Use and Care Manual

11
11.3 Set type
Straight Set – used for free cutting non-ferrous
materials; i.e., aluminum, magnesium, plastics, and
wood.
Wavy Set – used on materials of varying thickness
(pipe, tubing, and structural shapes).
Raker Set – used in large cuts on thick plate and
bar stock where finish of cut is not as important as
speed.
11.4 Gage
Gage is the thickness of material from which the
blade is produced. The thicker the material, the
stronger the blade.
11.5 Kerf
Kerf is the width of a cut. Kerf will vary according to
the set of the blade teeth.
11.6 Width
The thinner the blade, the tighter will be the
minimum radius of cut. Always use widest blade
possible for the job.
General rules for blade selection:
• Select coarser pitch blades for thicker or softer
material.
• Select finer pitch blades for thinner or harder
material.
• Use fine pitch blades to obtain a smooth finish.
• Use coarse pitch blades to obtain faster cutting
speeds (thick material).
• To prevent premature blade wear, use fastest
practical speed.
• Adjust feed rate to ensure continuous cutting
action.
• Run the bandsaw with blade centered in upper
and lower guides, and guide fingers adjusted
as close as possible without touching the
blade or weld joint.
Never adjust guide fingers
while blade is running. Failure to comply may
cause serious injury.
11.7 Blade breakage
Band saw blades are subject to high stresses and
breakage may sometimes be unavoidable.
However, many factors can be controlled to help
prevent most blade breakage. Here are some
common causes for breakage:
1. Misalignment of blade guides.
2. Feeding workpiece too quickly.
3. Using a wide blade to cut a short radius curve.
4. Excessive tension.
5. Teeth are dull or improperly set.
6. Upper guides are set too high off the
workpiece.
7. Faulty weld on blade.
12.0 Welder operation
Wear eye protection while
operating welder. Use care when handling
blade after welding to avoid burns.
The welding procedure involves the following
steps: Shearing the blade, grinding teeth to allow
for the weld area, the actual welding, inspection of
blade, annealing, grinding and a final inspection of
blade. This procedure can be accomplished using
the shear and welder assemblies on your band
saw. Proceed as follows:
12.1 Shearing
Cut blade to longest length needed for band saw.
Using the shear to cut your blade will ensure that
cut ends are flat, square and smooth.
1. Place handle in upright position.
2. Position blade against back of square cutting
guide of shear. See Figure 9. Make sure blade
is held square with shear knife, so that cut will
be square with blade.
Figure 9
3. Position blade so that cut is made at a place
that allows for uniform spacing of teeth. See
Figure 10.
4. Bring handle down firmly to cut blade.
IMPORTANT: If a blade has been cut by using
snips, the ends of the blade must be ground
square before welding them together, as shown in
Figure 11.