Wood handsaw blades have 6 to 10 teeth per inch (rip vs crosscut is another discussion. Wood bandsaw blades may have as many as three large teeth per inch, where metal will have say thirty-two small teeth per inch. Cutting thick metal requires quite a bit of blade tension and the frames and guides of wood bandsaws will not always support enough.
Where most folks go wrong is trying to use the same bandsaw for both wood and metal. Metal saws like coolant and chip pans where wood saws like dust collectors. Just a couple of things to think about, I am sure there are more like running the right RPM’s..
04-10-2007, 12:16 PM #2 One major difference is that wood bandsaws run at a much higher speed than metal saws and don’t have the adjustability to get down to where they need to be for metal. “One exception is friction sawing, where the heat from the blade actually melts the steel. For this you need a dull blade. Works good for sheet metal, but not sure a Delta is”fast enough” or not for friction sawing. The difference in the older delta USA made saws and the newer Taiwan made ones do not require pictures anyway.
Most wood saw are not built to handle the stresses of metal cutting puts on it. I have a wood saw and I cut sheet steel with it, but it is hard on it non the less. Also to cut bar type stock an abrasive type saw works, and a cold saw is cool, you don’t have to be “Rich” to own one.
If you need to use your band saw for cutting metal bars, solid rods and plates into size, then purchase a horizontal band saw. If you are unable to get a horizontal band saw, you can still cut metal along a straight-line with a vertical band saw. Ideally, you should get a coarse blade for cutting software materials like wood and plastic and a fine blade for cutting harder materials like metal.
I wanted to experiment with cutting metal on my bandsaw, so I bought some metal cutting bandsaw blades. The problem is that metal cutting bandsaw blades need to run at less than a tenth of the speed of wood cutting blades. With metal cutting, the blade only lasts so long, so between the shorter life and lower speed, the metal cutting blade doesn’t have to bend and un-bend as much in its lifetime as wood cutting blade does.
metal vs wood bandsaw speed Related Question:
What speed should a metal bandsaw run at?
Bandsaw: Speeds. A common speed for the bandsaw is about one thousand feet per minute. Wood can effectively be cut at much higher speeds, up to and over five thousand feet per minute, but you should keep it slower because it’s safer.
What RPM should a bandsaw run at?
Bandsaws always use 1725 rpm. The 3450 rpm are way too fast. From contributor R: Depending on the size of the wheels bandsaw blade speeds can vary between 2000 SFPM to over 4500 SFPM.
What is the difference between a wood band saw and a metal band saw?
A metal cutting bandsaw is typically built more solidly than a saw designed for cutting wood, so there are no issues with the machine itself. As for the blade, the wood fibers could clog the metal blade’s teeth more quickly, and the blade will probably cut through the wood more slowly.
How do I increase the speed of my bandsaw?
Answer: Some models of bandsaws do provide the ability to alter the speed of the blade (usually expressed as FPM – feet per minute). The change of speed is usually accomplished by moving a drive belt to a secondary location on the pulley(s) of the drive pulley and motor pulley.
How much tension should a bandsaw blade be?
For carbon steel toothed blades (cutting blades) this is typically 15,000 to 25,000 PSI. Slitting type blades typically are tensioned in the range of 12,000 to 20,000 PSI. In general bandsaw blades are never tensioned past 35,000 psi.
How is bandsaw speed calculated?
The formula to determine S.F.P.M. is: Motor RPM multiplied by the Motor pulley diameter divided by the Driven pulley diameter times the Bandsaw wheel diameter times pi (3.1416) divided by 12 = S.F.P.M.
What speed does a circular saw run at?
It is clear that in the speed range from 1173 to 1500 rpm, the circular saw would easily be- come unstable and pose a hazard to the people working with it. Critical rotational speed theory of the circular saw has been a subject of many scientific publications.
How do you find the peripheral speed of a saw blade?
To calculate SFPM: (1) Multiply the diameter of the blade times Pi (3.1416) to get the circumference, then multiply circumference by RPM to get inches per minute and (2) divide the inches per minute calculation (from step 1) by 12 to get the feet per minute. Best results on most materials would be about 15,000 SFPM.
Can I put a metal cutting blade on my band saw?
Salem Straub. Typically if you run a metal blade on a wood bandsaw the excessive speed (2000 sfpm+) of the wood saw will knock the teeth off of your metal cutting blade in a hurry. You could make it work, but you would have to slow the blade drive wheel way down. Think 250 sfpm to 80 sfpm.
What is the difference between metal and wood?
In context|music|lang=en terms the difference between wood and metal. is that wood is (music) a woodwind instrument while metal is (music) characterized by strong, fast drum-beats and distorted guitars.
Can you cut wood with a bandsaw?
With the correct blade, a band saw can cut wood or metal, in either curves or straight lines. Blades come in a variety of widths and tooth counts. Narrower blades are good for tighter curves, while wider blades are better at straight cuts.
Can a bandsaw cut hardened steel?
Carbide band saw blades provide high wear resistance and toughness when cutting a variety of applications such as: case hardened steels, spring steels, high speed steels, nickel based alloys, case hardened steels, composite graphite, high nickel alloys, titanium, inconnel, and other exotic metals.
Why do bandsaws have 2 speeds?
The primary reason for speed adjustment on bandsaws is to accommodate different materials (mainly metal). That said, dropping the speed down for some operations can stretch the capabilities of an underpowered machine further.
When using the vertical band saw what blade speed would be appropriate for cutting mild steel?
Tool and rough steels require 40 to 60 surface feet per minute, mild steels 80 to 100 sfpm, and aluminium 200 sfpm+ (slower is fine — just not as efficient time-wise). For best results, use a recommended blade speed of under 200 feet per minute and preferably with coolant.
What causes bandsaw blade drift?
Drift is cause because the blade buckles under the load. You can see that by stretching a ribbon between 2 points and applying a pressure to one of the edges, it will turn sideway easily. A sharp blade and high blade speed will help a lot with that.