Not only will you have the multiple bends to straighten but the blade will very likely be twisted. If not perfect, the blade will thump and vibrate in use and the cut may wander a lot depending on the damage. Other unsupported scenarios are cutting into or along an overhang, cutting a chunk with an almost flat bottom that can rock against the table, cutting wood with poor integrity which suddenly becomes unsupported when a piece breaks, and one I just heard of recently: letting a piece of wood on the table tilt into the blade while distracted.
As my luck would have it, it wasn’t too long before I bent the new blade. Now I am stuck with a new blade that is bent and wobbles as it cuts. Almost broke my fat little finger, but in the act of slamming it down it bent the blade.
Bill, Many manufacturers will replace blades that break at the weld. Upper blade guard not adjusted close to the wood being cut to minimize the amount of exposed blade above the wood. I’ve had many a band saw blade snap on me but never seen one do any harm when it did.
On a typical wood or metal cutting blade the hook or of point of the blade should be pointing down for a vertical blade bandsaw, or for a horizontal blade saw the hook of the teeth should be pointed such that they enter the workpiece first as the blade moves. During regular cutting on a well set up bandsaw the blade will move or bow backwards a bit as you press the workpiece into it. The side guides will assist in keeping the blade cutting straight, but they are not an iron lock on the blade forcing it to cut straight.
how to straighten band saw blade Related Question:
Why is my band saw cutting crooked?
When the band saw cuts crooked, a dull blade, improper feeding, loose blade tension or not using a work piece guide could be the cause. Use the rip fence or miter gauge to guide the work piece uniformly through the cutting blade to make straight cuts.
Why is my horizontal band saw not cutting straight?
Make sure the blade is running in the correct direction. On machines powered by three phases power so it is common to get the wiring reversed and have the blade running the wrong direction. On all vertical blade bandsaws the working portion of the blade should go down. This forces the workpiece down into the table.
What causes a bandsaw blade to 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.
What is saw blade tension?
A: Blade “tension” is a technical description of how tight the bandsaw blade is for bandsaws including vertical band saws and horizontal band saws. Bandsaw blades are tensioned by the amount of force per cross-sectional area of the blade, expressed as PSI (pounds per square inch).