Determining Bandsaw Blade Specifications and Compatibility

Determining Bandsaw Blade Specifications and Compatibility

For us to find your blade we need to know the blade length in feet.

Most machines will have the blade in Inches. For example 93.5 inch.

Use the converter below and enter 93 and you will see a result of 7ft-9in now add the .5 making the blade 7 feet 9 inches 1/2 inch.

This is how you would read it 7′-9 1/2″

Now that we have our blade length in feet. We can use our New blade builder tool.

More information to help you get all your blade specifications.

How do I pick the right band saw blade? We are here to help you get the best blade for your project. First we need to identify if the saw is a wood or metal saw. This can be done in multiple ways. Sometimes the saw will say wood or metal on the side if not the speed of the saw can be present on a data plate. If you see a data plate with SFM (surface feet minute). If the data plate does not have SFM you can convert RPM (revolutions per min) to SFM by using the formula: SFM = (RPM x Diameter) / 3.82 for the English system. If non of the above are achievable finding the make and model will be necessary. 

Now we know our saws speed we can identify if the saw is a wood or metal. Wood saws will run at 800-3,000 SFM as a metal saw will range its speeds from 90-400 SFM.

Identifying the saws blade width capabilities. Once the saw type is identified we can dig into the blade options. Every saw is a bit different in its capabilities of running blades. Some saws can run 1/4″ wide blades all the way up to 1 1/4″ (1.25″) blades, as others will be limited to 1/4″ or even 1/2″. To identify the saws capabilities see if your data plate has this info if not it will be necessary to find your saws manual. If your saw has a blade and you are looking for the same blade you are in luck! measure the back edge of the blade to the tooth tip. Keep in mind this will not always land on the exact size as the coarser (less teeth) the measurement may be off up to 1/8″or so due to the hook of the tooth.

Blades sizes width available in the industry. 1/4″, 3/8″,  1/2″,  5/8″,  3/4″, 1″, 1.25″, 1.5″, 2″

Find my blade length. Now we have identify the machine type and blade width we need to find the length of the blade. This can be done in multiple ways. First easiest way check the data plate sometimes this will be present in MM or IN. (if in MM always convert MM to IN first). Second if its not on the data plate the manual will be necessary. Third if you have a old no good blade, find the weld if possible and fold the blade back and forth on the weld tell it breaks then you can measure the blade with accuracy. NOTE!!!! Never try to wrap a tape around the blade to get a measurement. Some saws are very picky on lengths and if you are off a 1/4″ the blade may not fit. If the blade is good the Forth method is to take a tape measure spool it out around 12ft and lock it in. Add a piece of tape to the end to help insure the tape does not move. Use a sharpie or some type of marker and draw a line on the blade from the back to the tooth. Next set your line at 1ft next to the tape and pushing down on the middle of the blade creating a oval shape like a tank track roll the blade tell the line meets the tape. Then subtract 1ft then you have your proper blade length. We always recommend doing this at least 2 times to insure you are getting an accurate measurement.

What thickness of a blade to get? Their are a couple factors to keep in mind. The width of the blade can limit the thickness. All blades 5/8″ up to 1″ are always a .035. and 1.25″ is .042 as blades get wider the blade thickness will increase. Now this leaves us with 1/4″ up to 1/2″ these smaller sized blades come in two thicknesses. Two things that will matter the length of the blade and if you are trying to do radius cuts. For saws that are under 70″ or 6′ we recommend always running as .025 as the motor may not be able to run a .035 blade. If your blade exceeds the 70″ or 6′ you can run .035 or .025.  If you are doing radius cuts we recommend using a .025 as it will have more flexibility over a .035″. If you are only cutting straight cuts .035″ will be better as the thicker blade will have less chances of wondering during the cut.

With the conclusion above you should achieve a specification like so: 64.5″ (length) x 1/2″ (width) x .025 (thickness) x TPI. Because LA Cutting Products offers over 300,000 Products you will need to convert your inches to Feet to be able to track down the correct length. at the top of every product page you will see the length converter simply enter in the inches and not the decimal. EX: 64″ = 5′-4″ then add your decimal = 5′-4 1/2″

Now that all these factors have been found now that will leave us with identifying what TPI (teeth per inch) to use. Their are many different variables to this. Here is a link to a chart to help identify what TPI to use. We have also made it easier with OUR BLADE BUILDER! Just answer a few questions and let us do the work.