Thread: broken bandsaw blade!!!!!

Originally Posted by malb

$50 bucks sounds like a big hit for a 2240 x 19mm blade, maybe you need to shop around before committing. Saw doctors are generally a very good place to start, and generally not hard to find locally unless you live in a desert area.

Re big machines or small machines being more prone to breaking blades, for equally competent efforts at setting guides etc, generally a small machine is more likely to break blades as they induce fatigue sooner due to running the blade at tight radiuses over the smaller wheels. Blade stock is supplied as rolls of bulk material in cartons clearly labelled for minimum bend radius, and my saw doc will advise customers if a particular stock is not suitable in the length requested,based on 40+years knowledge of blade lengths v wheel diameter.

Of course, the greatest causes of breakage is probably improperly set up equipment and incorrect use by the operator.

$50 was for a bimetal blade shipped. From what I've seen that's not bad. There's no doubt it broke prematurely because of the tension required to get it cutting properly, and it was too big for my machine. Still, 18 months isn't bad for a blade. It's still sharp so I'll get it welded again. Compared to the carbon blades I started with, that's good mileage.

It makes sense that smaller wheels would make breakage more likely. Mine is a 12 inch wheel machine and it looks a very tight curve.


I agree incorrect setup is a big contributor to premature breakage. I spend at least an hour setting up and making sure the blade is tracking correctly before the machine gets turned on. In fact this last blade is my first broken one out of 5. Every other was blunt and sharpened again until there wasn't enough to sharpen.

I upgraded the blade guides a while back and it's improved my saw tremendously, but if the wheels aren't set correctly it's all for nought. Unfortunately my bandsaw is a dog of a thing to adjust and set up. I'm sure a better saw would be easier.