Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 36

Thread: Welding A Bandsaw Blade

  1. #1

    Welding A Bandsaw Blade

    I'be got a Timberwolf 1/2" 3 tpi blade that broke. I can't remember the exact model but I remember paying about $60 for it 7 or 8 yrs ago. It was still cutting reasonable well when it broke. I've heard of welding blades but have no idea of where to have this done. I assume there are some specifics for welding a blade.
    Is pursuing the weld option a good one or am I better off just getting a new blade and if so, what's a good choice for light duty resawing? If it matters, I'm using it on a 14" Delta with riser block.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Somewhere in the Land of Lincoln
    Posts
    2,538
    I found this with a quick search. Since Lee Valley is generally well regarded here I would consider this a reasonable option.
    https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop...t?item=03J5901

    Years ago in a job early in my career we had a DoAll metal cutting vertical bandsaw with blade welder on it. So we made our own blades. If you can find a machine shop they might have such a beast and could help you out. It seemed in the metal working industry most bandsaws had blade welders. Whether new or used you made sure the ends were square, clamped the blade, hit start and first the blade heated up for 2-3 seconds and then it shoved it together. Flash butt weld complete. Then you ground off the bulge and checked it in the built in gauge and also reclamped in the jaws and used the anneal button to take the brittleness out of the weld. You kept hitting it the button until it was red hot between the jaws. I don't know that we did everything exactly right but broken welds weren't common. Usually we had teeth loss or just plain dullness. Keep in mind we were mostly cutting tool steel which can be tough even in it's raw un heat treated state.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,638
    I don't know anything about re welding them, Ken, but I sure hope you didn't pay $60 for that band...
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Doylestown, PA
    Posts
    7,541
    I could be mistaken but I thought silver solder was used for 'field repairs' i.e. no access to a blade welder.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    113
    I have been making my blades for years. Silver solder with a simple fixture. No need for annealing, or heat treating. Whenever a blade broke, it was never at the joint. Which did not happen very often.
    The cost to make is about 1/3 of the cost to buy. I have actually made a few blades in 3 pieces. The end of a 100' roll is usually too short to make a blade. I braze it to the end of a new roll, then cut to size, no issues.
    No special tools: silver solder, flux, fixture, plumbers propane torch.
    The joint needs a 20* scarf joint along the face. This will give the joint enough surface to support the tension and not separate.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    WNY
    Posts
    9,599
    Both Timberwolf blades I put on my 14" Delta with riser block broke and, like yours, not at the weld and not after a lot of use. I moved on.

    For $60 or so you can buy an Olson MVP 105" x 1/2" x 3 tpi bimetal blade. If you look just a little, for only $40 you can buy a Lennox Diemaster II in the same configuration. Neither will leave as smooth a finish as a Woodslicer, and maybe not the Timberwolf, but both will last 5 - 10X longer.

    John
    Last edited by John TenEyck; 01-27-2023 at 1:24 PM.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Atlanta
    Posts
    1,592
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    I don't know anything about re welding them, Ken, but I sure hope you didn't pay $60 for that band...
    was thinking the exact same thing.

  8. #8
    Jim & Dave, you can sleep well tonight. My awful memory reared its ugly head again. The blade was a Lenox Diemaster Ii and I imagine the $60 I quoted included shipping & tax. I see about 16 different options for a 1/2” blade. Any suggestions for mostly cutting veneer?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Piercefield, NY
    Posts
    1,638
    I use TimberWolf 1/2" 3 TPI for resawing and general work in my 18" bandsaw. I tried a Diemaster II once and it broke at the weld very soon. Before it broke it was not that sharp, and it took a huge kerf, so it cut slowly and wasted wood. The blades from TimberWolf are great when new, last a while, and are not too expensive. I often resaw to 1/8" or 3/32" but not usually thinner. I buy several at a time, and change them out about every 4 months or so on average. I'm hoping to learn to resharpen them one of these days.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Peoria, IL
    Posts
    4,412
    I make all my blades including 3/4". I use a MAPP torch and silver brazing. You can buy a little kit on Ebay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/25589588803...TXiKIaY-4K8xxY

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2019
    Location
    Columbus, OH
    Posts
    284
    With this talk of soldering a blade yourself, what are you doing to file the angle for a scarf joint? And where would you source a 100' roll of blade stock? Since my last resaw blade cracked I've been interested in being able to repair/make my own blades.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Location
    Camarillo, CA
    Posts
    410
    Quote Originally Posted by Ronald Blue View Post
    I found this with a quick search. Since Lee Valley is generally well regarded here I would consider this a reasonable option.
    https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop...t?item=03J5901

    Years ago in a job early in my career we had a DoAll metal cutting vertical bandsaw with blade welder on it. So we made our own blades. If you can find a machine shop they might have such a beast and could help you out. It seemed in the metal working industry most bandsaws had blade welders. Whether new or used you made sure the ends were square, clamped the blade, hit start and first the blade heated up for 2-3 seconds and then it shoved it together. Flash butt weld complete. Then you ground off the bulge and checked it in the built in gauge and also reclamped in the jaws and used the anneal button to take the brittleness out of the weld. You kept hitting it the button until it was red hot between the jaws. I don't know that we did everything exactly right but broken welds weren't common. Usually we had teeth loss or just plain dullness. Keep in mind we were mostly cutting tool steel which can be tough even in its raw un heat treated state.
    I was a shop assistant in my college’s department machine shop. We had a bandsaw with the same welding feature. It was quick and easy to weld up new blades. Even as a student with about 2 minutes instruction I was able to get good results.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2021
    Location
    Mid West and North East USA
    Posts
    2,796
    Blog Entries
    2
    I had a bandsaw welder on my Purple Wave auction watch list (just for fun). I think I can find the sold listing...

    Grob band saw welder in Wichita, KS | Item HP9294 sold | Purple Wave
    Last edited by Maurice Mcmurry; 01-27-2023 at 10:25 PM.
    Best Regards, Maurice

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Piercefield, NY
    Posts
    1,638
    I'm interested in learning to solder blades, someday when my current box of new blades runs out. I routinely silver solder brass parts for banjos, using Harris Stay Silv 15 and a MAP torch, and I'm wondering if that kind of solder would also work for bandsaw blades. Is the 20 degrees for the scarf joint measured acutely along the blade or obtusely across it? Do you leave a little gap between the ends of the blade before heating so they will come together when they expand, or is that not needed for a bandsaw blade?

  15. #15
    Ron, that kit looks interesting but appears to have been discontinued.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •