Coiling a bandsaw blade.

[Retired]

Hi,

David (Yorkie) and I were recently discussing coiling band-saw blades. I had told David about what fun I had just had whilst trying to coil a blade after forgetting how to do it.

There are a number of ways to coil these blades and David kindly sent me a reminder video which is one of a number of such videos on YouTube. The video is below and makes it look so easy which of course it is as long as you don't forget then you have a fight on your hands.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRarn9st2bg

The blades on my Startrite Volant 24" band-saw measure 126" long and I bought a 100' coil yielding 9 blades which at the time I easily coiled.

Care is needed during un-coiling a band-saw blade as they can cause a serious injury as they spring open.

Thanks for the reminder David and the video is worth sharing.

Kind regards, Col.

[Yorkie]

I've got two bandsaws - a small bench-top one with a 3" depth of cut, and a larger floor-standing one with a 6" depth of cut. The smaller one uses a 55" (1,400mm) blade, the larger one an 88" (2,235mm) blade. I get through a couple of blades a year on each saw. Not often because they go blunt, but after a while they lose their 'set' so on straight cuts on long thick timber, they start to wander off. I usually manage to snap one from time to time due to expecting too much when cutting shapes in thick timber, especially on the smaller saw. I use a 1/4" wide blade on the smaller saw and a 1/2" blade on the larger saw, which are fine for straight cuts, but really for tight radii I should use narrower blades. Bandsaws work best when crosscutting rather than going with the length of the grain. I've just ordered six new blades for my smaller bandsaw for £30 post free. (Oddly enough, from a butchers' equipment supplier as bandsaws are used extensively in butchery). That's less than half the price from DIY stores, even if they stock them.

I've attached a couple of pics of my bandsaws. As can be seen on the smaller one, I was pushing it a bit to cut 3" thick oak into 6" diameter bowl blanks - I managed to cut three but the blade jammed and snapped on the forth. Unfortunately, all the makes of small bandsaws on the UK market - including the 'Charnwood' one that I bought - seem to be built down to a price rather than up to a standard. I'm not sure whether the makers think that only DIYers buy small bandsaws, but they're certainly not up to a professional standard. The Charnwood is emblazoned with Union Flag Emblems and 'Great Britian', but I've little doubt that it came from the orient, though marketed by a UK company. It appears to be what might be termed a scaled down 'Chinese copy' my larger (German made) Elektra Beckum, who I think have since been taken over by Scheppak(?).

Bandsaws have to be properly 'tuned' - you can't just plug in, switch on and expect that it will run and cut properly. The blade guides must be set correctly, the blade centred on the wheels, the thrust bearing set so that it supports the blade as wood is pushed against it, and the table must be set so that the blade cuts at 90 degrees, or whatever angle is desired.

Probably the most useful bit of kit in the workshop.

When I uncoil a blade, I try to observe how it uncoils, so it jogs my memory as to how to coil the old one up. Sometimes I do it in a jiffy, but occasionally I struggle. It's one of those tasks not performed often enough for it to become second nature - not to me anyway! And being left-handed, I have to do it the opposite way from that shown in the video.

Isn't U Tube great?

[pwdrive]

If you tried that with a large blade you could end up with a very nasty injury, the 5" and 4" blades on my old Stenner and Forrestor machines weren't coiled as such, the centers were brought together so that the point of the teeth from one side matched with the gullet on the other side, some bailer twine was tied round at that point then a couple of layers of cardboard wrapped round then some more bailer twine, you then ended up with a shape like a pair of upturned spectacles, the two loops were then brought together and also tied off in the same manner.
You can nest two or three blades from the same bandsaw that way.
Doing it that way ensures that the swages don't interfere with each other and get damaged, same when they come back from the saw doctor as equal swaging is a must for accurate sawing.

Lawrence.