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Band Saw blades

Dusty

Dusty

(Bill)
Premium Member
Hi list, I don't do a huge amount of cutting on my King 5" x 6" band saw but I just put on my last new 64 !/2" Bi Metal welded blade from Busy Bee. Just looked at their replacement cost @$34.98 each. Wow! double of what I paid two years ago. BB has really become greedy which will surely bite them in the bum. Of course shipping is always a key factor to Saskatchewan. So then where's the best place to purchase band saw blades at a reasonable price?

Looking for 14 Raker pitch Bi Metal which has served me well. Suggestions please. Bill
 
Looks like KMS has that size in Lennox. A good name but about the same price though. I bought a tool from them & the CP Expresspost was about 12$
https://www.kmstools.com/lenox-64-5-x-1-2-18-tpi-bi-metal-band-saw-blade-174176?link=desktop

Princess Auto maybe?
https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/64-1-2-x-1-2-x-0-025-in-bi-metal-band-saw-blade/A-p3462280e

I think yours is a more common size than my oddball. There's some places that do the welding to any length & have all the TPI variations. It was discussed on the forum but may have been Calgary-centric.
 
I buy from Thomas skinner (surprisingly reasonable pricing) and I've looked at Blackfoot Industrial.. This isn't exactly ideal for you given your location but might be worth a call. Or look up a lennox dealer in your area. They're going to be all over the place and likely will ship to you for a reasonable price.
 
I get my blades from All Blades Canada, on 13 St SE. when I bought my last batch they were cheaper than BBee and brand names (Lennox, Morse).
 
Last time I bought blades I bought a Starrett brand one from KMS and a Morse brand one from PA. The Starrett one did not last long before it shed some teeth, disappointing to say the least at $55 (93 X 3/4"). The Morse from PA has been going for over a year and still seems as sharp as new, it was $65. Highly recommended but I'll try All Blades for a better price next time.

For a backup blade I bought a cheap Chinese blade on eBay but I haven't tried it yet. It was $27 at the time (February 2019) and the same blade is $41 now so I don't think it's Busy Bee getting greedy. I wonder if the recent American import duties on Chinese stuff are having an effect on Canadian prices too.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/1x-93-5-x-3...metal-2375-20-0-9MM-10-14-Tooth-/184037306948
 
On the busy bee pricing thing, they have always had a large markup on their stuff. their unbranded metal cutting bandsaw blades are made in Canada, and their price is 10$ over the company retail price. I actually called then a couple of years ago, adn they ship to Calgary for 10 bucks, so a multiple blade order would be cheaper.

Then I found I could buy Morse blades at around 10 bucks more, and so it became a no-brainer.
 
Before some of these good, local leads were identified that can offer custom weld lengths & variety of good names, I've been using an Ebay Starrett & its holding up well, although I don't go through the steel logs like some of you guys do. The only reason I got it at the time was the length was right, mine is an oddball for off the shelf apparently.

I'm becoming increasingly suspicious of brand name clones lately. Nearly bought an Amazon listed Milwaukee battery & way down deep in the comments someone spotted the sneaky differences in packaging & labeling. I hate that. Sometimes a knock off is a perfectly good purchase, but a guy wants to know when its the real thing or not.
 
I had a local sharpening outfit make up some blades for me. I believe they have bulk Lennox rolls on hand and I just needed to tell them the length I wanted.

I know the quality of blades can make a big difference in performance ...at least in meat cutting band saws....
I have one of those cheap $400 meat cutting band saws that are available at various retailers. When I first got it, I was so disgusted with it because the blade wandered all over the place and you couldn't cut straight at all. After trying every sort of technique and adjustment I was about to give up when my cousin told me that " you have to put in a decent blade in those saws to cut" I had a new blade made up at outfit mentioned above and the difference was truly night and day.
 
All Blades Canada looks cool - I check them out!

Also may look at Amazon. 35 for a small blade is kings ransom.

I got a lot of blades at eBay under $10 per blade for 1" and I think 5000mm long - too long for my needs so I need to cut them and re-weld. But price was good for long bi-metal blades.
 
Hello Bill. The one that I got with my bandsaw that I bought used came with a blade from Princess Auto and I bought a backup from PA as well. So far so good, no lost teeth or breakage. I have not used it a lot either though.
 
Always good advise and suggestions emanating from the forum More importantly special thanks to Peter T and Huruul I didn't hesitate to order 2 blades from PA so they've been shipped although nothing yet from Canada Post. No surprise there folks.

Everyone's help greatly appreciated. Bill
 
Hello Bill, Did you order the bi-metal or the carbon steel? I have the bi-metal ones. I was just checking and forgot they even had the cheaper version.
 
Hruul said:
Hello Bill, Did you order the bi-metal or the carbon steel? I have the bi-metal ones. I was just checking and forgot they even had the cheaper version.
Click to expand...

Yes I ordered 2 bi-metal blades because that's what I had best service from over the years. Still struggling with a bum right knee after a third (temporary) replacement in 18 months. For whatever reason these old bones keep making infections. Waiting for a 4th replacement soon as the operating room reopen at the Pasqua Hospital. Not doing any shop work because I can't stand for very long but I can make sure my equipment is safe and ready for action. Bill
 
Hopefully they get back to doing elective surgeries soon. I heard they are starting the process back up today.
 
Tom O said:
Iv'e had 1 cancelled for the 24th
Click to expand...

That's most unfortunate. As I understand it my temporary knee replacement has a time line of sorts to be replaced. I'm hopeful I can have surgery before the end of July and put stop to this nightmare. Too young to give up just yet. Bill
 
All blades can get whatever you want, custom lengths available and every pitch under the zodiac, this is at least the third suggestion of all blades Canada.
 
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