I can cut stock to length with my chop-saw at work, but I can’t cut down the length of a piece without a bandsaw. I tried using it today but after 3/8" in, I was pretty sure I could grab the blade with my bare hands and not get injured (obviously not really).
They are part of a consolidate ordered. Hopefully be here this by the weekend. Buying three blades.
Great, we will have three days with decent blades!
Just wondering, but are those blades being primarily worn out by abusive use/lack of knowledge or is it because of heavy use (clocking hours?)?
They seem to be gone through very quickly.
I obviously don’t have hard numbers, but the bandsaws see a tremendous amount of use. It’s not like the lathe where 1 person is using it for an hour. I will agree that some of that time is good old fashioned abuse.
Our current m.o. is to let the blades dull to butter knife status and replace.
I’m wondering how much of a hassle the blades are to replace? I’m thinking about using my own blade when I use it.
The blades aren’t too bad to change. Mostly it is from abuse. People trying to cut things too fast. People pressing to hard, or trying to cut extremely hard material. Of course there is the combination of all of the above.
This is starting to shape up like the PlasmCAM: DMS makes an effort to have good consumables on hand, but if you want most reliable results, plan to bring your own blade.
I’m also thinking about gettting my own blade for the horizontal too.
Espcially when I start a certain large project if I do it at DMS. I’m still 50:50 on that part.
An RFID interlock on the bandsaw is pretty high on the list.
What is the purpose of an interlock on the bandsaw?
not to speak for Jay, but:
log how many people logged in
how long they worked
hopefully, exactly who they were
so we can track usage
breakage
etc.
Certainly, but why would that wanted to be tracked?
So we can:
find out how many hours are actually on the machine
how many hours are actually on a blade
if we determine a need, proffer remedial education
among other possible reasons
For statistical analysis? Then I suppose every machine should eventually have interlocks on them.
That’s the plan…
(this is all purely speculative on my part, but all of these reasons have come up in the context of this RFID interlock discussion in the past, so MIGHT be part of some “plan”).
Two blades will be here Thursday. They are two different companies (neither had two in stock) so lets see which lasts longer. When one is installed please let Nick and I know which one and date.
You know, given the number of bandsaw blades we go through between Woodshop, Metal Shop, and Machine shop, maybe we need to buy blade stock, and weld up our own. Would be cheaper over the long haul.
Not when one considers the value of volunteer time.
Also, Brian did this and it didn’t work out well.
you are correct of course. but not everyone knows how to properly weld one up.
Our bandsaw does have a welder/annealer/grinder. There is some spare stock parts right
next to the bandsaw for practice. I’d be happy to show anyone how to do it.
The reason for the purchase of presized blades is so that most anyone can change it. And it looks like the welder can only handle 1/2" blade stock.