Thin kerf band saw blades

[Ron Bontz]

Any one know of a good source for thin kerf band saw blades 136" long? We are talking 0.02 to 0.025 kerfs. Thank you.

[Curt Harms]

There are a few sources of the Atlanta Sharptech band. The best known is Highland Woodworking's WoodSlicer. Woodcraftbands.com has what sounds like the same thing for less $. Iturra calls it the bladerunner. Spectrum Supply calls theirs the kerfmaster. They should all be around .025 or less, I think.

[Howard Klepper]

There aren't any, unless you are talking about the thickness of the band rather than the kerf. Steel bandsaw blades come .025" thick up tp 3/4" width, and then go to .035", with the exception of the Timberwolf AS-S blade that is 3/4" wide and .025. But the teeth have to have a set, so the smallest kerf is about .035.

[Myk Rian]

You can always take a blade and squeeze all the teeth in a vise.

[Phil Thien]

There aren't any, unless you are talking about the thickness of the band rather than the kerf. Steel bandsaw blades come .025" thick up tp 3/4" width, and then go to .035", with the exception of the Timberwolf AS-S blade that is 3/4" wide and .025. But the teeth have to have a set, so the smallest kerf is about .035.

Actually, there are .018", .020", and .022" blades as well. Many of them are intended for benchtop and portable saws.

Iturra has some thin-kerf Starrett blade stocks. They're carbon, not bimetal. But they do have them. Should be able to weld them to any length you want.

[Chris Hedges]

I thought I read somewhere that fish/meat cutting blades have an ultra thin kerf...

Chris

[bob hertle]

Actually, there are .018", .020", and .022" blades as well. Many of them are intended for benchtop and portable saws.

Iturra has some thin-kerf Starrett blade stocks. They're carbon, not bimetal. But they do have them. Should be able to weld them to any length you want.



There is also a .014 thick band--don't know what the set is. I've heard that some luthiers get custom set blades to provide a press-fit kerf for fretwires. Might check around some of the instrument making forums.

Bob

[Howard Klepper]

I have seen these and the .014" mentioned, but never in nearly as long a length as the OP asked for (136"). Perhaps they can be ordered. Even the .014 takes about a .025" kerf, and is intended for thin material.

Ron, what do you want to cut?

[James Heisbert]

I would like to ask, what’s the difference between a blade’s kerf and its width?

[Phil Thien]

I would like to ask, what’s the difference between a blade’s kerf and its width?

Blades have at least four measurements:

Length: How long it would be if you cut the loop, and measure it end-to-end.
Width: How wide the blade is, from the front of the teeth, to the back of the blade. Most common blades are 1/4" and 1/2" wide.
Thickness: The thickness of the material from which the blade was made. Most common would be (for us, I think) would be .025" and .032".
Kerf: How THICK a cut the blade makes. This is thicker than the thickness of the blade, because the teeth have a set. Some teeth or bent to the left, some to the right.

[James Heisbert]

Thanks for the information Phil. All these years I’ve been thinking that the kerf is the same as the blade’s width. Probably because I’ve been doing the WORK all by myself in just a couple of times a year.