3 important professional names for band saw blades
Nov 30, 2023
3 important professional names for band saw blades
The woodworking band saw blade itself goes by many professional names. Today's article will briefly talk about three of them: pitch, thickness, and kerf.
Pitch/TPI – The distance from one tooth tip to the next on a band saw blade.
Usually measured in teeth per inch (TPI). The larger the teeth, the faster the cutting speed because the teeth have larger gullets and a greater ability to transport large amounts of sawdust on the job.
Generally speaking, the larger the teeth, the rougher the cut and the worse the surface finish of the cut.
But with a DH band saw blade, you get the benefits of fast cuts and a good surface finish.
The smaller the teeth, the slower the cutting speed, because the teeth have a smaller gullet and cannot transport large amounts of sawdust during the working process. The smaller the teeth, the finer the cut and the better the surface finish of the cut.
If fewer teeth are engaged, chatter or vibration may result because the workpiece may be over-fed and each tooth will cut too deeply. At the same time, sawdust may fill up the tooth sockets. Both of these problems can be overcome to some extent by adjusting the feed rate. There are some telltale signs if the blade has the correct pitch, or if the pitch is too fine or too coarse.
Correct pitch – the blade cuts fast.
The blade generates very little heat when cutting. Minimal feed pressure is required. Minimum horsepower required. The blades provide high-quality cuts for a long time.
The pitch of the teeth is too fine - the blade cuts slowly. Too much heat, causing premature cracking or rapid blackening. Unnecessarily high supply pressure is required. Requires unnecessarily high horsepower. Excessive blade wear.
The pitch is too coarse - the cutting life of the insert is short. Excessive tooth wear. The band saw or saw blade is vibrating.
Thickness - Thickness with "spec".
The thicker the band, the harder the blade and the straighter the cut. The thicker the band, the more likely the blade will break due to stress cracking, and the larger the band saw wheel must be.
If the blade is too thick for the diameter of the wheel, it will break.
Material Hardness – One of the factors you should consider when choosing a band saw blade with the proper tooth pitch is the hardness of the material being cut.
The harder the material, the finer the pitch required. For example, exotic hardwoods like ebony and rosewood require finer blades than hardwoods like oak or maple.
Soft woods such as pine will quickly clog the blade and reduce its cutting ability. Multiple tooth configurations with the same width may provide acceptable options for your specific job.
But be aware that when cutting woods with a high silica content or very hard woods (like ironwood, ebony, etc.) the blade will dull faster than when cutting soft woods.
Cut – The cutting width of a band saw blade.
The larger the slit, the smaller the radius that can be cut. But the greater the amount of wood the blade has to cut, the more horsepower is needed because the blade is doing more work. The larger the cutting area, the greater the amount of wood wasted during the cutting process.
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