On Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:50:18 -0500, Ignoramus12350
wrote:

On 2013-04-22, Ed Huntress wrote:
On Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:42:56 -0500, Ignoramus12350
wrote:

I have a bandsaw with a 1 inch Starrett blade. I typically cut thick
pieces, like 4-8 inch rounds. Mostly mild steel, like 4140, 8620 etc.

When cutting, I have plentiful coolant, meaning that the blade is
soaked with coolant just when entering the cut.

Under these conditions, how long can I expect the blade to last. Say,
how many buckets of chips can I expect to make with one blade? I
already made a couple buckets with one blade and it seems fine so far.

i

Didn't you post this a while back, Iggy? I can't imagine how anyone
could give you a close answer.

First, 4140 and 8620 are not mild steel. They're alloys.

Second, it depends. g Keep up the coolant, though.

I assume you're using a regular bimetal Starrett blade, right? Or a
skip-tooth, or a Variable-Tooth-Height blade?


Variable TPI, the teeth look different.

Lay a straightedge along the teeth. If the tooth HEIGHT varies, it's a
Starrett VTH blade. The set varies every 3rd to 10th tooth, too.

They're made mostly for nickel alloys, including stainless. I wrote an
article about them last year, after spending a day in a shop that cuts
a lot of 316 bars.

--
Ed Huntress