Thread: Starrett Bandsaw Blades

Originally Posted by Yanis

I did a search and found nothing so forgive me if I have missed a previous thread.

In my early days Starrett was synonymous with quality but I know that since then may brand names have been sold off and are now throw-away rubbish. The reason I bring this up is that I see a lot of Starrett bandsaw blades on eBay and they are a pretty good price. Does anyone have experience of these? Are they worth getting?

John

Starrett are a basic blade and my experience (metal cutting only) is they deliver more or less what you are paying for, or perhaps a little more.

I've been using Starretts on my horizontal metal cutting BS for about 4 years.
With care and use of lube/coolant they last me for many months with the latest being on the saw for >9 months.
The bimetal equivalent costs about 4 times more which means I would need to get at least 36 months out of a bimetal blade to justify the cost.

Sorry can't comment on the wood versions.

For wood I would recommend a bimetal blade for your main cutting blade and maybe get cheapies for the unusual blades you might not use all that often.

As Bob notes, Starrett is a common name in the metal working business, quality etc.
I was looking at their wood blades a number of years ago and quit when they recommended tensioning at 20,000 psi. I didn't think my little 14" saw would like that.
I have one bimetal (non Starrett) that I use for ebony, teak and osage orange, but do not care for the cut. It is a 3/4" 4/6tpi. Perhaps to wide for the saw or my expectations are to high.
I guess you should buy one and try it. Even new, bandsaw blades are reasonably priced.
Don

I recently acquired a replacement second-hand bandsaw for my old Carba-tec 14" which was old when I got it.
My new aquisition is a Sherwood TBB 14" with 2HP motor.It came with a couple of Torquata brand unused blades and a couple of used ones which are almost certainly the same brand.They are quite a cheap blade but am quite happy with them so far,I have resawn some 10" thick cape lilac and some 6" jarrah without any problems.
I suspect the price and performance is probably similar to the Starrett brand ones on ebay,but as Bob say's you do get what you pay for.
I have never purchased any high-end bandsaw blades so have no real comparison.
Whether I would be tempted to buy a TCT tipped Resaw King blade for the best part of $200 I don't know.

I can only suggest buying one and seeing how it performs and make your mind up whether you are happy with it.