80" steel cutting band saw blades

[redheart]

Kind  Gents,
Any idea where I can buy an 80" bandsaw blade that will cut cold rolled steel for a decent price.
Many thanks in advance.

[Bart]

McMaster Carr carries them. I use this company a lot and they are fantastic.

Bart

[Bart]

Cyber Woodworking Depot LLC., also carries metal cutting blades.

[Goo]

There may be a saw / tool bit sharpening service in your area that makes them from bulk length stock.  You can consider buying bulk length and silver soldering to join the ends at your need length.

[Jim Kibler]

There are lots of companies that will make a blade to whatever lenght you need.  I think I've been using bandsaw blades direct.  You probably have a shop in your area that can do this as well.

Jim

[Craig Wilcox]

McMaster-Carr does indeed have them - in almost any length you want.

Material


Lg.
Teeth
per Inch
For Material
Thick.
For Use On
Tooth Style
Body
Tooth
 
Each
1/2" Wd. × 0.025" Thick.









80"
14
1/4"-3/8"
Steel, Aluminum, Brass, Bronze
Constant Set
Carbon Steel
Carbon Steel
4125A117 - This is the part number
$15.54

[jerrywh]

I
 AMAZON

[redheart]

Cheers to you! 
Bart, Goo, Jim, Craig & Jerry.
I was about to give up!
I'm much beholdin to ya'll!

[Craig Wilcox]

Redheart, you will find a wealth of knowledge on this forum, all proudly shared with the others.

[redheart]

Redheart, you will find a wealth of knowledge on this forum, all proudly shared with the others.

I can't argue with that Craig.
ALR has never let me down.

[Bob Roller]

Here is a question. Are you going to try to use a metal cutting blade at wood cutter
speeds??If you are then the new blade will not last long. Bandsaw blade speeds are
calculated in feet per minute. My old 1940 vintage bandsaw has a 3 speed belt driven
speed reducer and I run it at 160 feet per minute (FPM). I laso use 18 and 24 teeth per inch blades
that are 1/2x80.

Bob Roller

[redheart]

Here is a question. Are you going to try to use a metal cutting blade at wood cutter
speeds??If you are then the new blade will not last long. Bandsaw blade speeds are
calculated in feet per minute. My old 1940 vintage bandsaw has a 4 speed belt driven
speed reducer and I run it at 160 feet per minute (FPM). I laso use 18 and 24 teeth per inch blades
that are 1/2x80.

Bob Roller

Bob,
The saw is a 1974 Sears/Craftsman 12 inch, I/2 H.P. bandsaw/sander that was given to me with no manual for reference on how to work the darn thing.
I have a blade coming in the mail now that's 80 inches long, 1/2" wide x 0.02 thick and 24 T.P.I. They call it a long life blade, for what it's worth, and it's supposed to cut 1/4" thick steel.
I'm not a blacksmith and need to cut a couple of TG's out of 1/8" thick steel.
This saw is supposed to run about 1725 RPM, but how to convert that into FPM leaves me dumbfounded since I'm not anywhere near being in the same room as you when it comes to being a machinist.
Maybe I should cut super slow.
Thanks for weighing in.
It's great hearing from a card carrying icon.

[DHS]

If you have used the saw for wood make sure all the sawdust has been removed before you cut steel. 

[redheart]

If you have used the saw for wood make sure all the sawdust has been removed before you cut steel.

Thanks for the tip.
I never thought about starting a fire.
I think you just saved my garage.

[Craig Wilcox]

Red, you are going to need to slow it down a lot.
Feet Per Minute equals wheel RPM times circumference of the wheel, then divide by 12 to get feet.

As an example:  14" wheel turning at 500 RPM
Circumference = 14 x 3.14 (Pi) = 43.96 inches
500 RPM x 43.96 = 21,980 inches per min, or 1,831 feet per min.

You have a motor with a small pulley running a Vee belt to the larger wheel.  You will have to figure the reduction, as I do not know the sizes of the pullies nor the speed of the motor, but basically a smaller motor pulley will run the larger wheel slower.

[WadePatton]

...
I'm not a blacksmith and need to cut a couple of TG's out of 1/8" thick steel...

A hacksaw is handy for that. Get better blades at McMaster or other industrial supply houses.

18-24tpi at arm speed. 

[redheart]

Red, you are going to need to slow it down a lot.
Feet Per Minute equals wheel RPM times circumference of the wheel, then divide by 12 to get feet.

As an example:  14" wheel turning at 500 RPM
Circumference = 14 x 3.14 (Pi) = 43.96 inches
500 RPM x 43.96 = 21,980 inches per min, or 1,831 feet per min.

You have a motor with a small pulley running a Vee belt to the larger wheel.  You will have to figure the reduction, as I do not know the sizes of the pullies nor the speed of the motor, but basically a smaller motor pulley will run the larger wheel slower.

Wow Craig,
Are you really telling me that I have to concede to Wade and go back to the darned hacksaw. That's almost more than I can take. I guess I'm getting old and fat and tired of using a hacksaw all the time. I just knew that Wade was reading this and probably thinking that I must be a real girly man wanting to actually use a power tool.
I really can't stand giving Wade any satisfaction by going back to the hacksaw.
I'm really tempted to quit working on muzzleloaders altogether and just go back to sitting around, drinking beer and reading about them.

[Bob Roller]

Red, you are going to need to slow it down a lot.
Feet Per Minute equals wheel RPM times circumference of the wheel, then divide by 12 to get feet.

As an example:  14" wheel turning at 500 RPM
Circumference = 14 x 3.14 (Pi) = 43.96 inches
500 RPM x 43.96 = 21,980 inches per min, or 1,831 feet per min.

You have a motor with a small pulley running a Vee belt to the larger wheel.  You will have to figure the reduction, as I do not know the sizes of the pullies nor the speed of the motor, but basically a smaller motor pulley will run the larger wheel slower.

The math is good but with the reducer there is a gear ratio involved and I have never taken that
speed reducer apart to see what's going on inside of it.No reason to as long as it works.I bought
this bandsaw in 1969 from a retired policeman that lived near us for $100.He thought he could use
it in his wood working hobby and said it ran too slow.He paid $100 for it and was glad when I gave him his
money back and be rid of it.I also have a horizontal bandsaw with a 3 speed pulley system that can be
converted to vertical but no need to do it.When I use the old 1940 model saw,I start it up and then "paint"
the moving blade with threading fluid which helps a lot with the cutting being done and helps to extend the
life of the blade which is usually 18TPI for most jobs.
In January of 2017 my old American made Willis Tool Co.horizontal bandsaw expired  after 53 years of
use and abuse. I needed a new one NOW and my only option was Harbor Freight which is about 5 miles
from me so I went there and bought a new one from them for $279+tax.As much as I hate the idea of
not having any American made ones available I must admit the one I got from HF is the most over built,
and over engineered tool I have ever had in my shop.Three years now and still using the blade that came
with it and I have a new blade,American made hanging on a nail as a back up.This saw is HEAVY and the
old Willis Tool saw was portable.It may be restoreable but there would be no further benefit in doing it.

Bob Roller

[Craig Wilcox]

Redheart, that arm-powered cutter will KEEP you from getting fat!  Burn a lot of calories pulling that hacksaw blade through the steel.
You could design your own slower-downer setup.  Run from the little pulley on the motor to another double pulley, then to the blade wheel.  Or find a motor that runs much slower.  I once had a small gear reduction setup that the input was 1725 rpm, and the output was at THREE rpm.  Really had a big bunch of little gears inside.  Don't know what it was built for, but it was fun to play with.
Personally,  I use a jeweler's saw with either #2/0 or #3 blades.  Actually cuts pretty fast, especially if the steel is under 3/16: thick - and you can put a lot of turns, make the edge almost "snaky".  It is used with the metal being cut clamped to a portion of the workbench, and pulling the saw vertically.  Yes, have the blade cut on the pull stroke.  Take a bit of time to practice.  When you copme to a corner, just keep the blade moving while you turn the corner.

[WadePatton]

Hey I'm not picking.  You said "a couple of guards" and rather than go through the math and re-pully-izing the system to get your speed down, one could save some time/effort with a manual tool.  If you've got 50 or 100 to cut, sure power it up.  It might be simpler to retool a little bit though. Those horizontal metal cutting saws are cheap enough (I shop used) and run proper speeds out of the gate.  Also a hand-held bandsaws for metal aren't uncommon (and folks have made fixtures for them to mount into).   

The worst thing though, is using crappy hacksaw blades that go unsharp when you look at them.  Is why I referenced the industrial supply houses for better blades. 

Lotsa ways to nip off some material.   

[Tim Crosby]

[/quote]
Bob,
The saw is a 1974 Sears/Craftsman 12 inch, I/2 H.P. bandsaw/sander that was given to me with no manual for reference on how to work the darn thing.
[/quote]

 Check here and see if they have what you need:

   https://www.manualslib.com/manual/495190/Craftsman-113-24350.html

  Tim C.

[redheart]

Tim,
 Thanks, I looked at the manual and it said that it runs at 900 rpm and 2700 feet per minute. I saw no mention as to whether the saw could be used to safely cut steel or not. One thing is for certain, this is one $#*! of a lot faster than Bob's saw and if I use it for steel now I'm afraid that it might detonate.
This is all starting to hurt my head and I'm leaning toward staying with the hand saws like Wade and Craig suggest however much it kills me to give Wade the satisfaction of being right again.

[Jim Kibler]

Tim,
 Thanks, I looked at the manual and it said that it runs at 900 rpm and 2700 feet per minute. I saw no mention as to whether the saw could be used to safely cut steel or not. One thing is for certain, this is one $#*! of a lot faster than Bob's saw and if I use it for steel now I'm afraid that it might detonate.
This is all starting to hurt my head and I'm leaning toward staying with the hand saws like Wade and Craig suggest however much it kills me to give Wade the satisfaction of being right again.

No steel cutting for sure at that speed!

[Tim Crosby]

 May  be I missed it, I see Cold Rolled Steel but what are you wanting to cut out of it?

  Tim C.

  https://boltontool.com/band-saws/band-saw

[Metalshaper]

unless you are cutting big things? or terribly long parts.  One of those Porta-Band style  saws turned vertically/mounted  will work for most things in my shop that need a metal
cutting bandsaw? <  But just to be fair and keep Wade happy, I reach for my hacksaw just about as often!!! >  Now I do have an off brand three wheel band saw that takes a
57" band.. that also just happens to be a variable spreed saw.   kinda thinking about making it my metal cutting band saw for "bigger" projects.     but I also found a small, but heavy iron 3 wheel band saw frame ( at a re-store ) ... that  may have dibs on becoming the bigger metal cutting saw in my shop??

Respect Always
Metalshaper/Jonathan