My Lenox Trimaster Broke!

[Mark Singer]

I had a Lenox Trimaster Blade on my Aggazani Bandsaw. I noticed the blade that always been rock solid started to "dance" back and forth. This blade was so great when it was running you almost could't tell....the profile was that unwavering! I removed the blade and cleaned the tires and reinstalled the massive blade. I started the saw and in 20 seconds a loud explosive "POP". The blade broke. I called Jesse at Eagle Tools. Jesse said that Lenox was using a very brittle steel which they recently changed to a softer steel. The teeth are carbide. Jesse has seen this happen before. He said the "dancing" is an indication that a fracture is taking place. He offered to pay for welding the blade which is oterwise in great shape and he offered me a new Trimaster at his cost....this has the new steel. I went for it. I love the saw and that blade and was a bit surprised by the event. This is kind of a heads up becuse I know several of you use that blade.

[Cecil Arnold]

Mark, how long have you had the blade? I have heard the same thing regarding the change in steel and am hoping mine is of the newer type.

[Mark Singer]

Mark, how long have you had the blade? I have heard the same thing regarding the change in steel and am hoping mine is of the newer type.
Cecil,
The blade was purcased Dec 2002. It is about 18 months or so. Jesse said Lenox dosen't stand behind this problem. It is brobably only 25 % worn! I would have gone through a dozen Timbewolfs by now at $30 each for a 1". And no blade cuts as smooth as the Trimaster. Once it is welded I will have a spare for rougher work.

[Jim Becker]

Ceil, Lennox phased in the new steel back over the past 4 months or so. They are now only shipping the new forumula, but there is no way to tell new from old from looking. So if your supplier has old inventory.... That shouldn't be a problem with anyone who regularly moves these products, especially in the size you use.

My 1" Lennox Trimaster that came with my MM16 as part of my "deal" is the old formula. I don't leave it on the saw unless I'm actually using it to minimize "sitting" stress. But it's an awesome blade and should it ever break, I'd not hesitate to replace it. In fact, I'm planning on buying a 1/2" wide version for general cutting in the not too distant future. The finish off these blades is nearly as good as off the table saw. I kid you not.

Mark, 'sounds like Eagle is taking very good care of you. It's nice to know about good suppliers out there!

[Steve King]

Mark,
I had the same thing happen with the Lennox Trimaster 3/8” blade that I use on my Delta 14” with a riser. I purchased the blade from Inturra Design; I called Louis and told him what happened. He sent me a new blade at no cost and also paid for the cost to ship the old blade back. This was over a year and half ago and the blade has performed perfectly, best blade for veneer that I have ever tried.
Steve

[Mark Singer]

Mark,
I had the same thing happen with the Lennox Trimaster 3/8” blade that I use on my Delta 14” with a riser. I purchased the blade from Inturra Design; I called Louis and told him what happened. He sent me a new blade at no cost and also paid for the cost to ship the old blade back. This was over a year and half ago and the blade has performed perfectly, best blade for veneer that I have ever tried.
SteveSteve , how old was your blade when he replaced it?

[Mark Singer]

Jim,
Is the "sitting" stress less if the blade is folded in three as typical for storage?. Should I untension the blade and leave it on the saw?

[Jim Becker]

Mark, "sitting stress" is just my word for speculation about keeping such a big, thick blade encumbered by the machine's tires, even with the tension off. I don't fold the Lennox blade...it hangs on the wall completely extended. Two reasons for that...1) to potentially make it last longer and 2) so I don't kill or maime myself trying to fold it! The latter is probably more of a sure bet...

[Jamie Buxton]

Mark --
When I've had a bandsaw blade fail like that, I generally can find other stress fractures starting to cross the band. The whole band is made of the same steel, and has been subjected to the same stresses, so if one part of it fails, other parts may not be far behind.

The exception to this is failure at the weld. Different things have happened to the band near the weld, so a failure there may not suggest imminent failure elsewhere.

....of course, you could just use the repaired blade until it starts to dance again..... :)

Jamie

[Steve King]

Mark,
The blade was about 2 months old. I had no warning, fired up the machine - turned around to get the wood, "POP" the blade was on top of the table :(
Steve

[Steve Clardy]

I have had hundreds of hours running bandsaw blades.
I owned a Woodmizer LT-30 for ten years, milling over 1 million board feet of lumber. I sharpened my own blades with a bandsaw sharpener.
My experience with blades is that they have only so many revolutions around the wheel they ride on, either steel or rubber coated. They stress and flex each time. It doesn't matter what brand, what quality, they are going to break whether they are dull or not. The bigger the wheels, the more life of the blade. The smaller, less life.
If it breaks in the weld, chances are it can be rewelded with success in the early life of the blade. If it breaks somewhere else, usually in the tooth gullet, welding it is useless as it will probably have stress cracks elsewhere, and break again very soon.
Folding it up in three rings has no affect on the life of it. Leaving it tensioned does. Take the tension off when the machine is not running for extended times.
When left tensioned up, and then by use it gets warm, it stretches that much more.
I realize that home bandsaw machines do not run as often and as hard as a bandmill, but taking care of the blades is just as important on both, same principal. On my bandmill, sometimes a blade would run two hours before dulling, sometimes 8 hours. Just depended on what is being sawed, dirt, sand, etc.
Usually I got three-four sharpenings per blade before they stressed out and broke. I did not run carbide tipped blades, as the blade material was the same for carbide as was the non carbide tipped blabes. Cost was a major factor there. A standard 0.42 7/8 pitch 1 1/4" wide blade 13' 2" long was then about 14.00 per blade, boxes of ten. A single carbide blade was over 50.00, and did not last any longer, except between sharpenings.

Steve

[Greg Mann]

I am inclined to agree with Steve's take on this. What often happens as improvements to one feature of a tool, machine, system, you-name-it take place the failure mode moves to another feature. In this case, the carbide may very well be lasting long enough that the steel band fatigues first. Learning this is probably why Lenox is moving to a softer steel. Mark indicated that, even as it was, the blade lasted as long as a dozen reasonable quality steel-toothed blades. That's not too shabby. The new design should make him even happier because he should be able to utilize more of the life left in the carbide. Steve's point is still valid though. It may be that even with a change to the base material it will only tolerate so much flexing before failure. The good news is that Lenox is trying to make a good blade even better.


Greg

[Mark Singer]

I got the New Trimaster today! I haven't installed it yet....I want to go through and clean the guides and do some lubrication. Thanks for your suggestions, they are very helpful.

[Chris Padilla]

My Trimaster is still coiled up from the manufacturer...5 loops! :)

[Mark Singer]

New Trimaster is in and running perfect! Balance is perfect! No dancing! I cleaned and lubticated the guides. The blade came the day after I ordered it! Thanks Jesse!

Chris, if your blade is wound that tight , I would open it.

[SteveKrim]

Probably a "Dumb" question, but, how dangerous is a bandsaw blade breaking?

One of my rituals prior to cutting anything (BS, TS or SCMS) is to try and imagine the worst case for the cut. On the BS, I always seem to come up with the blade breaking, wrapping itself around my arm and ripping it off! Maybe a little paranoid, but...

So, since I have never had this experience, what are the warning signs? What happens when the band does break - where does it go and how does it react???

Thanks,

Steve

[Mark Singer]

Probably a "Dumb" question, but, how dangerous is a bandsaw blade breaking?

One of my rituals prior to cutting anything (BS, TS or SCMS) is to try and imagine the worst case for the cut. On the BS, I always seem to come up with the blade breaking, wrapping itself around my arm and ripping it off! Maybe a little paranoid, but...

So, since I have never had this experience, what are the warning signs? What happens when the band does break - where does it go and how does it react???

Thanks,

Steve
Steve, It is a good question! The noise is loud when it breaks. On the newer saws it should stay inside the saw. The exposed blade section is where it could get free and that is scarry. Keep the gude as low as posible to cover the blade.

[Chris Padilla]

I haven't broken a blade yet but I did have a couple that came off the track. The key is to keep as much of the blade as possible covered up--i.e. as Mark said, keep the guide as low as the size of the wood you are cutting will allow.

[SteveKrim]

Yes, I keep the top of the guide 1/8 or off the work... My blade is 96" and my imagination probably got the best of me! (read inexperience! - never had one break!)

Thanks,

Steve

[Dennis Peacock]

I've had a few BS blades break in my time. It is my belief that breaking a blade on the BS is a lot safer than breaking a router bit, TS blad or slinging a jointer knife! :eek:

My BS blades are 132" long and if/when the blade breaks, it stays in the confines of the BS cabinet.

I always release the blade tension at the end of each evening when I use the BS. My blades seem to last longer than way. :)