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..
Occaisionally I cut wood with the saw in metal speeds, its just slow. This saw has 1hp motor, when cutting metal it never sounds like the motor loads up at all. Some modest adjustment in speed will make the wood saw a very respectable non-ferrous saw.
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.
The greatest difference in woodcutting vertical saws & metalcutting vertical saws is the blade speed. “Typical wood saws, like the popular Delta 14”, run the blade at 3000 SFM. Excellent for softwood, hardwood, many plastics, thin nonferrous. Metalcutting saws run anywhere from 100 to around 350 SFM, roughly 5% of the speed of a woodcutting saw.
bandsaw metal vs wood Related Question:
Can I use a metal bandsaw for wood?
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.
What is the difference between a wood bandsaw and a metal bandsaw?
The problem with wood saws is that they spin too fast, typically with blade speeds of 600 to 2,600 feet per minute (fpm). Cutting metal demands much slower speeds, so a metal bandsaw spins around 100 to 300 fpm.
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.
Can a metal saw cut wood?
You can use a metal blade to cut wood. A circular saw blade cut metal in a sluggish rotational speed of 25m/s. They are driven by a motor having high power and an A/C vector drive. They are long lasting and non-reusable.
Can I cut wood with aluminum blade?
Aluminium is relatively soft as metals go, and by comparison many woods although softer are weirdly more wearing of cutting edges. Also, clearance angles are different so it’ll cut some wood or board materials well and others much more poorly but this is also true of some wood blades!
How long should a metal bandsaw blade last?
On average your bandsaw blade should last 6 months to as long as a few years depending on what your cutting with it. Make sure to match your blade strength and quality to the project and material your cutting.
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.
Can I cut aluminum with a bandsaw?
Band saws were never really considered to be a wise choice for aluminum cutting, but that has changed recently. With the advancements in band saw technology, large aluminum billet now can be cut almost as quickly as with large circular saws.
Can you cut metal with a vertical bandsaw?
Band saws are not suitable for cutting very thin sheet metal; a rule of thumb suggests the metal to be cut should be thicker than the depth of 3 band saw blade teeth, however they are excellent for cutting thin walled profiles such as box and angle.
What is 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.
How can you tell if a metal saw is real?
Both saws teeth will have a set on them to clear sawn material . However wood saws teeth tend to be vertical and v shaped whereas metal teeth will be slanted and can be placed in the saw with the teeth facing towards you or away from you depending on which way you prefer , they are generally finer and closer together .
What speed should you cut metal with on a bandsaw?
To cut steel, you’ll need to run the machine at a much slower speed — about a hundred feet per minute. A machine running at this speed might look like it’s running too slowly, but running it any faster almost guarantees that you’ll damage the blade.
What materials can a bandsaw cut?
Most bandsaws have two wheels rotating in the same plane, one of which is powered. The blade itself can come in a variety of sizes and tooth pitch (teeth per inch, or TPI) which enables the machine to be highly versatile and able to cut a wide variety of materials including wood, metal and plastic.
What is a metal band saw used for?
A bandsaw (also written band saw) is a power saw with a long, sharp blade consisting of a continuous band of toothed metal stretched between two or more wheels to cut material. They are used principally in woodworking, metalworking, and lumbering, but may cut a variety of materials.
Can you use a band saw to cut wood?
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.