a the lowest and the blade lasts longer but it will take a bit more patience if cutting large stock. Lubrication also improves blade life. Use cutting oils just as you would for the lathe or mill.

RMinMN wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2018 6:54 am Unless you are cutting hard materials or making lots of cuts a bandsaw blade should last quite a while. The usual enemy of the blade life is cutting speed. Set the speed a the lowest and the blade lasts longer but it will take a bit more patience if cutting large stock. Lubrication also improves blade life. Use cutting oils just as you would for the lathe or mill.

I have to disagree on the blade speed. While running the blade too fast, especially if making a dry cut, could cause damage, there are correct speeds for different materials, just as is the case with drilling, milling, etc. See the attached.

Yep! Slowing the blade can extend its useful life, but if you are sawing large pieces of material and have hopes of getting the cut finished in reasonable time, running the correct speed really pays dividends, as does choosing the correct tooth count. Too fine of a blade results in a huge amount of wasted time as the saw drags loaded gullets though the cut, removing no material, but creating unnecessary wear on the teeth.

H

I thought Starrett made the best BS blades, but they were not mentioned. Are Lenox blades best? I would like to know so I can buy the best for both metal and wood.

There is a local shop here called Echol's Saw (http://www.echolssaw.com/). I'm lucky to have him less than 20 minutes away, but he sells online for what I gather is very competitive rates. He'll make you pretty much any blade you want as long as the stock is produced. Based on what I've seen over the years (fabricating LONG before I started machining), and several times having conversations with the owner (started with a small 1 man operation, still very friendly), other than some of the coarse skip tooth blades for aluminum and wood, all I ever get are the Lenox Die Master bi-metal blades. He also carries supporting products like saw wax (Lenox among them) at competitive rates. When it comes to spending money, I'm cheaper than most anybody you'll ever meet, and I have always felt I got more than my money buying from him. (No affiliation etc)

I use almost only 10-14 bi-metal blades. Most work I do is with steel and alloy steels.
On my little 5" x 6" Grizz saw....I did better with Lenox than any. Then Enco quit carrying them.
So I tried some Irwin's. Pretty good, and cost less than half what the Lenox blades did. I used the Irwin blades as a 'filler', when I was doing Enco orders and needed to bump up my purchase to hit the minimum required for a discount or free freight. You can't have too many band saw blades.
Well....I'm down to 2 spares....and will have to do some shopping. If I can pick up Irwin's at about half of the Lenox....that's what I will go with. Much over half....the Lenox is that good, and that's what I'll get.

For what it's worth, my saw has been running at 200 FPM since it was new.

Bill

I like Lenox and Starrett for blades , but have to say that Bi-metal Blades outlast single metal blades 3 to 1 (minimum !)
I will not buy a regular blade .
Also my longest Life Blade, has been a Lenox Die-Master Blade. Well worth the extra cost in my opinion.

Part of long life is accurate wheel and blade guide alignment, particularly on Cutoff Saws

Rich