Band Saw blades for G10??

T

Taz575

Well-Known Member
What bandsaw blades have you guys found to last while cutting G10?? I cut some spacer material (thin stuff) and it killed my blade that has been going well for over a month :mad: I think it was an Olson Flex Back 18TPI. I need a 105" for my bandsaw with the riser block. I use mostly wood and Micarta and my own laminates with some copper/brass/ss liner material and occasional G10 liner material. I have a TimberWolf and a Highland WoodSlicer for resawing wood, but I like the finer tooth blades for the handle scales/slabs.
 
I use an 18tpi on G10 and have good life from them. Could it be that your saw is running to fast? I have a GNC band saw that runs on the fast side, and the blade life with it on G10 is short. My old Craftsman runs slower than the little cheap saw does, and blade life is pretty good. I have also had blades that I thought was sharp, when cutting wood or other material, but when used on G10, found how dull they really were.
wish I had more help for you,
Dale
 
For anything thicker than .125", I use an old Lenox Diemaster bi-metal blade (14tpi I think) on my metal cutting saw. It works just fine. I tried to cut G10 once on my wood bandsaw (4 tooth) and watched the tips of all the teeth on a new blade fly off in the first 2 seconds. Speed kills.

For thin stuff (less than.125"), I use a fine tooth pattern for the cleanest cut (24tpi). It''s not fast, but it's very efficient.
 
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I use the harbor freight bimetal blades. Like JDW mentioned, I set the saw up for slower cut when doing g10. Unfortunately it seems g10 is hell on blades regardless of make.

It does seem strange that I can profile out d2 all day long without damaging the blade, but I have to go real slow and use light pressure for g10. Understanding that is way above my head - I just have to adjust myself and my saw accordingly.
 
This may not be the most popular answer for blade life. But if you are cutting g10 at the speed of a wood bandsaw, they wont last as you know.
Harbor freight or any reputable electrical supply store sells a rheostatic controlled (dimmer) outlet. Or get an outlet box and a dimmer and dim the outlet. This will eventually short life your bandsaw if you run it slow continuously, but once a week for 10 minutes to cut g10 wont hurt it.

Steve
 
There is more than just Glass in G-10.

I cut some of BossDogs liner thickness on my 105" Bandsaw with a Starett 3 TPi blade and saw a shower of sparks. The blade was toast!

I am giving up using G-10 because it makes me itch, Gets all over. And if you breathe any in your lungs it will only come out by Autopsy after you have assumed room temperature.
Even with my mask and collector I just don't want to risk it.
I plan on staying as healthy as possible and I expose myself to enough Cr@p in knife making.

Stabilizing resins and the woods & Steel are enough for this Kid!

I already stop using Micarta anout 6 plus years ago. Micarta releases formaldehyde when you grind it and it get's hot.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com/
 
Yeah, its a wood bandsaw, but its a pita to change the belt speed on it. The dimmer switch may work as well. I think I will stick to my own laminates, much easier to cut!
 
G10 only gets cut in my shop on the metal cutting saw. I've been down the road for trying to make my wood cutting bandsaw cut G10.....it's a loosing battle. 18 or 24 straight tooth blades of just about any brand, in a metal cutting version will provide excellent service....as long as they are run at speeds associated with a metal cutting saw.

The saying "Speed Kills" has never been truer than when it comes to trying to cut G10 on a wood saw.
 
Yeah, I remember it killing good hacksaw blades rather quickly from when I used it over 10 years ago.
 
Great info!! I will have to pick up one! The wet part will keep the dust down, too, which would be nice!
 
Geez, I'm definitely getting one then!! How do they do on curves of a handle, can you go into the blade and take little bites to get curves roughed out? I make my own laminates with denim and fabrics and they can be difficult to cut as well.
 
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