How to Make Custom Length Bandsaw Blades Without a Welder
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- Опубликовано: 19 янв 2014
- Making up your own bandsaw blades will save you half the cost of buying them ready made and you don't need a welder to do it. Silver solder can be purchased at www.gesswein.com/
The Superior #601 flux is available from Amazon or McMaster Carr 
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I just made the jig in the video. At 70 years of age this was my first milling project. Took about 2 hours and worked as advertised. I used aluminum and the jig paid for itself on the first blade. Thank you Tom.
Darn, we are nearing 70 now, and wish I had stopped wasting money yrs back,,,Going to put the fixture on my too do list today👍
Thank you Tom, it's been 4 years and you're still getting thumbs up for this video, I was struggling with the idea of brazing my own broken blades but you after watching this video I realized how easily it can be done, just ordered the wire/flux from Gesswein and will be welding my own bandsaw blades with confidence.
Good to hear and thanks for watching!
5 year old video but the best I’ve watched for braising a blade. Thank you
I remember back in high school in the 70s we had to learn how to use the on board welder/ annealer before we could even begin to use the bandsaw. the annealing process was the most difficult for students to learn. This makes quick work of that. Thank you
Yes, a welded blade has to be tempered just right to keep it from breaking. Not necessary here.
Thanks for watching.
Tom
Excellent. I just love watching talented people in the shop. Your fixture is sweet, and very well thought out. I am amazed that silver solder is sufficient for this, but clearly your experience has proven that it is. I imagine Sil-Phos might work well too . . . but it never crossed my mind. Well done.
Thanks Phil.
Just what I needed to see. I have an old bandsaw in my garage with an oddball length.
Thanks Tom. Having only used the resistance welders on the saws way back in high school I never would have thought of silver soldering it.
You bet.
A man like Tom does not retire... That was just so cool and all fixed in the shop...No tax charged either...Thanks Tom...
I'll never quit working, but I will retire. Retirement is simply when you stop working for someone else and start working for yourself.
Tom
9:28 I love that Starrett Vice. I live in Central Mass and have scoured the Flea Markets for years and have only seen two others that size and both had been cracked and repaired. Great video, can't wait to check your other videos out.
I have a vertical 1/2 inch saw and a horizontal 1 inch saw. I watched your video after being frustrated with my blade welder. Today I went out got some silver solder, flux, made a jig and welded up my blades rather than using the blade welder. Your method works great and I will no longer bother with my blade welder as I am tired of hard weld joints that crack and fail. Thank you Tom.
Thank you Phillip, I'm glad it worked for you. Brazing is much more forgiving than welding. If you don't anneal a weld enough it'll break, and that step can be skipped entirely with brazing.
Tom
Beautiful jig and great video! Thanks for taking the time to share such great info!
I used this method ( I am a goldsmith) and I have been using the same saw blade for 8 months and it went blunt instead of breaking. Amazing--- and many thanks for the video.
Yes.It seems the fail is always on the weld if only the manufacturer's would put this kind of quality Craftsmanship into there product.
great video Tom. Do this all the time. Old timer once told me silver solder was expensive and to beat out the wire to about paper thin size on the vise anvil before
soldering and use 45 solder. Always worked well for me. Like the jig.
You can buy it already like that (ribbon, foil). Just cut out a tiny piece with snips.
Thanks, Tom! what a useful video. I was going to try to just weld up my bandsaw blade with my little wirefeed welder, but after seeing this I'll just go with soldering them instead. Really appreciate the video! Mike
Thanks for taking the time to make this video, it helps a lot.
Tom, I've been waiting for this video since you mentioned it in one of your previous videos a week or two ago. Thanks for doing it. I learned A LOT!! Now I'm itching to try it myself :),
Tony
Great Tony. Let me know how it turns out.
Tom
Thanks Tom, I have used your techniques numerous times. And built your knurling tool. Thanks again for your time
It's always good to hear that the projects are being built.
Tom
Tom, I have been using a bandsaw for 35 years. Yesterday I brazed my first blade. Nothing to it with the right instruction! Thanks
Glad it worked out for you.
Great information. I just acquired a band saw so this will help a bunch. Now you just need to make and sell your fixture. ;)
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for a well done video on a subject so many of us needed help with.
Going by your user name, this technique should be right up your alley. Glad you enjoyed it.
Tom
DoingItChea
Tom, Thanks for the tips! I've been ordering my blades (they aren't standard) for years. I really like your clamp device… I'll be building one too. Now I can make my own blades AND save money.!! Thanks again!!
Thanks Jeff, glad you enjoyed the video.
Tom
I needed to learn how to do this, and found that I already have a similar silver solder, a similar flux, the same Kennedy tool box, and same bandsaw. What a coincidence. Thanks Scotty
Well there you go.
Thanks for watching.
Thanks for showing this method of making saw blades. My Rockwell/Delta bandsaw is very similar to yours (built in 1973). I made a ~5" extension to my tension knob so that it now sits slightly above the upper guard, which is much easier to operate then.
Jack
I thought extending mine and adding a crank, but after reading Reid's comment below, maybe the cordless would be the way to go.
Thanks for watching.
Tom
Really nice process and shop-built tooling! Well done Tom, and thanks for sharing it with us :)
Thanks for watching, Steve.
That jig is a nice milling project! Small electric welding machines are cheap but the secret sauce is holding the blade. Your jig reminds me of the electric versions built onto the sides of many large industrial band saws.
Another great tutorial. I have a couple of bandsaws, and have always welded new blades. Some last for a good working life while others have not. I think I am going to be making new blades with this method from now on. Also it seems quicker than welding new blades. Besides, a scarf joint is much stronger and flexible than a butt joint. Once again thanks for your time and tips.
I like that little jig for making up the blades. Nicely done!
I would like to say this guy has more common sense than most I’ve seen on here. Did a great job!!!
My dad always silver-soldered his bandsaw blades for woodworking. It held up very well, though he could have ground the seam a little thinner. I really love your jig.
Thanks.
I've been using a makeshift fixture for a while and it never worked quite right. This one works much better.
Tom
Great knowledge, i just got a 1965 rockwell/delta bandsaw and also a old craftsman neither one has a blade you can readily can find at a hardware store. I came up here looking to see what was the best way and i had not even considered silver solder /old schooling it lol. That Jig is pretty cool seems I will have a side project. Thanks for the video.
Nice fixture. I had access to a blade welder till I retired. Now I’m on my own. Nice video!
I know the feeling. I had exclusive access to a CNC mill until I retired. Not sure how much longer I can go without one.
Made and used mine today,works really well,great idea. I used a Dremmel with a small sanding bobbin on it,cleaned it up easily and very well.
That's good to hear. I'm still using the blade I made in this video more than a year ago. It's starting to get a little dull, but the joint is still strong.
Tom
A very nice and nifty little soldering-jig - a MUST HAVE !
Thx for showing !
Thanks for watching.
good video i bought a commercial jig to silver solder blades years ago and never used it .you make it look so easy it think i will dig it out and give it a try.
Thanks.
Let me know how it turns out.
Tom
Great job Tom, like your brazing jig and the clever 20 degree butt joint applicator. Silver soldered joints are better, most of the time, than my $12k welder, anneal, anneal, anneal. Thanks again Tom, cheers!
Thanks!
Annealing is always a crap shoot. Too much or too little weakens the weld.
Tom
This was one of the first things we learned in high school machine shop back in the 60s. I recommend a MAPP torch instead of propane but other than that this a good technique. Not only can you buy blade stock in bulk rolls, you can re-weld broken blades. (cut them at the maximum length workable on your band saw and you can re-weld the same blade several times). Also you can pick up odd length blades as surplus, yard sales and auctions and piece them together.
Real MAPP (a trade name for that gas mix) is out of production (the name remains as a trademark) but there are equivalents and the propylene is what makes the big difference. It's well worth owning (cheap used, absurdly overpriced new!) the predecessor to disposable LP torches, a small LP-air torch (Goss, ACSO, TurboTorch) if you want to up your game. They burn much hotter than cheap consumer heads for disposable cylinders. Of course you can run any LP torch head off any LP source with sufficient flow (I cut with oxy-LP too which is scrapping industry standard for that reason). In-between are the old TurboTorch heads you can still find as shown in this video: ruclips.net/video/1ygQzfBhS38/видео.html
In my opinion, that was one of your best videos, period. Great idea. How do you come up with that stuff? Where did you go to school? I have enjoyed your videos from the start. I think most people who found you really learn worthwhile information. You have a great talent - don't stop!!
Thanks Richard.
I learned what I know from my dad and my uncle, my high school vocational machine shop program, Ferris State College and from working in many different machine shops. It's fun to be able to pass on some of that accumulated knowledge.
Tom
Wow super impressed and I'd like to try this project myself I think I have the same bandsaw thank you for sharing your knowledge with the world I can speak for myself I really appreciate your knowledge
Great video Tom .Thanks for your expertise.
Great video l was apprenticed as a tool maker in press tools so have made many band saw blades, l would grind the end angle about 5/16" to nothing then get some thin brass shim and hammer it till it was really thin break a piece off no bigger than the 5/16" and width off the blade hold the two ends of the blade in a jig like yours only it had a third hold down in the middle slide the brass between the two blades cover with flux apply heat when you see the brass start to melt take of the heat and pull down the middle hold down this makes for a good joint dress up just like you did to anneal it just warm from both sides off the joint not hot watch for the joint to turn blue then take of the heat and dip or just let it cool by its self just thought l would mention this method if the silver solder was hard to get hold of, you did a great job with yours and l will try it myself thanks for the video
Hi, Over the last 60 years I've done exactly what you've been doing.....I use the brass shim too as it's stronger than silver solder and comes in thin strips etc.
One firm I worked for had 20 broken blades lying in the store because nobody knew how to braze or weld them.
The secret of the on machine butt welder is to get the ends dead square first then after welding do the tempering and most important to grind the butt to the same thickness as the blade or it'll jam in the guides.......if the blade butt welded joint is not tempered it'll break quickly.
I'm just getting a table top bandsaw this week so now I'll have to make a blade joiner before I get a breakage.
Took me back 55 year as an apprentice in the aircraft industry in the UK. We used to do them in a similar way but they were a bit rough and ready. When had ground the scarf joint we put fluxes on a piece of solder between the two ends and we had a switch to send a current though the joint and heat it red hot, we never managed to do a good job but they often lasted just long enough to do the job.
Yeah, the trick is to get the gap as thin as possible. Less solder actually results in a stronger joint.
Tom
I never thought of silver solder.
Great idea!
Where do you get those clamps?
Great video Sir. I had a need to solder some stainless steel wire cable. It took some investigation but I finally found with stainless you must use a liquid acid flux. I was amazed how strong the silver solder was. If fact while testing a joint the wire broke before the solder joint. Thanks again, nice tool you made there.
+Long Ridge Farm
Thanks.
The flux I use in the video works for stainless as well. The choice of flux is mostly about matching the temperature of the solder.
Tom
Excellent demonstration, thanks for sharing your skills/knowledge.
+MrB82901
Thank you for watching.
Thank you for your time and effort on the bandsaw repair ( joining ) video very much appreciated
Thanks for watching
This video shows to be 9 years ago, and I just came across it. My little saw eats blades, and many times, it breaks in the original weld. I have used silver sorder for other applications, but never where strength was required. I have always heard it makes a strong joint. Thanks for the great video. I will be saving some money by using this information. It hurts when a new blade is used very little and still has sharp teeth breaks.
subbed.....awesome! love the old kenedy machinist tool boxes in the back ground....my grandfather passed his down to me.
The Gerstner's are pretty, but the Kennedy's are functional.
Thanks for watching.
Tom
Great video! You mentioned a rabbit cut on the edge of your fixture. LOVE IT!!!!
Thank you for the video and the info for purchasing the silver solder
Hi Tom,
love precision of your soldering fixture and your skilled work! The only I recommend as well is to attach your jig to sander table.
Thanks for posting, again I have much to learn...
Thanks Milan.
I tried attaching the jig to the table, but it's nice to be able to pull it off to one side to get the blade in the slot.
Tom
A very well thought out video, and well executed, plus a nice jig.
Thank you. I used the fixture just the other day to make up a new blade.
Tom
Tom, Awesome. Thanks for sharing your time and talent! Chuck.
Thanks for watching Chuck.
Tom
seen a good few of these , done it myself a couple of times , like your methods thanks
Thanks for sharing Tom. I love your shirt BTY... reminds me of the good old times when I used to live (and learn) in the Detroit area. Greetings from the island of Malta.
Thanks Noel.
We didn't fair very well against St. Louis last night. Too many injuries this year.
Tom
That's a great idea. i have about a dozen or more old blades and recently found I was able to sharpen them very easily using my Dremel and a diamond coated tool bit. The blades cut as good as new. If the blades have lost there set throw them away they wont cut straight. A 102" blade takes me about 15 mins to sharpen. That's half the time it takes to drive somewhere to by one !
That's a lot of teeth to sharpen. You must be a patient man. :)
Tom, just subscribed, should have found your channel yrs back. My 1944 delta 14 is my goto, but last wk pickup up an older Dayton horz, so welding up blades will save our SS income,,thx, great to get on board,,Bear
Really nice tutorial and fixture. I like the 20 degree saw cut idea.
Thanks.
It's really tough to get a good fit on the scarf joint without some sort of fixture.
Tom
Perfekt und so schnell erledigt.
Sehr gut gemacht.
Thank you.
Tom, I'll be 70 on Saturday. I can hardly draw a straight line. I think my craftiness days are over, but I really enjoy watching people like yourself make things.
My uncle is 92 and still an avid model airplane scratch builder. I think he has more energy than I do at 63. :)
First, cut back on the coffee.
Tom great lesson, on silver soldering, I made the same type of clamp for mig welding blades an its been a bit of a pain grinding, i now plan to silver solder and add 2 of your improvements , bigger feet on my destaco clamps and the saw cut to get the evven 29 degree blade prep thanks for all your tips!
Thanks Ron.
I would also suggest milling some clearance on the center of of the feet so they only bear on the ends. That would clamp the blade more securely with less pressure.
Oh, and the angle of the scarf joint on mine is 20º not 29º.
Tom
thanks Tom sounds like i plan and i am a rotten typer hit the 9 instead of the 0
Thank you for the nice instructions. I have tried this before but must have not used the proper solder. I had no idea the difference so you help me allot. i will give it another try.
Yes, there are lots of different solders and brazes. For this application you need a high content silver solder that will readily wick into the joint. A thin solder is much stronger than one with a lot of filler.
Thanks for watching.
Tom
You with this idea has contributed more to do better and the value of those we love woodworking. Thans you very much.
Usted con esta idea ha contribuído a hacer mejor y mayor el valor de quienes amamos el trabajo de la madera.Muchas gracias.
Thanks Orlando, I'm glad you found the video useful.
Tom
Richard Yates. I use straight boraxo laundry borax. Then I put it in a spice grinder to make more of a powder. Wet the brush dip in the borax and apply sparingly. Wherever the flux/borax is the solder will want to flow. This applies to jewelry there are better fluxes for steel than borax.
thanks for this great tip. i will build this tool for my bandsaw blades as soon as possible.
Greetings from Austria.
Rudolf
+Rudolf Köchl
Greetings from Michigan. Hopefully you have more snow over there than we do around here.
I just used the blade I made in the video to saw out some 3/4" thick stainless. It's still working hard for me.
Tom
Way to go Tom, you "Fluxed up the blade". lol that was great. Love the vid. That multi purpose fixture is awesome. Thanks for sharing again!...
SKI
Thanks SKI
Thank you Tom for the idea,that will do me very nicely.
Certainly.
Thanks for watching.
Compliments on a nicely presented, very useful bit of information!
Good jig. Clean and easy to use.
Great job! Thanks for the lesson.
Just tried this, so far, so good. I had been doing something similar, with a much shallower angle, and bronze braze, which worked also, but was a much slower process. The 20 degree slit / fixture for grinding is so much quicker.
Thanks for the video. I know its been around a while but I'm finally getting around to making a blade soldering jig. My saw blades are 117" on my Dake and are $$$$.
This will definitely save you some cash. It's not quite as convenient as having a welder on the side of your band saw, but it works just as well and costs a lot less. I was just using the blade that I made in the video and it's starting to get dull after over a years use. The brazed joint is still holding up well though.
Tom
HI Tom,
Great Video! I like that multi use fixture. Clean and simple. I have the same bandsaw and I didn't like the tensioning knob either. I took a length of all thread, rounded one end and welded two nuts on the other. Now, I use a cordless drill and socket to run the tensioning wheel up and down. Much faster and easier.
Thanks for the video!
Reid
Thanks Reid.
I use my cordless to feed the rotary table and the compound on the lathe. The bandsaw tensioner seems like a good application as well.
Tom
That's pretty slick. Thanks for the info.
Great video, Tom. I'll have to try this next time around! Loved catching the Winged Wheel on your shirt too.
Thanks Tom.
Yeah, we didn't fair very well against St.Louis last night. Too many key players on injured reserve.
Tom
Good idea Tom, I have a bandsaw but the weels have a small dia, so I hope the weld isn't loosing because off that small diameter.
Thanks Tom, I have always wanted to fix my wood bandsaw blades. Mike
Thanks for watching Mike.
Great work sir the best method I have seen.
Excellent Tom! Thanks for sharing.
Ray C.
Thanks Ray.
That's a pretty clever pice of engineering you have right there, congratulations!
Thanks. It works pretty well.
I realize that this is a couple years old, but It's very good information and I'll start on a jib like yours soon. I have two bandsaws, so it'll be nice to make my own blades. I have been looking for a used blade welder on Craigslist and they show up very rarely. The last one I saw was listed for $800.00!! My smaller saw is a Delta like yours (wood only version), and I added about 6" to the shaft that the tensioning knob is on so that it clears the top of the machine. Much easier to adjust that way. Thanks,Jack
Best in topic on youtube. Thanks dude!
and also, thanks for posting such an informative video, very well explained, gave me the courage to make my own blades...
Thanks
If you make the cut in the blade at a 45deg angle instead of 90deg you also increase the area being soldered for greater strength. The 20deg bevel helps a lot though, thanks for the tip :)
Andy,
That would make a stronger joint if you could get it well lined up, but the 20º angle appears to be adequate for the task.
Thanks for watching.
Tom
Now that's how its done. Excellent video!
Thanks Paul
quite welcome! trying to finish up my first diy sawmill build and coming to terms that my best bet to get the length I need is to stitch up my own blade lengths. Any chance you have a recommendation for a company that you have had good dealings with the get the rolls of blade material?
I get mine from McMaster Carr, but I don't know if they carry anything large enough for a sawmill.
That is a great solution I was tig welding mine and frustrated each time.
Thank christ I never have to tig one again.
Thank You
Yeah, I tried TIG welding them also and it didn't end well. This works much better.
Tom
Great video. It made me decide to buy an old bandsaw with an unknown blade size
That was just amazing !!! Thanks for an AWSOME video !!!!
+Herbert Humphrey
Amazing is good. Thanks for watching.
Tom
Great video! I was tigging mine and they weren't coming out this nice. I'm going to make a setup like yours. Thanks for the vid.
+8MADJACK
I've tried TIGing them as well but thin high carbon steel is a challenge to weld. This works MUCH better.
Tom
TIG welding them sounds kind of heroic! Seems like it would need annealing after maybe more than the flash butt weld. I think the flash weld is the best weld you could have by the way, I know that sounds funny. In welding literature you see this, the metallographs of it are amazing- there's almost no heat-affected zone. What might have BEEN the heat affected zone is of course thrown across the room! Silver solder is a different tack all together of course, it has a long history, and also it has worked fairly well for me, working to some extent in ignorance, and with the silver solder I happened to have. I think if everything is done right it might be as good as you can ask! I need that little 20 degree jig!
Great idea and video!
I used to make Sterling silver jewelry and have always found that riogrande.com had quality silver solder and flux!
A technique used in soldering jewelry is to cut a small piece of silver solder and place it on the join,,making sure it touches on both sides of the join.
Heat the piece until the solder flows and let it cool.
This will eliminate having to clean the excess solder after soldering is complete!
That would probably work if there were no gaps in the joint. Wire solder is more forgiving, but as you say, it must be dressed down afterword.
This is a great thing to know, thanks for sharing the tip. I just looked into the silver solder and there are several temperature ranges available... Are you using the extra hard solder? Thanks!
Hard solder is stronger, but only with very tight joints. I normally use something around 65%. Make sure the flux you use is adequate for the temperature of the solder. Strength isn't really an issue here, I've never had a properly soldered joint fail.
Thanks! I would have never thought to use silver solder. I'll have to try this.
Yes it works very well. I got over a years use out of the blade in this video, before it wore out.
Tom
Apparently it worked for Tom. ;) There is a decent bit of difference between regular solder and silver solder. btw
Brazing rod is typically used on large gaps where filler is need. For a close fitting joint on a bandsaw blade, silver solder creates a much stronger bond.
And thank you Chip, it does work for Tom. In fact, I just made up a new blade yesterday, using this technique. :)
Tom
thanks for showing how its done that was a great video.mike
Thanks for watching Mike.
Hi loved your video it was a great help I was told to anneal the metal to soften the metal as heating can make it brittle
Have a great new year
Regards
Steve UK London
Thanks. Annealing is only required on welded joints.
I had no idea you could silver solder a blade. I'll have to make a jig and try it! Thanks for the video!
You are welcome. I hope it works well for you.
Tom
I had no idea it could be done this way. Thanks!
Glad I could be of assistance.
something I started doing while running the weld fab shop in kuwait for our metal cutting band saw. cut the joint at a matching 45 instead of a flat butt joint. This resulted in the weld passing over the rollers better than all of it hitting at one time.. Yes we sanded them down, but they still caused a bump. ex: 1/2 wide band..when connected via a 45..gave you almost 3/4" weld surface which gave you greater strength. After that...never had one break
Richard,
I've heard of angling the joint to the blade, but the reason I like making the joint square to the blade is that it's much easier to get the joint between teeth and keep them evenly spaced, especially on coarser pitches. The 20º angle on the joint still provides for more than adequate strength. How to you make a 45º cut on the blade without affecting the tooth at the end of the cut?
Tom
Very innovative Tom. Thanks for the video- Fred
teeth lining up, is where I have been going wrong. So simple when told, How.!
Thanks mate.
and hasn't silver solder become nice and expensive.!!!
Yeah, it cuts a lot better when the teeth line up.
Silver solder has always been expensive and doesn't seem to follow the price of silver. Silver is around $6 an ounce now, but silver solder costs over $50 and ounce for the 56% stuff. Luckily it doesn't take much to braze a blade.
Tom
Hi I just subscribed. Great tips I have never considered silver Soderling a blade but I was in the middle of a rush job broke my blade and Tiged it together with some 308 stainless filler wire. I would definitely like to try your way. Great work on your jig very well thought out down to the last detail. 🇺🇸
Thanks Ken.
Thanks Tom!
Another project to add to the list.
Geoff
There's always room on the list for one more project. :)
absolutely brilliant. thank you.