-30-
G0803
(Mfd. Since 09/15)
•
Straight Cutting: Use the largest width
blade that you own. Large blades excel at
cutting straight lines and are less prone to
wander.
Tooth Style
Figure 36 illustrates the three main blade tooth
styles:
•
Raker: Considered to be the standard
because the tooth size and shape are the
same as the tooth gullet. The teeth on raker
blades usually are very numerous, have no
angle, and produce cuts by scraping the
material. As a result, smooth cuts can be
achieved without cutting fast or generating
more heat than other tooth types.
•
Skip: Similar to a raker blade that is missing
every other tooth. Because of the design,
skip toothed blades have a much larger gullet
than raker blades, and therefore, cut faster
and generate less heat. However, these
blades also leave a rougher cut than raker
blades.
•
Hook: The teeth have a positive angle (down-
ward) which makes them dig into the material,
and the gullets are usually rounded for easier
waste removal. These blades are excellent
for the tough demands of resawing and rip-
ping thick material.
Raker
Skip
Hook
Figure 36. Main blade tooth styles.
Tooth Pitch
Measured as TPI (teeth per inch), tooth pitch
determines the number of teeth. More teeth per
inch (fine pitch) will cut slower, but smoother; while
fewer teeth per inch (coarse pitch) will cut rougher,
but faster. As a general rule, choose blades that
will have at least three teeth in the material at all
times. Use fine-pitched blades on harder woods
and coarse-pitched blades on softer woods.
Blade Care
A bandsaw blade is a thin piece of steel that is
subjected to tremendous stresses when cutting.
You can obtain longer use from a bandsaw blade
if you give it fair treatment and always use the
appropriate feed rate for your operation. Be sure
to select blades with the proper width, style, and
pitch for each application. The wrong choice of
blades will often produce unnecessary heat which
will shorten the life of your blade.
A clean blade will perform much better than a dirty
blade. Dirty or gummed up blades pass through
the cutting material with much more resistance
than clean blades. This extra resistance also
causes unnecessary heat. Resin/pitch cleaners
are excellent for cleaning dirty blades.
Blade Breakage
Many conditions may cause a bandsaw blade to
break. Blade breakage is unavoidable, in some
cases, since it is the natural result of the peculiar
stresses that bandsaw blades are subjected to.
Blade breakage is also due to avoidable circum-
stances. Avoidable breakage is most often the
result of poor care or judgement on the part of the
operator when mounting or adjusting the blade or
blade guides.
Summary of Contents for G0803
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