cavala Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 Ok so I had my band saw blade snap on me today during a cut. I'm out of backups so I decided to braze it up and see if I could get back to the cut list. It actually worked like a champ, saved me 25 bucks today. Im kinda p.oed thinking how many I've thrown away in the past. So now I'm thinking I've got this 7 x 12 h/v Wilton and I've been paying someone else to weld up the blades for me. I'm guessing the blades come in a roll and you just cut off 96" and braze em up...am I right. How many of you do this is it worth while and do the rolls come in varying leangths. How much per foot do ya think . Thanks Marc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragons lair Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 Run it for a while before buying a bulk box. The ones i have braized havent lasted long enough to be worth the effort. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 I understand that blades are electrically welded for commercial sale. At least the few blades I have bought have been electrically welded. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 (edited) Brazing was common at one time, well maybe not brazing exactly, but silver soldering (sometimes called silver brazing). Usually the joint is scarfed about 1/2 an inch. Did you just butt joint it or scarf it? In fact, blacksmiths often did it. You scarf the ends, put it in a jig to hold everything straight, put a piece of silver shim in the joint and squeeze it with a red-hot flat jaw tong made for the job. The tongs usually had pretty massive jaws to hold a lot of heat and met parallel on the blade. Edited November 20, 2009 by nakedanvil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 The ones I buy nowadays are electron beam welded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNewman Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 Did the blade snap at the weld? I grumbled a little bit to my industrial supplier that my blades usually broke before they wore out. He asked me if the breaks were at the weld I checked and most were at the weld or within 1/2" of the weld. He asked me to return them and he would get them re welded. A week later I got a box with 5 new blades in it. Luckily I had thrown my blades in the scrap barrel rather than the garbage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavala Posted November 20, 2009 Author Share Posted November 20, 2009 Well I spoke too soon. The blade has broken on me again already I brazed it up again to finish my cut list. It seems to be just a temporary fix if your in a jam. Would be nice I priced some coils at a 100' and figured cost could be around $10 bucks a piece pretty good savings maybe that cheap HF band saw blade welder would be a good purchase. A weld would prolly hold up better than brass. Marc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavala Posted November 20, 2009 Author Share Posted November 20, 2009 Did you just butt joint it or scarf it? Nakedanvil It was a butt joint and brass brazing. Maybe this is why I had failure in the joint. I can see how an overlaping joint would be much better. I did not have a clean straight fracture in the blade and I didn't want to effect it's leangth so I butted and brazed. Now is silver soldering a stronger bond and more durable for the abuse of a saw blade than brass. Thanks Marc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 Silver solder is much stronger than brass, but, I usualy wear the teeth off my blades. What kind of blades are you using? Bandsaw blades is one place in particular where it is cheaper to spend more. I have used Starret PowerBand Matrix II blades for many years, but I am also hearing good things about Lenox Diemaster Blades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 Neither will hold up with a butt joint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aametalmaster Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Here is a great place to buy blades. Country Saw and Knife ...Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacques Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 We normally braze our woodworking bandsaw blades ourselves, since the closest shop is quite far away. Results is variable, but I've found that normally the blade doesn't break on a brazed joint, but of to one side. My record for a silver solder jointed blade is seven days of continous production work. All joints must be scarfed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishinbo Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Save yourself the hassle Marc, and just buy from the makers of quality blades at 30% off regular retail. They are available at www.sawblade.com. They cut the length of the blades in accordance with the size of your saw and ship within 24 hours generally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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