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Outside of correct
maintenance to your bandsaw machine, breaking in a new band saw blade is the
most important step in attaining optimum blade life. Not following
this process can lead to additional expense due to lost time and excessive
blade consumption.
Before we explain how to break-in a saw blade, lets take a moment to
clarify what the term means by explaining how a saw blade is made.
All saw blades whether Bi-Metal or Carbon are made from flat strip stock
which is milled or ground with the tooth geometry and teeth per inch
depending on the number of teeth desired. The teeth on the blade are then
set to the left and right in order to give clearance for the back of the
blade so it does not bind in the cut. The blade is then heat treated
to the desired hardness and sandblasted or liquid honed to remove the
majority of the burrs created during the milling or grinding process.
This also makes the saw blade more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
The term "Break-In" refers to the final removal of burrs left from
milling or grinding the tooth profile in the flat stock. This is done
during the actual cutting process once the saw blade is put into use.
The recommended break-in procedure is to reduce your band saw blade speed
and feed rate by 20% or more for the first 100 square inches of material cut
to give the blade time to hone off the minute burrs remaining. The
reason for the reduced speed and feed is to reduce the amount of vibration
to the blade during this time.
Example:
You are cutting 4" diameter round 4130 Alloy Steel. The recommended
standard cutting rate is 120 feet per minute with a feed rate of 6 square
inches per minute. During break-in you should be running no more than
100 feet per minute with a feed rate of approximately 4.5 square inches per
minute or less. Cutting this material at these rates would allow for
correct break-in after completing 8 pieces. |
