Bandsaw blades breaking

[Bill Crisp]

I'm new to resawing, and have a new to me MiniMax MM16. I ordered 4 Woodmaster GT 1 1/4" blades from BandSawBladesDirect, and have broken 2 in relatively short order. The first broke from the back of the band, and there were cracks evenly spaced around the band. The second developed a crack in a gullet. I was able to catch the second before it broke.

I'm using the stock euro side guides with ceramic thrust guides. I feel like the saw is set up correctly, but clearly I'm missing something.

I'm resawing rough sawn Spruce 2x6s into 2x3s then to 1x3s, and making a point to keep my feed rate under control.

Thanks in advance.

[John TenEyck]

I'm new to resawing, and have a new to me MiniMax MM16. I ordered 4 Woodmaster GT 1 1/4" blades from BandSawBladesDirect, and have broken 2 in relatively short order. The first broke from the back of the band, and there were cracks evenly spaced around the band. The second developed a crack in a gullet. I was able to catch the second before it broke.

I'm using the stock euro side guides with ceramic thrust guides. I feel like the saw is set up correctly, but clearly I'm missing something.

I'm resawing rough sawn Spruce 2x6s into 2x3s then to 1x3s, and making a point to keep my feed rate under control.

Thanks in advance.

That blade is 0.042" thick. Going around those 16" wheels would put a lot of stress on them; it's not surprising they would have a short life. Combined with the 1-1/4" width, it's likely more than the MM16 can adequately tension as well. That's not related to the breakages, but it is important for effective resawing.

I would change to a 3/4" or 1" wide blade, no more than 0.035" thick, and even thinner would be better still. The thinner band will better be able to handle the stress around the wheels and your saw should be able to tension them to an appropriate tension, in the 20 - 25 ksi range.

John

[Jim Becker]

I have to agree with John...I found a 1" band was pushing things and generally stick with 3/4" bands max for my (older) MM16. The wider bands tend to be thicker which makes it hard to properly tension them and that can cause just enough wackiness to cause a break.

[Jamie Buxton]

Sounds like your 1 1/4” blades are too thick to bend around your 16” wheel. Try thinner blades. On my 16” saw, I run blades which are .036” thick, and I never break a blade.

[Erik Loza]

Jamie is correct: 1-1/4” is too wide a blade for that saw. There must be a jump in thickness from the 1.0” Woodmaster CT to the 1-1/4”, because we sold literally hundreds of one-inch Woodmasters to MM16 owners back in the day and blade breakage was pretty much unheard of.

Erik

[Bill Crisp]

Ahhh. Good information guys. These blades are .042. I was thinking more steel would be more better, but I can see how that could be an issue now.

I'll get some new blades ordered today.

In terms of the blades I have remaining, will they last longer if I reduce the tension?

Thanks again.

[Erik Loza]

To the OP, I always suggested de-tensioning a carbide blade when not in use, regardless of saw size.

Erik

[Bill Crisp]

Thank you guys. I'll order new blades today.

We live. We learn...

[Bill Crisp]

(Sorry for the double post...)

[Bill Crisp]

Will do.

Since I'm new to resawing, I ordered cheaper blades and I'm glad I did...

[Richard Coers]

1/2" 3TPI will also work for resawing. The reason for wider blades is for higher production and less barrel bending in the blade when you feed at a higher rate. Slow down the feed and you need much less blade. The key to knowing about feed speed is how much sawdust is left in the kerf. If the kerf is clean, you are doing it right. If there is sawdust left in the kerf, the feed is too fast and the gullets of the blade are full and unable to carry away all the sawdust.

[John TenEyck]

Ahhh. Good information guys. These blades are .042. I was thinking more steel would be more better, but I can see how that could be an issue now.

I'll get some new blades ordered today.

In terms of the blades I have remaining, will they last longer if I reduce the tension?

Thanks again.

I de-tension the blades on my large saw, which carries 24 ksi, but never do on my little Delta at 12 ksi. My friend runs the same 24 ksi on the same blade I use on my large saw, in fact, it's the same saw, and never de-tensions it. I've seen no difference in blade life with any of them. Blades don't break from staying under static tension, but bearings and tires may suffer over time just sitting there with load on them in one spot.

If it's easy to de-tension the blade, I would. If not, don't worry about it.

John