Broke my bandsaw blade :(

[Gamble97]

I have the harbor freight 4x6 bandsaw and as of literally 3 days ago I put on a new blade. It's a 18tpi 1/2" blade.
This one to be exact
eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

I have probably made 10 cuts if that on it and while cutting a piece of 1.5" DOM tubing the blade stopped spinning. I took a closer look and this is what my blade looked like

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What are the tips/tricks to setting the guides and angles of this thing?

 

[SlowChild3]

Whoa. That's scary. Keep the guides close as possible. Don't force it to cut. Let the blade do the work.

 

[turboglenn]

WHat brand of blades? I would suggest NEVER buying blades at HF, they are only good for about 10 cuts tops. So if that's what it was you got it's full life span , Buy blades inthe industrial side of town at a tool shop that carries all your average stuff (we have a bunch of em here, just have to drive and find them or use google to search for em, because they're not advertised much like sears and such)

Get Morse brand blades, I love their stuff, hole saws, band saw blades and more, they all kick ass!! I use morse 64 1/2 x 1/2 18TPI (same as you just had break) and i can cut enough stainless to make an exhaust using pie cuts with one blade (that's a lot ofr SS cuts, you usually won't get through one piece of 3" SS piping on a harbo freight blade before it's shot)

They will cut aluminum almost endlessly as well as mild steel as long as you keep the speed right and the blade lubed

You'll also notice a lot faster, cleaner and smoother cutting with a good blade.. expect to pay between 11 and 22 dollars on average for a good blade.. When i first started buying them at the "Tool Shed" here in town they charged me 22 bucks, as i became more frequent and they saw i wasn't your everyday idiot wasting their time they started to knock them down to where iget a pack of 2 blades for 22 dollars or one for 11 if i'm broke that day

I'll give ya a tip too, once you get your upper wheel adjusted to where the blade tracks good and have the roller bearings set as well..then tighten the blade as much as you can by hand. From wrenching i can put a good torque on something and I know i have the blade perfectly setup in it's tracking and wheel and bearing adjustments when the blade can bind in material yet NOT jumpoff the wheels.. Getting the knob at the top as tight as you can by hand also helps a ton with blade jumping as well as straight cuts. DOnt' use tools on it but just one good arm or two smaller arms if you're not that big of a guy

 

[knochgoon24]

Send an e-mail to the ebay seller saying you weren't satisfied? He guarantees satisfaction.

 

[Gamble97]

^^Good idea, I just emailed them.
Glenn, got it off ebay, the link is in the first post.

Maybe this was an error on my dads side. He didn't like how the blade was 'twisted', he said it should be straight. Should all the bearings be spinning? They did on OE blade.

Glenn, I'll have to re read your response when I'm not so tired. I'm going to bed.

 

[turboglenn]

Ok,the "side bearings" hold the blade straight or it will constantly be slanted. The bearings on the "back" of the blade should be set to where they ONLY contact when there's a load against the blades. Go to harbor freight. com and download the manual on the 4x6 saw, theirs instructions on setting up every wheeland bearing in the thing and they are good if you follow them properly..setting up the adjustment on the top wheel is VITAL, if it's off you'll have horrible cuts..same with the bearing wheels/guides The setup of which side bearing you use up top and on the bottom to set the blade to one side or the other is all very important to the cut,especially on a saw of this "caliber' I have the same one and after having set it up per the manual and then looking at what that setup is doing overall and improvising from there on further tweaks to the adjustment i have a saw that i coudn't be happier with for no morethan i spent on it (159.99 IIRC) or at least when using good blades..it really is a world of difference and the key to a good cut, or blade life of morethan 10-15 cuts


but frget ebay blades = JUNK!!!!!!!!! GO locally and buy MORSE blades..the ebay stuff is more china clone crap, they may be only 5 cents a blade but there's no point if you're changing them out 2-5 times a day when doing a lot of work. and believe me i speak fromfirst hand experience. I spent way too many weeks in the beggining buying blades from HF, lowes and home depot alike and none were worth their weight in dog turds.. Getting a real blade from a contractor supply house type tool store will turn the thing into a completely different saw. Even if theebay guy wan'ts to sendyou free blades, cut your losses and stop your headaches and just sever ties with him and buy GOOD BLADES.. i promise if you buy a morse blade, setup the saw according to the manual that it comes with when bought new (or you can download) you will find the saw far exceeds what you're currently getting out of it

Hell if i weren't so brokethese days i would just offer to send you a blade but hell, anymore the typical teenage on allownance has a better debt to income ratio than i do

This is like the 5th time this week that some one has said on here they'd have to re-read a post that is no more than half a "book page" long when they hav emore time.. no offense but, do they not make ya'll read in school these days? I can read pages of .pdf's and books as well as magazines in my most worn out state, but seems people these days don't like to read or weren't conditioned to in school (and i mean no offense at all, it just strikes me as weird to see so many people say somtheint similar this week and the others weren't directed at my book long posts either ..I do tend to ramble though HAHAH)