Safe Band Saw Cutting Tips

Metalworking, woodworking and cutting of different materials like plastic are often done through no other means than band saw cutting. This is due to the fact that band saws are versatile and can be put to use to accomplish different tasks.

For metal cutting the band saw blade used is either a bimetal or carbon tool steel. Carbon steel blade, the cheaper of the two can also cut mild steel when used at the appropriate band saw speed. While bimetal band saw blades which are more expensive, can cut harder materials like stainless steel. However, using bimetal band saw blades may be cheaper in the long run when used properly, as they can last longer than carbon steel band saw blades.

On the other hand, you can equally use carbon steel blades on a horizontal band saw as well as other band saws to cut wood, if your manual or sales guide permits such usage, otherwise it is not wise to do so. However, manuals of woodcutting band saws sometimes say you can use that particular band saw machine for metal cutting, but this does not usually refer to all kinds of metal, but soft or mild metals like copper, aluminum, etc. Attempting to cut denser metals like stainless steel with this type of band saw will often lead to you destroying the band saw blade due to generated heat. This is due to the design of wood cutting band saws, which are built to run faster and this is not required for working on hard metals, e.g. stainless steel. The use of tooth patterns on a band saw blade is necessary in making them useful for different tasks like wood and metal cutting. Their absence would indeed have limited the diversity in use of band saw cutting, today.

There are general rules for tooth patterns. For band saws designed to cut wood, it is that fewer teeth per inch makes a faster, but rougher cut; while the direct opposite (possessing more teeth in every inch) will make a smoother, but then slower cut. And with metal cutting band saws, the general pattern rule is that working with thinner materials requires possessing more teeth per inch, while harder materials need fewer teeth. Band saw cutting of metals is often done using two machines; which are horizontal band saw and vertical band saw. These types or models are also used by wood cutting band saws. The horizontal band saw machine is usually designed to take blades with one width, but the vertical band saw takes blades with different width sizes. Band saw cutting has evolved, with innovations made here and there with more expected in subsequent years to come.



Extra info, if you are interested:

Cutting
Band Saw Cutting
Metalworking
Diy