If you’re new to using a bandsaw, you may not realize that it matters which kind of blade you use. Different bandsaw blades have different metal compositions, thicknesses, and tooth patterns. In this post, we’ll go over why your bandsaw tooth pattern is important.
Tooth Patterns Have Special Jobs
Your bandsaw tooth pattern is important because every type of bandsaw blade has a different purpose. Some are for making fine, delicate cuts, while others help you rip apart tougher materials. Tooth patterns aid with the following types of cuts:
- Hook: long and aggressive cuts on metal, plastic, or hardwood
- Skip: materials that clog easily, such as plastic, softwood, or non-ferrous metals
- Regular: general-purpose cuts on fine or thin materials
- Variable Pitch: useful for making smooth cuts and curves
- Wavy Tooth: thin metal materials
Understanding Blade Teeth
The teeth on your bandsaw blade have specific dimensions for a reason. If you’re going to work on a particular project, you should know what kind of blade to buy.
One thing to keep in mind is that blades with lots of teeth tend to create very fine cuts, while a blade with fewer teeth makes more rough cuts. Teeth per inch, or TPI, measures this.
Choosing Teeth for Curves
When cutting curves, you’ll need to do a little math to determine which blade is right to use. Essentially, you’ll need a blade with a width that’s slightly less than the radius of the curve you want. If you’re unsure exactly what that means, you can find tables online that show you which blade is the right one for your project.
You can fulfill all your industrial metal bandsaw needs at Kaka Industrial. We carry both horizontal and vertical bandsaws as well as replacement blades. If you’re unsure what kind of blade you need to cut bundled materials, we offer charts on our product pages that can help you pick exactly the right one.
Contact us today if you have any questions. We’d love to help you pick the right tools for your workshop.