Thread: Bandsaw or blade woes

The bad weld is the reason for the back'n'forth, pure and simple.

You won't get it it to run straight with a dog-leg in it, any more than you can draw a straight line using a boomerang for a ruler.

While it may only appear to be a gap of a mm or so when you put a straight edge against it, if you use a longer straight edge the gap will increase proportionally. There'll also be a slight side-to-side twist in the blade because of this, but you probably wouldn't notice it unless specifically looking for it.

Do yourself a favour and replace the blade.

If the blade is in otherwise in good condition and long enough you could always cut it and reweld it yourself, or have it rewelded. A saw sharpening service should be able to do that for you.

The most likely reason is indeed a bad weld but another less common reason is a short section of the blade has a twist in that is not being removed by tensioning. There are various ways the twist can be formed, the most common one I've seen is when the blade wanders badly off track during a cut. The twist can be reduced on wide blades by (if you can find one) an old school saw doctor but the cost will usually be more than buying a new blade.

Thanks guys for your replies. It would've been nice if I got notified that you guys replied, nonetheless I would like to update you on this. I have another blade that is only 1/4" wide and I put that on to see what would happen. The saw ran true. I've ordered a new blade from the same mob that sold me that crap and if it happens again I will return it. I went to another guy and blade snapped at the weld. Trying to find good reliable and skilful people is like trying to find a needle in a hay stack. This isn't the first time this scenario with the blade has happened to me, but I never knew it was the blade.

Combined Saw and Knife in Deception Bay weld their own blades and I’m yet to have a problem with their work.