# BandSaw Blade snapped...



## WistysWoodWorkingWonders (Oct 4, 2009)

Just wanted to pass along a quick note that we should all remember to loosen up the blade tension on our bandsaws when we will be away for a while…
I forgot to do that and guess what…..... "SNAP" there goes the blade… so in addition to scaring the woodbugs out of my system and having to check my drawers… I now have to install a new blade and hope that there was no other damage…
Not a fun experience, but at least my lesson didn't cost me any fingers, only a bandsaw blade…

Keep cutting out there folks, only the wood, not the fingers…


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## FirehouseWoodworking (Jun 9, 2009)

Glad it was only your drawers and the blade that needed replacing.

Just curious. Does anybody do anything with snapped bandsaw blades? Seems to be a waste to just throw all those sharp teeth away. Just wondering.


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## damianpenney (Jun 22, 2007)

Man I hate it when a bandsaw blade snaps.


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## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

If the break is relatively clean and straight, they can be welded.


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## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

Something I did not know to loosen the tension.
Thanks Steve

lew your right very easy to weld.


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## DaleM (Feb 18, 2009)

Glad to hear you're okay. I haven't had one break yet, but I plan on making a bowsaw if I have one break while it's still fairly sharp, because it does seem like a waste to throw it out, like you said.


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## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

Bandsaw is one tool I have a hard time to use,can't get use to it.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

If y'all will recall I upgraded my band saw with a Grizzly tension release assembly a couple of weeks ago. It was honestly because the stock tension assembly was a pain to use.

Keeping tension on the blade CAN cause them to snap, and usually puts undue stress on the adjusters, tension assemblies, bearings, etc… It is always a good idea that when you are done with using the band saw for the day, take the tension off the blade.

This is SO much nicer now that the entire detensioning procedure for me is just flip a lever over…


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## KayBee (Jul 6, 2009)

You can make a bowsaw out of broken bandsaw blades. That's what was used before the 'hand tool renaissance' happened. LN and LV , BCTW and all those high end planemakers got into business.


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## billhardie (Nov 16, 2009)

Thanks for the reminder.


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## WistysWoodWorkingWonders (Oct 4, 2009)

Great idea for using the old blade for a bow saw… I still have to remove it from the machine as it jammed itself up the side shute pretty good… bent it in a couple of places so I don't plan on welding it back together… I do have spare blades lying around the shop that I can use…
I will also be looking at an upgrade to the detensioning system as dbhost has mentioned, most are a pain to use… If it is easier, it will be used everytime… I have seen some people change out the knob for something they can attach their drill to and quickly add or remove tension, but I think I like the lever idea better… much safer and easy to do… Thanks dbhost and everyone for your replies on this…
Happy and safe cutting to all…


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## KentS (May 27, 2009)

Damian 
I agree with you when it happens to me.

Now when it is someone else, that, my friend is another story. I kinda enjoy watching new employees jump and run. I usually have to go turn off the bandsaw because they are checking their underwear. I know that's sick--there could be an injury, but I still laugh. It has happened to me so many times, I hardly flinch anymore.
Now I'm more concerned that I have to change blades.


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

up until recently ,
to my knowledge 
everytime i bought blades ( at least 6 at a time ) ,
the companys would resolder them for free
if they broke on a weld , maybe they still do ?
i have also made bowsaws with the blades ,
but who wants a dull saw ?
by the time mine break ,
it's usualy because they are dull .


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

When I was cutting out toys with 1/16" bandsaw blades I would get about 1 hr's use before the blade snapped.

When it broke it was usually into a half a doxz pieces. Metal fatigue caused the blades to shatter.

I get a lot more life out of 1/8" blades.


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## SnowyRiver (Nov 14, 2008)

Its always a good idea to release the tension if the bandsaw is sitting for a long period of time. Leaving the tension on all the time when not being used can cause flat spots in the tires too.


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## archie (May 29, 2011)

Hi it seems like I break alot of blades too not sure why it isnt from going around tight corners cause i have broke a few while sawing straight lines so i dont understand all I know about it. I would like to learn how to solder or weld them I made a thing to hold the ends straight at each other but cant decide to solder or braze them the companies electric arc them like a spot welder I believe but some i have bought arent even lined up straight if u look at them close. Does anyone know if solder or braze is the best I wind up with so much weld material on the break that i have to grind it all off then it gets hot and lets go so the last one i tried i had to file it off by hand and it didnt work out can remember what happened for sure but it broke right after I put it on never even got to saw any wood with it lol got a lot to learn about how to do it…..well thanks.


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

*archie*
try this 
there is even a video

http://www.woodcraft.com/PRODUCT/2004491/8461/WOODRIVER-DELUXE-BANDSAW-BLADE-BRAZING-KIT.ASPX?refcode=10I


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## cloakie1 (May 29, 2011)

i might be wrong but i doubt that soldering will do the trick because you can't get enough heat into the metal and it's also a soft material….brazing is probably better but again i think it will be the wrong material…i think the blades have to be welded with maybe a tig then piened and possibly retempered….i have never tried and never will when there are people out there that can reweld them for next to nothing. it is funny watching the newbies jump when they break tho….and i'm sure they get a laugh when it happens to me as well…


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

I break 1/4's all the time, even good ones. On my new saw, at 141" and carbide at $15/foot, I am going to be extra supercarful. Like Cr1, when mine break, they just slither into the cabinet and make a dentist's drill type sound until the wheels stop. I used to not be scared at all of bandsaws (bad idea) but my new one with a 1 inch blade makes me nervous. What about "jointer stop". I'd hazard a guess that more people are injured with jointers than anything else. I'm terrified of mine. It just "looks" more dangerous than a TS when I fire it up.


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## hein (Jun 22, 2009)

Silver solder with a butt joint work good. The joint must fit well and it must be on a +/_ 30 degree angle. Use a piece of angle iron to clamp the blade straight. Cut out a piece of the angle iron at the spot where the blade join because that will help that the heat will not conduct away from the joint. Take care not to overheat the joint.
I saw many band saw blades break. Only one time did it come out of the saw and hurt the operator- a few deep scratches on his hands. Be careful and listen to the sound of the saw because it warns you just before it breaks.
Put a note " loose blade" on the saw if you turn down the tension!


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

I gotta say it, not to contradict the OP, but I have absolutely no idea how releasing the tension on a bandsaw blade when not in use will prolong its life. Isn't that like saying you should put your car up on blocks every night to release the tension on the springs? Is there a truly metallurgical, engineering type of explanation for this? Also, perhaps it ought to be said, that whenever available, I buy Lenox blades. They have never broken in my use regardless of how hard I push them. Though it seems nowadays they are no longer available in my favorite size. Perhaps we should look closer at the quality of the blades we buy? Or at least mention the brand of blade that failed you, in this discussion. I mean, who can we blame but ourselves when a 'Brand-X' blade craps the bed, for example?


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

^gotta side with Poopie here. I've only broken 1/4 inch carbon blades, never a 1/4" Lenox, never anything over 1/2" in carbon. I don't detension ever. The times that I did detension, then forgot to retension, these were the times I broke blades; actually more liked "kinked" bladed into breakage. I'm certainly aware of the instruction. Perhaps my Iturra book might have the scientific answer? If it's not in there (next to their expensive detensioners), then it's probably myth.


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

*Bertha:* Another case for "MythBusters" perhaps?


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## dbray45 (Oct 19, 2010)

Loosening the bandsaw blade does accomplish something. As the tires get older, they get hardened. This can create a flat spot. Loosening the tension can prolong this from happening - at least a few weeks.

If you are putting so much tension that the blade is degraded, you REALLY need to replace the bearings and reevaluate what you are doing.


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## miles125 (Jun 8, 2007)

I'd have to say worrying about blades breaking on occassion is a non issue compared to the efficiency of having a bandsaw tracked and ready for service anytime you hit the switch.


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## GaryK (Jun 25, 2007)

I have had I think 2 blades break in over 15 years and they were well used blades. It happens.

I never release the tension on my bandsaw.


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## cloakie1 (May 29, 2011)

we never detension our bandsaws….but we were running bi-metal blades for awhile and we broke a few of those…they seemed to be very brittle. we were using them because we were also cutting aluminium with it as well and thought we would get better life but the quality of the cut was compromised on timber. some would break straight away and others we would get a few weeks out of….but they all broke in multiple places.
we did however break the top shaft on our big bandsaw….that was a bit scary!turned out to be fatigued.so not sure whether that was due to age or over tension…the saw is probably 50 years old and is monthly maintained since we have had it.


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## Pimzedd (Jan 22, 2007)

I taught woodshop and plastics shop for 34 year. Had three bandsaws in the plastics shop. We never released the tension.

We broke lots of blades. They almost always broke due to the constant bending as they moved around the wheels. It is like when you bend a wire back and forth to break it. The bending crystallizes the metal.. Once they break from the constant bending, it is a waste of time to weld them back. They will soon break again in a new place. We had a welder, only good for new blade stock. Close inspection can sometimes reveal stress cracks in the gullets of the teeth before they break. FYI, as *hein *says, silver solder can be used to solder blades together. There are number of youtube videos on how to do that.

We never had an injury from a broken blade but I was hit in the back of my hand when the break occurred just as the blade was exiting the upper wheel cover. Scared me, only needed a band-aid. Another broke at the dust chute below the table; it shot across the shop floor like a snake. It hit a student in the foot; just scared him, no injury.

Just my experiences.


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

I never detension my blades and so far that hasn't bothered my blades in theory maybe we should but we don't need no stinkin theory do we? LOL Alistair


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

Does anyone know if it's practical for me to try to weld my own blades? I don't really want to spend the money on a real one. I'm not so much worried about fixing broken blades, rather I'm tired of paying for the custom length welds.


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## Charlie75 (Mar 14, 2012)

I had the same experience this afternoon. I was cutting a block of cherry for a box and "POW". Your right it scares the begebbers out of you. Didn't do any damage, that I can tell, just a busted blade. This was an older blade and I was thinking it was getting a tad dull so not a lot of loss.

Charlie


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## hydro (Aug 9, 2013)

If the blade is relatively new and not fatigued, they are easy to silver solder back together. See Here:

http://lumberjocks.com/hydro/blog/38722


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## woodbutcherbynight (Oct 21, 2011)

I learned this as well when I came home after 3 years in Iraq. Also had to replace the rubber wheels. Easy fix but the machine was down for a few days waiting on parts.


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## runswithscissors (Nov 8, 2012)

I think I've broken only a couple of blades in several decades of using bandsaws. Blade breakage resulting from repeated flexing/fatiguing of the blade is one argument in favor of larger diameter wheels, not just that you can saw to the center of a larger circle. A blade running over a 9" radius flexes less severely (and less often, for the same blade speed), than one running over a 7" radius, let alone a 6" radius.

But as most responders here have noted, injuries aren't very common. One reason is that when the blade breaks, it is no longer being driven by the wheels. It just stops dead, more or less. I read once about a blade breaking in a commercial lumber mill. Apparently the operator just stood there as the blade fell into coils around him. He wasn't touched. But that is a situation where I would have had to change my shorts.

I confess: I never de-tension my saws. Partly that's due to being ignorant, for years, that I was supposed to.


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## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

I don't take the tension of my saws. I have broken 2 blades I think in the 30 years I have had the saws. They just stop and it is nearly instantaneous. I think the big commercial mill blades might be worse because there is a lot of mass traveling around the wheels. Our little blades have hardly any mass. I don't feel like any of my broken blades were cause by leaving the tension on


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## Magnum (Feb 5, 2010)

Hi Guys. I guess it doesn't really matter "A Post Never Really Dies".

Just in case no one has Noticed this one started 1553 Days ago. The Author hasn't been on Site for 26 Days.

Prior to the last 4 Posters the last comment was by bertha 972 Days ago.

So …. I'll chime in. I never take the tension off of my Band Saw Blade either. I had one Cheap one break on me, all it did was stop turning and just sat there. No Big Bang, Snap Or Boom!

Carry On Gentleman!

Rick


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## WistysWoodWorkingWonders (Oct 4, 2009)

Hi guys, nice to see some new comments on this old topic…
update to my last and of course apologies for not being able to frequent the site like I used to.. been overseas in Afghanistan held me back for a year, and now I am back with the Royal Canadian Navy so time at home is very limited…
back to my update - my son was using my bandsaw the other day and had a blade snap on him - no big bang happened to him, although it was a smaller blade…
Scared the crap out of him so I guess that is perhaps the only common denominator of a blade snapping…
well, hope I get to post more over the upcoming days, ship is only home for a short stint, then back at it…


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

I've probably only broken about fifteen or twenty, or thirty blades, but I still manage to prove science doesn't know half what it thinks it does. That is, I'm pretty sure I can jump straight up, then move several feet horizontally [to a presumed safe location]. Of course, this, immediately proceeds me running around the shop a couple times with my hands waving wildly in the air.

Once I upgraded from a Craftsman and Sears blades, the problem dropped significantly. Never had one shatter. That's strange and must have happened when it bounced around inside the covers.

In the end, it's all noise. However, every time I do break one, I think of my buddy's cedar mill and his monster band saws that take on blocks of cedar all day long. Many of them just have a light plywood cover where the old metal one used to be and usually bear evidence of the blade trying to eat its way out. Probably to chase someone around the yard.

I broke one of the 3/16ths blades and tied them together, as a course rasp. I might retire another and convert it into a dressing tool for my buffing pads. Of course, as others mentioned, they make fair bow saws for different things

Carter tension releases are great, If you can't afford that, look into replacement handles, or wheels that will make backing off the tension that way easier.


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