On 12/13/2020 12:03 PM, John Doe wrote:
Seems my DeWalt portable bandsaw causes blades to break prematurely.

They just crack with a telltale clacking/clicking sound, meaning it
must be
stopped and the broken blade changed, or risk the bandsaw coming to a
jolting
halt when the broken blade catches on something.

I hardly use the thing, unlikely it's from normal wear. It has gone
through
three or four blades, about one per session of light use.

I usually cut small pieces of 1/8-1/4 inch thick aluminum (6061).

I bought the larger version, so this problem will (hopefully) be moot
soon.
But I would like to know. Maybe using the larger version will provide
evidence
on whether it's the saw's fault. But the large one needs a stand,
waiting on
the metal plate for that.

Thanks.




I break some blades, but usually I dull them when I need to cut anything
harder than mild steel for very long. Long before most will break. On
my upright wood bandsaw all breakages are from getting in a hurry and
binding the blade. I have not broken one on my upright metal cutting
bandsaw (yet), but I have dulled a fair number of blades. On the
horizontals I think they break from fatigue due to excessive cutting
pressure because I feel time is more valuable than bandsaw blades.

Generally I buy Lennox or Starret bimetal blades for metal and
WoodSlicer blades for wood. (Except for my little 4x6 bandsaw. The
slightly more expensive Harbor Freight SuperCut bimetal blades are quite
good on it. I just use that saw for backup nowadays though.)

P.S. I was amazed the first time I did some resawing with the Wood
Slicer blades.


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