HELP!!! Please!!! Another porta band question. :(

are you sure the steel is annealed? where did you buy it ?
 
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Here is what I can offer you as an answer from what you have given us:
1) 3/8" steel will cut slow. It takes time and pushing harder won't help. Feed the metal into the blade with enough pressure to see the cuttings coming off freely. Your thumbs should provide enough pressure. Pushing hard may wear the blade out fast. It could cut as slow as 1" per minute. Setting the saw on HIGH speed won't necessarily help and may burn up the blade in thick steel.
2) What is the source of your 3/8" 5160? Do you know for sure it is 5160? If it was from a car/truck spring it is hardened as well as probably not 5160.
3) A portaband on a SWAG table is great little tool, but it isn't going to do the job the same as a lubricated metal cutting bandsaw. Learn the materials and speed it cuts at and stay within that range.
4) The thicker the steel the lower the tooth count. Divide the thickness into 1" and you have the minimum tooth count. In 3/8"(.375") that is roughly 3 TPI. So, a 14TPI blade is going to cut really slow. Try a blade between 3 and 6TPI.
The physics of why the finer tooth blade won't cut well is that the small teeth fill with the swarf and just slide across most of the steel after biting into the first fraction of the thickness. The courser (and deeper) teeth will carry the swarf out while cutting all the way down the path through the steel.
 
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Yea when i bought them the description for both the 80crv2 and the 1095 said they were definitely annealed. Can’t remember where the 80 was purchased but the 1095 was from Amazon
 
Fng007 said:
Hello everyone!!! First let me apologize if this isn’t the right area to post but I’m really at a loss and looking for some guidance. I am absolutely brand new to knife making, (have only made two knife like items so far) but I do love the process even the frustrating parts! Lol anyway here is my dilemma…..

My wife bought me the classics Bauer porta band from HR as well as the swag table, I used a HR blade and cut out my first little blank from some 5160 3/8th steel. Everything seemed to work great, then I went to cut out another blade and got no where barley even a scratch on the same stock. I thought maybe I hardened it by grinding on it to long so I tried to cut some 80crv2 and got the same thing. So now I was stumped, started doing my research and figured it’s probably just the cheap HR blades, they worked for one but maybe that’s all I would get so I decided to try some Milwaukee blades from The Depot, excited again got a couple different TPI was ready to rip get them on the saw and go to cut and nothing AGAIN…..ok ok I think maybe I messed up the saw itself, went and got a new one same out come won’t scratch the steel ordered some 1095 annealed and some Lenox wold blades from Amazon tried those blades and once again nothing. So now I have tried cuttingcheck them with file with three different bi metal blade manufacturers and two different porta bands and got no where. As dumb as it sounds I have made sure the blades were installed correctly and traveling in the right direction. I even tried to cut it at every speed that thing has to offer. I am so lost, I have read so many different reviews that the HF band saw was plenty capable…..

Anywho I was just hoping one of you fine humans out there would take pitty on my soul For the safety of my family and give a frustrated guy some advice…..what on earth am I doing wrong? Lol thank you so so much, oh and if anyone can help me fix it I’ll gladly owe you a beer or 10. :) look forward to hearing from you all. Have a great day, one love.
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Check them with file , if file work you will know that you are doing something wrong ?
Buying a tool does not mean you know how to use it. And be careful not to hurt yourself .
Neighbors come to borrow some tools from me , say a big angle grinder. I ask him, have you ever used a grinder? No, why do you ask he tells me .GTFO ! I will do that for you is my answer ............ Power tools can be dangerous , remember that ! Watching someone use them on you tube seems easy and can fool you .
 
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My post was meant as a joke. A bad joke I accept. Especially since the laughing emoji didn't come through. When he said a Lennox blade wouldn't even cut mild steel. Evidently OP it would appear they are trying to cut hardened steel. Then I'm assuming he bought a new Lenox blade and attempted to cut harden steel first and ruined the blade. Then of course it wouldn't cut mild steel. My BAD it's hard to express one's self on the internet and especially with SLOW internet. I accept the dislikes as they are fully acceptable the way my post got posted. SORRY.
 
LCoop, no worries I don’t take anything personal or that serious. :) lol

Everyone else thank you so much for the effort. I think I’m going to try and buy some different steel and give it one last shot before i get ride of my HF set up. :(

If I could figure out how to easily post a video on here I would totally show you guys what’s happening. But I guess posting a video is also out of my skill set. 🤦🏻‍♂️ Stay tuned if anyone really cares! Lmao. Happy Sunday!
 
Fng007, I recently put together a HF Bauer porta-band, a swag, and a small stand. I simply want to tell you they *can* work fine. I have cut numerous materials with HF blades. Tried some old 15n20 yesterday, which is known to be very hard for annealed out of the box. Tried some blade stainless, some O-1, and a piece of 1/2" mild out of my scrap box. All cut fine. The 1/2" stock slowed the rate way down, but it still cut fine.
So, they can cut, and the blades aren't bad (I've always used Lenox in my other saws). I hope you can find out what's what. I bought from HF because the big boxes all sell "their" version of a given power tool from a name manufacturer. Check the model numbers in the fine print and see if it has letters like "HD" at the end of the model. Downgraded version. If you're going to buy a Milwaukee, find a real one. Make sure your SWAG table is going to fit.
 
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If the saw is running and the blade will cut then my guess is the steel. Before returning it I'd get some known steel from one of the known knife making suppliers and try it on that. I use a similar set up with a Dewalt saw, Lennox blades and have cut many many many knives out. Switch blades and I cut up lots of handle materials yesterday. Honestly it sounds like you have hardened steel. Course there was a guy some years back and he had his blade on upside down........ but ya've already said it was cutting so I'm guessing ya have the blade with the teeth orientated in the correct direction.
 
LCoop, no worries I don’t take anything personal or that serious. :) lol

Everyone else thank you so much for the effort. I think I’m going to try and buy some different steel and give it one last shot before i get ride of my HF set up. :(

If I could figure out how to easily post a video on here I would totally show you guys what’s happening. But I guess posting a video is also out of my skill set. 🤦🏻‍♂️ Stay tuned if anyone really cares! Lmao. Happy sunday
 
You can try grinding a piece of your steal on your grinder. If it's hardened it'll throw more sparks I think. Or try drilling it, if it's hardened it'll barley put a dent in it
 
Thanks again everyone for all of the input. I’m going to assume that the two different steels I bought that said were “annealed” weren’t really and that they are still hardened. Gonna try and order some more steel today, Any recommendations on where and what type to get for a super new beginner? I’m sure this isn’t the place for that question but it’s worth a shot. Lol
 
I'm going to leave one nugget of wisdom here as this thread had some interesting twists and turns in the advice. At the simplest level, a bandsaw is a tool that pulls a bandsaw blade through your work. If you take a new blade and try to cut a piece of material and the saw is moving the blade at an appropriate speed but the blade never cuts into the material at all, then the saw isn't at fault, you have to either blame the blade or the material. (Or user error, like putting the blade on backwards or trying to cut steel at wood cutting speeds.)
 
F Fng007
Basically if you don't pay for a membership here you can't play photos videos etc.
Throw your video on YouTube, then link it here.
 
Go buy some mild steel from Lowes and some Lenox blades. IF your saw doesn't cut that get back to us.
 
LCoop said:
Go buy some mild steel from Lowes and some Lenox blades. IF your saw doesn't cut that get back to us.
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TY, LCoop. I’m sorry I thought I did post earlier that it does cut mild steel, and it was cutting a piece of the 5160 I used for my first knife. Then I went to cut the second one out of the same 5160’stock and it wouldn’t cut. I themes tried it on the other stuff I had that said it was annealed when I bought it, but now I’m thinking that was bogus and it’s not annealed. I’m gonna try and but some new annealed stock from a reputable distributor and see if that cuts. Thanks again. I’ll keep everyone posted.
 
As usual Stacy comes through with solid advice. Reread his post. I can't imagine a new Lenox blade with the cheapest bandsaw doesn't cut annealed soft or mild steel. IF it does than it's not the saw or blade it has to be hardened steel your trying to cut.
 
When you do buy steel from Alpha Knife Supply I wouldn't get 3/8" make your life a lot easier and get some thinner stock, think 1/8" or thinner for the majority of knives. It'll cut and grind a lot faster and for many knives perform better.
 
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