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After a rather spectacular, and very scary, failure of a bandsaw blade this weekend, I went to replace it with a custom-made 1/2" blade and found out that it was too long - by about 2". Apparently, a minor error in cutting the stock, and I have a unusable blade.

No problem, I figured, I'll just grab one from the group hanging on the wall. Except, I had: two dulled beyond use, a 1/4" blade (yuck!), and one with a nasty kink in it. Great. Gotto go digging.

A few minutes later I found a blade still in the box, and it was labeled witht eh right length. Unfortunately, it was also a blade for cutting metal. But, with no good blades, I didn't really have a choice but to use it for cutting briar - it was either that or go all the way to Lowes and pray they have the right length in stock.

Short story shorter, I'm loving it! I'm kicking myself for not digging this blade out sooner. It's rock solid, stable, and displays almost no flex. This can be attributed, in large part, to the small teeth - less material is removed to make the teeth, so the blade is more rigid. I was even able to use it to re-saw a couple boards thinner for another project.

If you're wondering how to get more stability out of your small bandsaw, and can't use a 1/2" or larger blade, I highly recommend giving a metal-cutting blade a try.

My blades are SO eratic... I'll try anything. Are the metal blades easy to find?

I get mine at Lowes. They have blades for metal and wood in a bunch of different sizes. Home Depot doesn't carry my size - they apparently only stock blades that fit their Rigid line of bandsaws. They're also really easy to find online.

That is a great tip. Band saws can be peculiar tools for sure.

If bandsaw blades are anything like hacksaw blades (I am poor, and have never really been able to afford power tools other than the trusty Dremel and a power drill...so I've generally done stuff the *old* fashioned way, with hand tools :3) I can certainly vouch for using metal ones!

I've found hacksaw blades for metal generally are better behaved than those for wood (at least for shaping out a pipe); the metal blades generally give a smoother cut anyways, even if you do have to work a bit longer. (Metal-cutting hacksaw blades tend to have littler teeth, and the way it sounds, it's a similar situation with bandsaw blades.)

I use Viking band saw blades. They are made in Sweden and the tooth set is machinged so they are exactly equal on both sides. They cut extremely well with no drift and no bending. I'm using a 1/4" x 6 TPI. It cuts fast and leaves a smooth surface.

They do cost more than the standard hardware store brands but they're worth it. I highly recommend them. I don't know if they are available in the US. I googled on them and only got Canadian suppliers. They may also be called Timber Wolf.

I wouldn't use any other brand now except in desperation. Which happens from time to time.

Dave