Vermont America BS Blade

[Jose Kilpatrick]

I had an extended lunch today and stopped by the The big Blue L to pick up some hose (for my shopvac) and I grabbed a 3/8" 6TPI Vermont America Bandsaw blade since they were only $8. Are there any tips on babying a cheap blade to keep it cutting longer? I think the last VA blade I picked up to cut some pvc lasted all of an hour. (just long enough to finish the job)

[Michael McCoy]

Hopefully your experience will be different but I bought one in a pinch a couple of years ago and decided the only way to baby that blade was to not put it on the saw.

[Jose Kilpatrick]

Awww... Come on now!. That's the answer I expected, not the one I was hoping for.... LOL....
I gotta stop buying tools on my lunch break.

[Paul Demetropoulos]

Jose,

The brand aside, the 3/8 6tpi is not a good choice for a general purpose blade. Too many teeth that won't clear sawdust from the gullets.
A good general purpose blade would be a 1/2" 3tpi with deep gullets.

BC Saw & Tool is a good place to get such a blade.

http://www.bcsaw.com/

[Loren Hedahl]

Jose,

The brand aside, the 3/8 6tpi is not a good choice for a general purpose blade. Too many teeth that won't clear sawdust from the gullets.
A good general purpose blade would be a 1/2" 3tpi with deep gullets.

BC Saw & Tool is a good place to get such a blade.

http://www.bcsaw.com/


I agree, for most saws. My light weight aluminum framed 12 inch Craftsman will take a 1/2 inch blade, but for that saw I prefer a 1/4 or 3/8 inch 4 tpi.

I have also been known to touch up the sharpness on such a blade. It certainly takes less time than making a special trip to buy a fresh one.

What I do is remove the blade, reinstall it on the saw so the teeth run the wrong way. Then starting at a mark made with a permanent marker on the blade I file every other tooth with a small triangular mill file maintaining the original pitch and using the same number of strokes on each tooth.

Once all those teeth are touched up, I reverse my pitch and sharpen the rest of the teeth in the same manner.

This takes all of about 10 - 15 minutes on an 80 inch blade for my Craftsman and I believe the results are as good as a new blade. At four blades an hour that comes out to about $40/hour saved plus the gas saved.

Hopefully my arm doesn't break patting myself on the back!

[george wilson]

I find that a 6 tooth blade stays sharp much longer than a 3 tooth. there are twice as many teeth. The 6 tooth cuts just fine for me.I even resawed 12" thick Cuban(hard as ebony) mahogany with one. If you aren't having to cram wood through at a rapid rate it doesn't fill the gullets. Many will disagree with me,but I find the 6 tooth blade on my 14" old Delta just fine.

I use Lennox high carbon blades.

[Pat Germain]

- Apply a teflon lubricant
- Burnish the back of the blade
- Keep it clean; brush the gunk out after each use
- Apply just enough tension, but not too much
- Release the tension, if possible, between uses
- Don't force what your cutting; let the blade cut while you gently feed
- Avoid cutting through metal embedded in your stock
- Don't expect high quality performance from a low quality blade

[Dewey Torres]

- Apply a teflon lubricant
- Burnish the back of the blade
- Keep it clean; brush the gunk out after each use
- Apply just enough tension, but not too much
- Release the tension, if possible, between uses
- Don't force what your cutting; let the blade cut while you gently feed
- Avoid cutting through metal embedded in your stock
- Don't expect high quality performance from a low quality blade


Pat....spot on advice!!!!

[Jose Kilpatrick]

- Apply a teflon lubricant
- Burnish the back of the blade
- Keep it clean; brush the gunk out after each use
- Apply just enough tension, but not too much
- Release the tension, if possible, between uses
- Don't force what your cutting; let the blade cut while you gently feed
- Avoid cutting through metal embedded in your stock
- Don't expect high quality performance from a low quality blade

I cleaned up my bs after changing the blad, set the tension appropriatley, readjusted bearings and blocks, and cut about 4 ft of boardlength with a lubricant on the blade. (I used a silicon lubricant instead of teflon)

The blade cut wonderfully and fairly quickly on both a rip and a crosscut. It leaves quite a bit of tooling marks on the rip, but crosscuts are smooth. No drift, no burn, tracked well. After testing, I inspected the blade closely and did not notice any wear and it seemed just as sharp as it was out of the package. But, I was cutting clear white pine.

For $8, not a bad deal, but I suspect I would need a couple in stock if I'm going to be cutting much hardwood.

[Pat Germain]

I (I used a silicon lubricant instead of teflon)

Dude! While silicone is a great lubricant, it's not a good idea to use it on woodworking machines. Why? Because it gets on the wood and you can't get it off. It will show when you finish it.

It's not the end of the world, but you might want to clean that new blade thoroughly before using it again. Then get some dri-lube (teflon). :)

[Pat Germain]

Pat....spot on advice!!!!

Thanks, Dewey. How nice of you to drop by after schmoozing with the fat cats at The Broadmoor. ;)