Band-Saw Blades

The narrower the blade, the tighter the curve that can be cut with it. An eighth-inch-wide blade will cut a radius of about a quarter inch; a quarter-inch blade will cut a three-quarter-inch hole; a three-eighths blade a one-inch radius; and a half-inch blade nothing tighter than a one-and-a-quarter-inch arc.

As with saber and other saw-blades, more, smaller teeth are suited to cutting metal (in the range of twenty-four teeth per inch) while fewer, larger teeth are used to cut wood. A coarse-toothed band-saw blade with, say, six teeth per inch is best suited to rough-cutting thick lumber, while finer teeth produce a smoother cut.

Band-saw blades also have varying kinds of teeth. Some have cutting teeth set to either side, like those on a handsaw, but with unset teeth called rakers interspersed; others have wavy-set teeth, on which the teeth are set sequentially at a greater (then lesser) distance from the thickness of the band, producing the wavy appearance. Blades with wavy-set teeth are best suited to cutting metal, while blades that have raker teeth, which clear the waste efficiently from the kerf, are best for wood and coarse metals.

Toothless blades are used to cut ceramics, plastics, and for very smooth cuts in other materials. The cutting edge on toothless blades consists of a surface that has tungsten carbide chips bonded to the teeth.

The profile of the teeth varies, too. Skip-tooth blades have deep gullets and are a good choice for general woodwork. For very smooth cutting (which is done at a slower pace), a regular or standard tooth is best. For high-speed cutting (which leaves a coarser cut), hook- or saber-toothed blades are appropriate.

If you have a small band saw, however, you may find that the usual standards don't quite apply. Many smaller saws do their best work using a narrower blade (one, say, a quarter inch wide) rather than a half-inch or three-quarter-inch band-saw blade. Buy bimetal blades (their teeth are cut from a strip of cobalt steel that is electron-welded to a spring steel blank before the teeth are cut). They're stronger and last longer.

For the weekend band-sawyer using a small-scale band saw, I'd suggest a bimetal, hook-tooth, six-teeth-per-inch blade for all-purpose work.