Band saw cutting issue?

Mark Barone

Mark Barone

Well-Known Member
It appears I have to soften all the bars a but before they can be cut on the Porta band. It’s a HF brand. The last blades I bought were Lennox 18. Do most folks have this issue. Not a huge deal but I have to do it in my Kiln, so it takes a few hours. I have tried different speeds on the saw and also I am not forcing it.
 
I also have the HF portaband on a Swag stand and with a fresh blade (MK Morse from Amazon) I have cut all types of blade steel up to 3/16 as well as recently cut 1/4 stainless relatively easy.
 
My guess is the bandsaw blade(s). Knife steel if very tough on blades of any cutting machine. Although Lennox is known for their "quality", if you purchased the bottom end/cheap Lennonx blades, they are no better then the cheap ones that Harbor Freight sells. Personally, I run 8% cobalt blades, and get ready for it...... I buy them from a seller on Ebay. He tends to come and go on Ebay, but is out of Florida....he sells the blades in "lots"..... sometimes the least amount you can buy is 10.... I generally buy in lots of 25 or 50..... 25 last me a year+...... 50 a couple. Lot's of different choices out there for blades, sometime you just have to try various ones until you find what YOU like best. If your saw doesn't cut the steel super easy after annealing.....then it's your blade(s).
 
Depends on the bars you've got. Are these forged bars? Just a bar of simple 1080?
 
What steel type are you trying to cut. I had a HF and used HF blades and never had an issue.
 
If its annealed it should cut like butter .I use Lennox blades as well and have used my porta band to cut up 4x6 fork lift tines by constantly lubricating the blade with a bar of soap so I wonder what's going on ? Can you cut same said steel with a hack saw ?
 
I gotta ask the question..... why are you even taking the chance of buying that stuff, when for just a few more dollars you can get a full 48" bar from New Jersey Steel Baron, and be assured it is the best quality 1095 you can get?? My guess is that you just became another victim of the "bait and switch" steel sales scam.

Something you MUST realize.....these days with the popularity of knifemaking, there are dozens of outfits out there just waiting to rip you off! Steel being one of the primary avenues. I can't count the number of times in the past 5 years that I have tried to help folks with steel problems...only to find eventually that what they had purchased, was NOT what it was advertised to be. Personally, there are only THREE sources period, that I trust enough to purchase my steels from..... NJSB, Kelly Cupples, and SB Specialty metals (the old Crucible folks)
 
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Buying off Amazon is much the same as buying of fleabay - never know what you're getting. If the bandsaw cuts good after annealing, then you know it wasn't annealed properly when you got it.

Ooops, I see other folks have told you same thing about buying from that source.
 
If it isn't cutting then either your blade is toast, the steel is hardened, or it's "janky" steel. I have an HF portaband/swag table and cut 1095, 1084, and various flavors of stainless pretty easily. When I cut bolsters its from 303 stainless that's 3/8" and I just have to "lube it up" and cut slow.

I second Ed's recommendation on getting steel from NJSB, it's just not worth risking getting bad steel. Might pay a little bit more but you can put any quality worries out of your head and just focus on making a knife
 
I have had good luck with Admiral Steel, in addition to New Jersey steel baron.

Way off track... Something not mentioned is if you buy a 12 inch piece and use 8-9 inches for your knife. You end up with a 3 inch piece that has very little use. IE waste. I much prefer to buy steel in 4-6 foot lengths as it is much easier to avoid waste or at least reduce it.
 
Dennis Morland said:
I have had good luck with Admiral Steel, in addition to New Jersey steel baron.

Way off track... Something not mentioned is if you buy a 12 inch piece and use 8-9 inches for your knife. You end up with a 3 inch piece that has very little use. IE waste. I much prefer to buy steel in 4-6 foot lengths as it is much easier to avoid waste or at least reduce it.
Click to expand...

Not off track at all. I’m finding that out quickly. I have a bunch of 3 inch pieces. I’m not doing this for profit but I don’t like the waist.
 
From the seller description: "Made from high carbon steel, this RMP knife billet sharpens easily, resists chipping, and holds a great edge."
They should probably mention that it needs to be properly heat treated first. :D

Couple of things:

It very likely could be your source. There's no telling where they get it from, what kind of quality control they get, or the actual annealing process used.

Quality saw blades will definitely make a difference. It's also important to make sure you're breaking your blades in properly. If you're using a porta-band, they're probably not as straightforward to break in as a larger horizontal or vertical saw, but basically you'll want to select your slowest speed and take light pressure cuts for a bit. On larger blades, the manufacturers typically recommend something like 100 inches of cut or so, but I imagine a smaller blade would be around 1/2 that.
What "break in" does is very slightly round over the point of each tooth so that it goes through the material more smoothly. If you force a fresh saw tooth too hard at first, it will dig into the material and fracture, dulling your blade faster.

A little bit of cutting lube will help as well. There are "lube sticks" which work well for saw blades, though I don't recall any brands at the moment, but occasionally I'll just brush a little bit of cutting oil on the outside periphery of my blade, so that it doesn't get onto the tires of my saw as much. It makes a noticeable difference in needed cutting pressure.

Also, make sure you're using a proper TPI for the material you're cutting. You want at least 2-3 teeth in the material at any given moment. If your blade is too coarse, it may cut well initially, but you'll inevitably dull the teeth a lot faster, if not break them off altogether.

Lastly, let the blade do the cutting. If you push too hard, you'll load and wear the blade out much faster than if you let the blade do the work and clear your material at a proper pace. Feeds and speeds aren't just for drills and mills, but for ANY cutting tool. If your blade is getting too hot, you're already done.
 
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