I would appreciate opinions on BS blades. It seems that ALL 1/2" or 3/4" blades I get have a very pronounced bend at the weld. I have purchased Olsons and Timberwolves and both brands have this problem. If I set the thrust bearing to the proper distance on the main body of the blade the distinct bulge at the weld whacks the bearing. I now set the bearing back from the weld and allow a lot more space on the rest of the blade than is commonly reccommended. Is this a common problem? Should I even consider this a defect? Are there blades that don't suffer form bulging at the weld?
Thanks in advance for your input
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When weld point protrudes, use a metal file. Carefully, with the bandsaw working, place the metal file at the back of the blade so that the only point of contact is the bulge. The metal file will remove the bulge in quick time.
That size blade should be very smooth. If you can't get your current supplier to make it so, find another one.
I have a BS Blade welder and used to buy bulk blade and weld them myself (when we were in production). We made a lot of puzzles using 1/8" blade. The blade needs to be ground smooth to fit between bearings or blocks. Too fat at the weld and it makes a lot of noise. Burns cuts too. 1/8" blades are hard to weld and grind. That's why they charge so much for them. ($12.00+ for 1/8, 9.00 or so for 1/4") Larger sizes get easier. Find a good blade supplier (one that makes and grinds good welds) and stick with them. It's another skill. At that size of blade it should be easy.
I used a 14" Powermatic and a 12" delta Band saws for the puzzles we used to make. Powermatic uses bearings, Delta uses blocks. Delta was better for the small blades.
I ran into the same problem with a 1/2" blade. Here is my forum posting it. Unfortunately I cannot find my receipt for the blade from Woodcraft so I have not tried to return it. I plan on purchasing my blade directly from the timerwolf website in the future - they cost less and once I called, they seemed to be very knowledgeable.
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