Andy H. andys_junk_address at yahoo dot com wrote:
Hi Fellas,

I've got to cut up a bunch of 1/2" 316-stainless round bar this
weekend, and am looking for a good bandsaw blade that won't leave me
cursing halfway through the job. I've hear Starret and Lennox
bi-metal are the way to go. Any recommendations?

My saw uses 1/2" X 64-1/2" blades.

Thanks for any help.
Hmm, that sounds like the ubiquitous 4x6" Chinese
bandsaw - right?
If you have hydraulic feed, the welded bimetal
blades are supposed to be great. Starrett sent me
an unsolicited bimetal blade, of the $50 sort. I
had doubts, but put it on the saw to see what
would happen. Well, with the spring feed, it
stripped teeth off within the first minute, and
quickly lost inches of teeth. Glad I didn't pay
for that mistake! So, unless you have a hydraulic
feed (which some people have retrofitted to these
saws) or are cutting some very large diameter work
where you will hand-feed at the beginning and end
of each cut, I don't think you want to mess with them.

But, that leaves you with a problem. A
carbon-steel blade, run at the low speed, WITH
coolant, won't last real long on 316 stainless.
Without coolant, on the high speed, you'll only
get a couple minutes per blade.

I weld my own blades from 100' roll stock, so a
burned-up blade is not a great hassle to me, and I
use cheap carbon steel blades. I also cut mostly
aluminum and mild steel, where they work fine. I
have cut some 1/8" SS rod and such with them, and
it is not an immediate problem, but I suspect that
it does wear the blade a LOT faster than softer stuff.

Jon