I have a 14" bandsaw that uses a 70.5" blade. I have found only one source for this size blade and it is Olson, but the blades do not last very long before they break at the weld. While I build a lot and use it to cut both lite ply and balsa, it is hardly heavy duty usage. Does any one know of a higher quality longer lasting blade source?

Thank You,

SpadCat

Check here http://www.toolcenter.com/070_5_Band_saw_Blades.html
If you Google 70,5" bandsaw blades you might find a outfit close to you.
I also think Craftsman carry's14 " bandsaws

You can order anything you want and any length you want here

http://www.bandsawbladesdirect.com/

LEN

www.RcAerotowing.com

My local saw sharpener sells bandsaw blades at any length, welded while you wait. Quality is better than average and so are the prices. See if you have a local sharpener that offers the same.

Another vote for locating the local saw service guy. That's where I got my blades custom made for my old 1930's vintage band saw that needed the oddball sizes. I wore them out but they never broke a one.

Speaking of which, it's low blade tension that will cause the welds or even the blade material to flex and fatigue then snap. I've found that any of the regular commercial bandsaws seem to tension the blades to a less than ideal amount if you go by the indicators found on the saws. In particular a 1/4 inch blade should have a clear voice like musical tone when plucked when it's at the right tension. A wider and heavier blade will be more of a bass sound but still quite musical like a bass guitar. If you're only tensioning them to a low and dull sounding sort of tone then the blade won't be self supporting enough when running between the guides. And that means it'll flex and work at the weld with each pass.

Along with this if your blade guides are not set for the blade run each time you change the blade then the guide bearings themselves will put undue tension on the blade in the same manner as it fights to push the blade off the path set by the wheel tracking adjustment.

There was a local guy that I bought blades from and they were of much better quality then the commercial ones, but he moved out of the area.

I ended up buying a Craftsman's blade. It was also about 1/2 the price I have been paying.

BMathews, thanks for the "tuning" advice. I figured a tighter blade was better then a loose one, but did not know of a standard that I could use.

On eBay, I did see a bandsaw welding unit that looked interesting. Pricing was not too bad at around $50, but when I found the Craftsman so cheap, I decided to try it first.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and in the future will look at the sources provided, especially if the Craftsman does not hold up.

SpadCat

Blade welders usually run around $400 to $800 on Ebay.
Broken welds on blades can also be because the person doing the weld didn't know what they where doing.
I bought a quality Simonds brand blade. It has cut at least 10 times the material my saws factory blade did. And its still sharp. It only cost about twice what the factory blade did. Well worth spending the money on a decent blade.

For re-sawing: http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/w...s705to137.aspx

By using the "English" (Proper) Silver Solder, an easily made jig and a small blowlamp, you can roll your own from virgin stock.

Regards Ian

Originally Posted by Circlip

By using the "English" (Proper) Silver Solder, an easily made jig and a small blowlamp, you can roll your own from virgin stock.

Regards Ian

I haven't made NEW blades this way yet but I've repaired a couple of cheapies that snapped early in their life due to using them on a small 3 wheel bandsaw. It works very well and when it broke again later on it wasn't at the joint.

For a home shop that only needs to make a couple of blades a year silver soldering makes MUCH more sense then buying a blade welder.

Here is the eBay welder:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sure-Splice-...item3a7c9129b3

I do like to repair things and can solder, so I will try the silver solder method, but what is a "blowlamp".

SpadCat

Originally Posted by SpadCat2000

Here is the eBay welder:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sure-Splice-...item3a7c9129b3

I do like to repair things and can solder, so I will try the silver solder method, but what is a "blowlamp".

SpadCat

That is not a welder. It is a clamp to hold the blades in the proper position to Silver Solder them together. You can make the same thing from a foot of one inch angle iron. Midway cut a one inch notch to clamp the blades over. Buy the proper Silver Solder and flux and use a propane torch.

OK, thanks for the correction and information. Now I understand what it is and could build one easily.

SpadCat

Sorry SpadCat , Even the term Silver Solder creates waves of misunderstanding on your side of the pond so I didn't realise that "Blowlamp" was an uncommon term too.

OK., this link should explain :- http://www.homemodelenginemachinist....w-blades-9288/

As you can see, you only need a small Gas torch to "Silver Braze" the joint. On any of the woodworking and Model Injineering sites the same question is regularly asked and you can save lots of stress on a Sunday when all the stores are closed with a relatively cheap "Repair" kit. You DON'T need a gas torch connected to an external cylinder with a flexible rubber pipe.

As BM has stated, a scarfe joint is much stronger than a butt weld.

Regards Ian

This :- http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=977831 was at the bottom of this page.

No problem Circlip, and thanks for the answer and link. Just like what has happened to some of you, my latest project has been halted due to a broken blade, and if I had the right material and knowledge, it would have been only a short delay.

Thanks to all!

SpadCat