Make your own bandsaw blades

[Marc St Louis]

I used to buy my own blades but at $15 each it was getting a bit expensive.  Plus I had the occasional blade that I didn't use more than 3 or 4 times before it broke, they were still sharp.  I decided to put a stop to that and did some research on how to fix and/or even make up my own blades.  It turned out to be a lot easier than you would think.

First of all I did a bit of research on what I would need.  To make them you need bulk bandsaw blade stock.  My wife bought me this 1/4" by 6 tpi coil, yes she's an 



You can buy a jig to make or repair the blades but I made this one instead out of wood.  It works quite well



You just have to make sure that everything is perfectly aligned and straight so that your blades come out that way also.  The next 3 pictures show how it's used







Most sites say that to weld them you need silver solder but there were some people that said brazing worked also.  I tried the silver solder and didn't like it so I then tried brazing and it works quite well.  The brass is a bit more sensitive to to being bent but as long as you are careful then they last till quite dull

[Del the cat]

Nice one.
My bandsaw usage isn't up to that level yet, but it's nice to know you can do that.
One of the last 2 I bought didn't seem to run true, if you are making your own you can conrtol the quality.
Del

[Mangeur de lard]

Good stuff MArc!
The portable sawmill guys do that a lot... they break blades on nails and such, they weld them back together and they even have jigs to sharpen them.

Thanks for sharing!
Cheers
Matt

[Bevan R.]

Del,
You should learn this even if you do not make your own. You can repair a broken one the same way. It is also common practice to purposely break the blade, pass one end through a hole in the project you are making, weld it back, put it on the saw and make your cut. That is how to use a bandsaw to make an 'inside' cut without cutting in from the outside.

Bevan R

[Del the cat]

What sort of torch/gas do you use?
Del

[Marc St Louis]

I use a small portable oxygen/propylene torch

[Dean Marlow]

That looks like the way to go Marc. The last blade I bought was 17.00. The cheapest I could find at the time. Badger  had a idea of several guys going together and buying a machine that makes them. Don't know for sure what it is but I will look and see. Dean

[osage outlaw]

There is a big band saw at work that they use for metal cutting.  I was looking at it the other day and noticed that it had an attachment for welding the blades and it even had a little grinding wheel on it to smooth them out.  I guess I could use that one if I needed to.  So far, I haven't used enough blades to buy in bulk.

[Sidewinder]

So Mark, you like the 1/4" 6 tpi blade? Could you expound upon your choice so we can learn from your wisdom?   Danny

[Marc St Louis]

I like the 1/4" because it's the most versatile blade.  I do keep a couple 1/2" blades around for heavy ripping but those I bought, I don't use them often.

My next project is making a jig that will allow me to sharpen my jointer blades.  I found a pretty neat one online, now I just need to make time to make it.

[cracker]

Thanks Marc that's some good info.Ronnie