HF Bandsaw blade question.

My harbor freight bandsaw blade made it about one blade width into some 1095 and broke in half on my first cut.
 
If you are not getting the life out of your blade there can be several problems. First are you using some sort of cutting fluid? If not you really should use something. LPS makes a wax like cutting stick that can be applied to the blade. This will really cut down on tooth lose and wear. Next the speed of your blade may be too fast. if you can vary the speed on your saw put it at the slowest speed for high carbon steel with a carbon steel blade. I made over 200 cuts in 2.5 inch round bar (mild steel) with a carbon steel blade and cutting fluid. Granted mild is not as hard as 1095 or O-1 but you should be able to get through at least a few cuts with them. One of the least affects on the wear is the feed rate. But if you are cutting thin stock the if it is fed too fast it will bounce or skip and cause tooth breakage. This can be part of the problem but the cheaper HF bandsaws do not have feed rate adjustments.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top