How Tight Should The Bandsaw Blade Be?

How Tight Should The Bandsaw Blade Be?

Finding the right Bandsaw Blade tension generally is by all accounts something of a secret among carpenters. There is a wide range of strategies out there, for example, culling the blade like a guitar string until it delivers an unmistakable tone of a particular melodic pitch. In spite of the fact that I have most likely that this strategy works for a couple of artistically talented carpenters, I question its common sense and precision for most of us. Different hypotheses are considerably more conceptual, for example, the idea that you ought to track down the tension that makes your bandsaw “agreeable.” To me, this assertion appears to be excessively obscure.

With an end goal to abstain from adding to the disarray, I will give you a few useful thoughts on tensioning blades so you can change your saw for precise cuts. However, first I might want to make a few focuses on bandsaw blades and tension.

Finding the right tension

Bandsaw blades require tension and heaps of it to create straight, uniform cuts, particularly in thick or thick stock reliably. Most blade producers prescribe 15,000 psi to 20,000 psi for a typical carbon-steel blade. In any case, bimetal, spring-steel, and carbide-tipped blades are a lot more grounded than carbon-steel blades, so producers suggest a lot higher tension: 25,000 psi to 30,000 psi. For what reason do bandsaw blades require such a lot of tension? For bar strength. The tighter the blade is extended, the more unbending it becomes and the less propensity it should divert in the cut.

You just need the greatest tension for the most requesting cuts, for example, cutting thick hardwoods or supply of the greatest thickness that will fit under a saw’s aides. In less complex conditions, you can ease off the tension. All blades, paying little mind to width, require a similar measure of tension for most extreme shaft strength. The variable element is how much pulling force is required. For instance, it takes roughly 200 lb. of power pulling on a 1/4-in.- wide by the 0.025-in.- thick blade to make 25,000 psi of tension. Alternately, a 3/4-in.- wide by the 0.032-in.- the thick blade will require roughly 800 lb. of power to make a similar 25,000 psi of tension.

Read more about Selecting Bandsaw Blades: What Need to Know