Above: Tennax PRO bimetal band saw blades have a tooth design that enhances cutting efficiency on pipes, tubes, and structural profiles and bundles.
July, 2026- Running a blade too slowly during an interrupted cut causes the cutting pressure to spike. Chip formation becomes inefficient, and teeth chip and strip permanently.
Patrick O’Brien, central regional sales manager at the L.S. Starrett Co., based in Athol, Massachusetts, says that one customer cutting structural material reported experiencing poor blade life and “harmonics so loud it was impossible to hold a conversation in front of the saw.”
After monitoring the cutting process for about an hour, O’Brien says, the Starrett team found the saw running “at a speed 70 square inches per minute lower than the lowest recommended parameter, and it was causing the dulling of the teeth and loud noise. We [increased] the speed to the proper level, and the chip sheared more cleanly and was smoother. The higher speed, coupled with our Tennax Pro technology, reduced the chatter and growl of the cut, and the penetration became more consistent.”
Once the saw was operating at the proper speed, O’Brien says the operator commented that it was “the first time I’ve ever been able to have a conversation with someone in front of the saw.”
The Intenss PRO is a bimetal blade suitable for intensive production cutting.
CHECK PARAMETERS
Incorrect speeds and feeds are one of several potential challenges when sawing material. Others include using the wrong blade for the application or material, wrong tooth pitch, and poor coolant flow, says O’Brien. “Customers need to specify a blade per the material, and its diameter and length. It’s not a one-blade- suits-all application, especially when cutting multiple orders of the same material.” He recommends users consult a speed and feed chart, remembering that carbide and bimetal run at different speeds for the same material. Another pro tip: “check the viscosity of your coolant with a refractometer, making sure that there is proper coolant flow into the cut.”
He points out that band saws, like any other piece of equipment, should be regularly maintained. “Without it, brushes, guides, coolant, bearings, vises can all go bad and be abused, or left to deteriorate, ultimately to the detriment of the blades being used.”
When called upon, Starrett has a 20-point inspection protocol, after which it presents its findings to the saw operators and supervisors. “We recommend replacement of certain parts, calibrate speeds and feeds, discuss cool- ant viscosity and placement into the cut, and talk about guide and bearing wear,” O’Brien explains. “Educating the operator on proper break-in procedure and then subsequently running blades at the proper speed and feed is one of the most important duties we have.”
CONTINUED R&D
The L.S. Starrett Co. was founded in 1880 and manufactures more than 5,000 variations of precision tools, gages and measuring instruments, in addition to saw blades. O’Brien says that blade technology from the company includes AMP Grind for saw blades, enabling the blade to rock or “pulse” into the cut, “reducing chip load and flow dynamics, ultimately resulting in a blade that lasts longer and pulls easier through the cut, especially in tougher materials.”
The Tennax PRO Blade line for structural cutting was introduced recently to help reduce harmonics and improve blade life.
A good blade option for metal service centers and fabricators to consider is the Intenss and Intenss PRO line, which O’Brien calls a “happy medium of bimetal products that offer a wide range of tooth pitches widths and thicknesses.” The Intenss line comes in widths from 1⁄2 inch up to 11⁄2 inches, and the Intenss PRO starts at 3⁄4 inch and goes up to 3 1/8 inch widths.
“It’s our most popular line of saw blades,” says O’Brien. “The Intenss is a neutral rake offering of bimetal blades that is great for bundle cutting of solid steel materials and low to medium carbon steel applications.” The Intenss PRO line features a positive rake bimetal blade, “which helps with a bit more aggressiveness needed to cut tougher materials like stainless, hot-rolled, cold-rolled and quenched-and-tempered alloys.”
The Advanz MC5 or MC7 blade line features a trapezoidal fourtooth grind that produces either five or seven distinct chips, increasing cutting output of demanding materials.
SPECIALTY ALLOYS
Starrett blades also work with exotic hard-to-cut materials, including Inconel 625, Inconel 718, Waspalloy, Hastelloy, X, Nitronic 50 and Monel 500. “Nickel alloys are typically going to be the toughest materials to cut,” O’Brien says, and proprietary tooth grinds in car- bide help keep up with these hard-to-cut materials.
“Given proper speeds and feeds, trapezoidal/form tooth grinds, like you see with Starrett Carbide Tipped blade technology, offer some of the best ways to cut hard material.”
For example, he says, the Starrett Carbide Tipped Advanz MC5 or MC7 blade line features a unique, progressively ground trapezoidal four-tooth grind that produces either five or seven distinct chips, reducing cutting time while enabling superb surface cut finish, he continues. “Essentially, production sawing operations realize increased cutting out-put of demanding materials by generating more chips in the cut than conventional blades.”
“Starrett’s proprietary trapezoidal tooth geometries divide the chip into several sections so that it can reduce cutting force, reduce heat and maintain the edge of each carbide tooth,” he continues.
The tooth design also controls chip thickness by pre-breaking the chips to manage how they curl. “Proper tooth curl is always something our saw technicians look to optimize during a cut. This same tooth geometry also works to reduce heat, vibration and harmonics—all things that can kill a blade’s life.”
The L.S. Starrett Co., starrett.com.
