Band saw blades: a question and reporting on some results

[Dan Gaylin]

Hi all,

Here's the question: I fired up my new(ish) Jet 14SFX yesterday and there was a strange dull clanging noise and all of a sudden the blade had a bad kink in it. I could find no reason for this other than (possibly) a very thin, small piece of walnut that had fallen through the table plate -- must have happened when I was vacuuming up -- and was resting on the bottom guides (underneath the table). Could that have caused the kink? Is a blade with a bad kink in it salvageable?

Here's the report: the blade that got a kink was a Timberwolf 116" blade 3 TPI, 1/2" wide. It was almost new. I replaced it with a Woodslicer 116" blade 3-4 TPI, 1/2" wide. The Woodslicer, at least on my saw, seems to be the superior blade -- runs truer, quieter, and smoother, and makes very straight, consistent cuts. The Timberwolf left a somewhat finer edge (less rough) but not by a large amount and otherwise just doesn't "feel" as good when running the saw. I wonder what others' experience is in this regard?

--dan

[Paul F Franklin]

Seem unlikely a bit of wood could cause a kink. Are you sure the blade was tensioned when you started the saw? DAMHIKT but starting the saw without tension on the blade is a good way to kink one...

Another, slim, possibility is if the blade had a bad weld that got hung up on a guide.

[Dan Gaylin]

Hi Paul. Thanks for your reply. No the saw was tensioned. My wife watched me pull the tension lever and then we both heard the strange noise the minute I started up the saw. Maybe it was the weld. And maybe that’s why the blade sounded noisy most of the time...