Bandsaw Blade Terms

A clear understanding of blade terminology can help avoid confusion when discussing cutting problems.

1. Blade Back - The body of the blade not including tooth portion.
2. Gauge - The thickness of the blade.
3. Width - The nominal dimension of a saw blade as measured from the tip of the tooth to the back of the band.
4. Set - The bending of teeth to right or left to allow clearance of the back of the blade through the cut.
5. Tooth - The cutting portion of a saw blade.
6. Tooth Pitch - The distance from the tip of one tooth to the tip of the next tooth.
7. TPI - The number of teeth per inch as measured from gullet to gullet.
8. Gullet - The curved area at the base of the tooth. The tooth tip to the bottom of the gullet is the gullet depth.
9. Gullet Depth - The distance from the tooth tip to the bottom of the gullet.
10. Tooth Face - The surface of the tooth on which the chip is formed.
11. Tooth Back - The surface of the tooth opposite the tooth face.
12. Tooth Back Clearance Angle - The angle of the tooth back measured in relation to the cutting direction of the saw.
13. Tooth Rake Angle - The angle of the tooth face measured with respect to a line perpendicular to the cutting direction of the saw.
14. Tooth Tip - The cutting edge of the saw tooth.
15. Kerf - Amount of material removed by the cut of the blade.

BAND SPEED
The rate at which the band saw blade moves across the work to be cut. The rate is usually measured in feet per minute (fpm) or meters per minute (mpm).

BASE BAND SPEED
List of recommended speeds for cutting various metals, based on a 4" wide piece of that stock.

BI-METAL
A high speed steel edge material electron beam welded to a spring steel back. Such a construction provides the best combination of cutting performance and fatigue life.

BLADE WIDTH
The dimension of the band saw blade from tooth tip to blade back.

CARBIDE TIPPED BLADE
Carbide tips welded to a high-strength alloy back, resulting in a longer lasting, smoother cutting blade.

CARBON FLEX BACK
A solid one-piece blade of carbon steel with a soft back and a hardened tooth, providing longer blade life and generally lower cost per cut.

CARBON HARD BACK
A one-piece blade of carbon steel with a hardened back and tooth edge that can take heavier feed pressures, resulting in faster cutting rates and longer life.

CUTTING RATE
The amount of material being removed over a period of time. Measured in square inches per minute.

DEPTH OF PENETRATION
The distance into the material the tooth tip penetrates for each cut.

As with a bi-metal blade design, there are advantages to differing tooth constructions. The carbide tipped tooth has carbide tips welded to a high strength alloy back. This results in a longer lasting, smoother cutting blade.

Tooth Form

The shape of the tooth’s cutting edge affects how efficiently the blade can cut through a piece of material while considering such factors as blade life, noise level, smoothness of cut and chip carrying capacity.

Variable Positive - Variable tooth spacing and gullet capacity of this design reduces noise and vibration, while allowing faster cutting rates, long blade life and smooth cuts.

Variable - A design with benefits similar to the variable positive form for use at slower cutting rates.

Standard - A good general purpose blade design for a wide range of applications.

Skip - The wide gullet design makes this blade suited for non-metallic applications such as wood, cork, plastics and composition materials.

Hook - Similar in design to the Skip form, this high raker blade can be used for materials which produce a discontinuous chip (such as cast iron), as well as for non-metallic materials.

Tooth Set

The number of teeth and the angle at which they are offset is referred to as "tooth set." Tooth set affects cutting efficiency and chip carrying ability.

Raker:
3 tooth sequence with a uniform set angle (Left, Right, Straight).

Modified Raker:
5 or 7 tooth sequence with a uniform set angle for greater cutting efficiency and smoother surface finish (Left, Right, Left, Right, Straight). The order of set teeth can vary by product.

Vari-Raker:
The tooth sequence is dependent on the tooth pitch and product family. Typically Vari-Raker set provides quiet, efficient cutting and a smooth finish with less burr.

Alternate:
Every tooth is set in an alternating sequence. Used for quick removal of material when finish is not critical.

Wavy:
Groups of teeth set to each side within the overall set pattern. The teeth have varying amounts of set in a controlled pattern. Wavy set is typically used with fine pitch products to reduce noise, vibration and burr when cutting thin, interrupted applications.

Vari-Set:
The tooth height / set pattern varies with product family and pitch. The teeth have varying set magnitudes and set angles, providing for quieter operation with reduced vibration. Vari-Set is efficient for difficult-tocut materials and larger cross sections.

Single Level Set:
The blade geometry has a single tooth height dimension. Setting this geometry requires bending each tooth at the same position with the same amount of bend on each tooth.

Dual Level Set:
This blade geometry has variable tooth height dimensions. Setting this product requires bending each tooth to variable heights and set magnitudes in order to achieve multiple cutting planes.

 How to Choose the Correct Number of Teeth Per Inch (TPI)