4x6 metal bandsaw stand/base and mods ...

[wquiles]

For general purpose use that's a great choice. Watch out when cutting thin stuff & slow the downfeed so the teeth don't strip out. These blades last so long I can never remember when the last one was changed (if all the protocols are followed).

Will do - thanks

 

[darkzero]

Will,

Finally catch a 20% special at Zorro, so I ordered two of the Lennox 6-10 TPI. And it was not only the special that was the "trigger" - I was cutting a 3.5" dia of solid Aluminum (rod) and as you indicated earlier, it does take a while with the "small" teeth!. I will report later once I get and use the 6-10 TPI blade.

Thanks again man

No problem Will. Like Barry mentioned, they last a long time. I have wore out the Irwin 10-14 blades from throwing stuff at it that it was not optimal for but I have never wore out one of the Lennox blades yet under normal use. I have damaged one before from improper speeds & feeds I'm assuming. Not sure if breaking in bandsaw blades is just a myth of fact (can't tell much of a difference) but I had a fairly new blade start cutting off to one side that drove me crazy until I actually looked at the blade teeth & realized what happened.

 

[precisionworks]

From Starrett:
BLADE BREAK-IN Using the right break-in procedures for a bimetal blade assures longer blade life, faster cuts for a longer period of time and consistent performance. Conversely, blade life can be significantly compromised if the proper break-in procedures are not followed. LONGER BLADE LIFE The teeth on a new band saw blade are razor sharp. To withstand the cutting pressures of band sawing, the tip of each tooth should be honed to create an extremely small radius on its tip

From Lennox:
What is blade break-in? A new band saw blade has razor sharp tooth tips. In order to withstand the cutting pressures used in band sawing, tooth tips should be honed to form a micro-fine radius. Failure to perform this honing will cause microscopic damage to the tips of the teeth, resulting in reduced blade life.
Why break in? Completing a proper break-in on a new band saw blade will dramatically increase its life.

A good read: http://www.thefabricator.com/article/sawing/band-saw-blade-basics

 

[Atlascycle]

You probably will not see any benefit from breaking in the blade in most applications. I have 2 Fully automatic band saws at my day job. They are set up to cut 6" od up to 9"od pipe/tubing with wall thicknesses from .280" to .500". When you have a saw that will be in cut for a measurable amount of time that you will be able to track, you will possibly see the benefit. With the way most "shop" saws are used you are probably not going to track you cuts to be able to properly break in the blade. it takes my automatic saws about 3 hrs to do a "Proper" break in of the blade.

 

[precisionworks]

From Do-All:

Always break in a new band saw blade.
The blade break-in procedure dresses and strengthens new, ultra-sharp teeth. Proper break-in can increase band life by 25 to 50 percent.
Breaking in the blade
• Saw at the recommended band speed.
• Cut at 1/2 the normal feed rate. (Cuts should take twice as long).
• Cut for 20 minutes (40 minutes for DoALL Powder Metal blades), then increase feed force in steps
until you attain the normal cutting rate.
To ensure penetration in very tough and work-hardening materials, you will need to apply more feed force and cut at a faster rate than described above.

---------------------------------------------

I claim to know nothing about bi-metal blades except that every manufacturer recommends break in & states that no break in results in shorter life. Any chunk of thick steel works for me & makes the process go fast - start the cut at half downfeed pressure, walk away & do something else until the saw shuts off, repeat until the blade has 20 minutes runtime.

Or disregard the only thing that all manufacturers agree on.

 

[wquiles]

Started the gentle break-in today:

 

[wquiles]

Well will, you were of course right, this blade and this TPI is awesome for the larger diameter parts. This Al rod was 3" OD:

And look at the finish quality:

Will

 

[darkzero]

Well will, you were of course right, this blade and this TPI is awesome for the larger diameter parts.

I'm glad you like them as much as I did. Well I still like/use them although there are others I have been recommended & came across. MSC usually has the size for my new bandsaw on sale & my local MSC outlet has them in stock so I'll just stick with Lenox. Which reminds me, I need to go pick up one more size.

 

[themayor]

do these type of bandsaws run fast enough for friction cutting titanium?

 

[gadget_lover]

It only runs 200 FPM. That's probably not fast enough.

Dan

 

[precisionworks]

A woodcutting band saw does a nice job on aluminum. IIRC the blade speed on my Delta 14" is about 2500 sfpm.

 

[wquiles]

do these type of bandsaws run fast enough for friction cutting titanium?

I cut Titanium, steel, and Aluminum all of the time in mine. Since I got adjustable speed, hydrolic piston, and coolant my bandsaw is extremely versatile with anything I have needed to be cut.

Just this weekend I made some DIY lead casting ingot molds out of 1/4" angle iron (left over from another project), and the blade still cuts like if nothing happened:

and then lots of welding to make it "water tight". Not my best work, but this should work fine for molten lead:

I even gave the side facing the lead a coat of Moly Resin (should stand up to 1000F now that it is cured), to aid in the lead coming off the mold:

I even made a small DIY pot to melt the lead out of a left-over small compressor tank, which I also cut in the bandsaw (of course had to cut, rotate, cut, rotate, etc.):

After all of the alignment by eye, I got pretty darn close at the very end:

ALL of that was with the Lennox 6-10 TPI that Will recommended

 

[themayor]

thanks guys n love the pics Will. I have been messing around making some knives n have read friction cutting is the ticket Will now that you did the new motor n stuff how fast is your saw ?

 

[wquiles]

Will now that you did the new motor n stuff how fast is your saw ?

Since I know the coolant lubricates and cools, I do run faster speeds and higher pressure than before, but "how much faster?", I don't know, since I am not trying to push it too hard to find out. If/when I do push it really hard (too much down pressure on the cut) the blade will pop out, so there is a sort of "built-in" protection.

A big benefit of the conversion is how much cooler the "true" 3/4 HP motor runs - I mean dramatically cooler. After cutting all of that angle iron it was just warm, while even lighter cuts would cause the "Chinese 1/3 HP" motor to get so hot after 1/2 hour that it got hot enough to burn your hand (can't keep it in contact with motor). Now I can cut continuously for hours without worry. I am sure I will wear out the bearings in a few places before the motor ever wears out. The blade also stays relatively cool, which of course increases longevity of the cutting edge.

One thing I noted, in regards to the blade: for cutting that "relatively" thin wall tank, that blade of 6-10 TPI is the WRONG one to use. BUT, because of the piston and variable speed, I increased the speed AND lower the pressure on the cut surface, which allowed me to cut the thin wall stuff with no problems - yes, it takes a little longer to cut this way, but nothing over-heats. It was awesome

Here is a short video. Not cutting at max speed, but not going super slow either. Since I was going to weld the pieces, I set one up to be cut in the bandsaw while I go and clean/grind/bevel - this setup allows me to work in parallel without having to babysit the bandsaw:

 

[precisionworks]

I work with quite a few well equipped shops & (for whatever reason) none use friction cutting. Maybe it's because the blade speeds typically run between 6,000-18,000 sfpm & even the fastest wood cutting band saws run below that speed.

Could it be done on a wood cutting band saw? Probably, just change out the motor sheave for one that moves the blade at the correct speed. 10,000 sfpm would be a good place to start as there's probably some combination of drive sheave & driven sheave that would yield 10k.

If a blade breaks while running at 10k you may want to move to the next room.

 

[themayor]

thanks for the help guys alot of guys on the knife forum seem to recommend friction cutting for thicker ti. didn't really want to by a new bandsaw to do it tho

 

[precisionworks]

... didn't really want to by a new bandsaw to do it tho

If you watch auction listings you may find a well used Grob 36" for not much money. It's a 5000# saw so plan on getting some help moving it into the shop. Nicest feature of the Grob 36, in addition to the mass, is the variable blade speed - up to 15,000 sfpm from the factory so it's a perfect candidate for friction sawing. Motor is 15 hp & 3 ph so you'll need a phase convertor.

A used machinery dealer wanted to sell me his restored G36 & the price was right, under $5k. It was really tempting but that saw eats up a lot of real estate.