You can choose from regular-guy (carbon steel blades) or a silicon-tipped blade (which usually costs four to five times as much. The less-expensive blades do the job and last an OK length of time provided you dont hit a rogue steel fragment buried in your timber. Carbide-tip blades are more durable, can cut faster, and will remove a few gunshot slugs with no problems. What do you do?
If you are that regular guy, you stop by the local woodworking store or home center and shop price. You’re done. But if youre more like a band saw fanatic, chances are youre going after a tipped blade and spending the extra cash.
There is another option. A carbide-impregnated band saw blade is an option. These blades are a fraction of the cost of silicon steel blades and last longer. But what is carbide impregnated? Well its not like a carbide toothed blade where the extra piece of carbide is brazed to each tooth (now you understand why carbide-tip band saw blades cost so much more). These photos clearly illustrate the differences between impregnated and tipped blades. The first photo shows the tooth on a carbide band saw blade. You can clearly see the brazed carbide. The carbide-impregnated blade is shown in the second photo.
We purchased a Premium Gold blade of Supercut Bandsaw Co., Inc. These blades can be used on vertical woodcutting bandsaws. These teeth are precision ground and not punched or machined like traditional bandsaw blades. During the manufacture of these blades, the teeth are impregnated with the carbide particles , a process the company discovered while developing the Woodsaver Thin-Kerf Carbide Resaw blades. In addition, the Premium Gold blades feature razor-sharp teeth that have an aggressive hook and set, rounded backs, and polished sides. The band saw blades can be polished and rounded at the back to allow for faster feeding and sharper turns. This is done without generating excessive heat or chatter. Your blades will quickly be damaged by chatter and vibration caused by improper feed pressure.
If you look closely at the teeth on the Premium Gold blade, you notice a bit of blackening at each tooth which would lead you to believe that these blades had been through induction heating. You can see the small deposits that have formed on the teeth if you look closely. Thats the carbide impregnating. The thicker the coating is, the greater the degree of roughness at the end. This will also increase the blade’s life. To keep a smooth, clean and cool cut, the coating on the teeth on a band saw blade cannot be extremely thick , certainly not as thick as the pieces of carbide in tipped blades. When I get more information about Supercuts industry-exclusive carbide impregnation process, Ill update this post.
About this time youre wondering about the cut of these blades, right?. Heres my problem. The blade that comes off your bandsaw is duller and older than it was when you decided to replace it. A new blade, right from the packaging, is sharp and much, much better as it cuts. This blade cuts better thanks to carbide impregnating. Thats something that only time will tell. I can say that the cut is clean and relatively smooth, but its not the cut achieved when using a carbide tip blade.
You might be interested in making band saws sing.
- Download a free copy the Supercut Bandsaw Co., Inc. catalog by visiting the Supercut Bandsaw Co., Inc. website. Its full of great information about blades and techniques.
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