Band saw blades

[DJJ]

What type of band saw blade would be recommended for G-10 and micarta?
All the saw is basiclly used for is cutting out handle scales.I mostly use wood ,but have done a few G-10 and micarta recently and that stuff really seam's to dull a blade quickly.It was still the original blade that came with the saw a B&D 9 inch table top model.
Would a coarse tooth metal cutting blade be better that a wood cutting blade?
It would still be used for cutting wood also.

Thanks in advance
Dennis

 

[Big Smitty]

G 10 and micarta are tough on band saw blades and tooling, pretty abrasive stuff. I just use the same BS blade as I do for metal and change it out when needed. Don't know if this is the best answer though. I am sure the experts will chime in.

 

[smitty0331]

There are blades made especially for phenolic materials. They look like they're embedded with carbide flakes. They actually work exceptionally well, much better than metal cutting blades. Most local saw blade manufacturers should be able to make them up for you pretty reasonable. I think my company pays around $50.00 ea. for blades that are around 94'' or so. I can't swear to the price though. Hope this helps.

 

[Nathan the Machinist]

I'm not a bandsaw blade expert but...

The glass in G10 dulls cutting edges badly, even carbide. I like to use diamond coated cutters when I can. Micarta isn't so bad.

To extend a cutting edge's life in abrasive things you want to make sure you're cutting, not rubbing. And, while it might be counter intuitive, the fewer teeth the more aggressive the cut. So something like a 6-10 TPI may work better than a metal cutting blade. There are a lot of different tooth shapes, but if your primary problem is dulling, I don't think the shape is going to make much difference there, but intuitively I think a hook tooth might continue to cut better while dull. *shrug*

If you're cutting much of it a carbide tipped blade might be a good idea. I'm surprised than a grit embedded blade would work well, I would expect it to clog/glaze, but like I said, I don't know a lot about bandsaw blades.

It is possible to sharpen some dull blades if the tooth shape lends itself with a die grinder. It isn't as slow and tedious as it sounds. While it won't cut as good as new, it works for soft abrasive stuff like this.