If you are looking for the right bandsaw blades for your next cutting project, then one major factor you must consider is tooth style and set. In general, there are three basic styles to choose from, including regular, skip, and hook.
The first style, regular tooth blades, have space in between each tooth that is proportional. This option is ideal for general-purpose sawing and cutting applications. Specifically, they are great for sawing thin materials requiring a fine finish. On the other hand, the skip tooth bandsaw blades have teeth that have wide spaces in between them. This is to avoid clogging when sawing soft wood, plastics, and other non-ferrous materials.
Lastly, the hook tooth blades have bigger teeth with a 10-degree rake angle. Their design is intended to allow the blade to be fed into the material aggressively. This results in faster cutting rates. This makes them ideal for cutting thicker wood, plastic, and metals.
When it comes to the blade set, you can determine it by simply looking at the tooth. The first set type is called raker tooth which has one pointing to the right and another one to the left, which is then followed by an unset or straight tooth called raker. Hence, the name. Conversely, an alternate set also has one tooth going to the left and another one to the right, and then it goes on with the same pattern. It has an unset raker tooth that follows two left-right sets of tooth combinations.
Ultimately, when choosing the right set, the most appropriate set to consider is the 80/20. This ratio represents the proportion of sawdust to air being ejected during the sawing or cutting operation. This is the ideal because too much air and less sawdust can lead to tooth marks. Conversely, too little air is also not good may also result in premature blade breakage.
Comments