September, 2024: It seems reasonable when Bobby L. Williams, North American sales manager for saws and hand tools at The L.S. Starrett Co., says, “There is a saw blade for most any kind of application that we’re looking at.”
He was referencing the Athol, Massachusett s-based company’s Advanz line of carbide-tipped band saw blades, which includes MC7, MC5, TS, CS and FS types, as well as an extensive line of bi-metal and carbon band saw blades, hacksaw and reciprocating blades and more. The blade manufacturer offers a vast selection of blade types, sizes and tooth configurations to cut an array of workpiece materials.
Of course, achieving that range did not happen overnight. “Our first hacksaw blade went into our catalog in 1888,” says Charlie Starrett, product manager for saws and hand tools. That’s eight years after the company, now the largest saw blade manufacturer in the world, was founded in 1880, he says. “Since the beginning, we’ve been committed to continuous R&D investment in both product and process innovation.”
The Advanz MC5 carbide-tipped blade features a multiple chip grind with a high/ low tooth sequence, which generates five manageable chips rather than one large chip.
The Advanz MC7 blade has a progressively ground four-tooth trapezoidal design that creates seven chips.
The company is also a global manufacturer of precision tools, gauges and metrology systems, and strives for exceptional quality and precision. The precision tools enable end users to accurately measure twice before cutting once. “Whether you need a saw blade, a precision measurement tool or a high-end metrology solution,” Charlie Starrett says, “we bring to market a comprehensive product range designed to meet that end customer’s needs.”
BUILT TO LAST
When the application involves materials that are difficult to saw because of their hardness, abrasiveness and other challenging physical properties, Williams recommends Starrett’s Advanz carbide-tipped band saw blades. The materials these blades cut include nickel-based superalloys such as Inconels, Hastelloys, Waspaloys, titanium, stainless steel, heat-treated steel, high-silicon aluminum and even fiberglass. “A bi-metal band saw blade just wouldn’t last very long in these kinds of materials.”
The hardness range for applying carbide- tipped blades is typically from 30 to 55 HRC but can be harder, he adds. For example, the outer layer of a case-hardened steel workpiece can be up to 60 HRC or harder, and the Advanz CS blade with a 20-degree negative tooth tip rake angle is targeted for those types of applications while providing resistance to fatigue, shock and wear.
The four-tooth grind on the Advanz MC7 is very effective when sawing super alloys, stainless steel and difficult-to-cut tool and heat-treated steels, according to The L.S. Starrett Co.
In addition, the TS blade is for sawing tough materials that bi-metal blades cannot cut, the company reports, and the FS is for foundries cutting gates and risers, as well as for cutting solids, structural sections, bundles, Masonite, fiberglass, composites and more. The CS, TS and FS blades feature a triple-chip tooth geometry for managing chips and imparting fine surface finishes.
For cutting nonferrous metals, cast iron and hot- and cold-rolled machine steels, Starrett offers the MC5, and the MC7 is for super alloys, titanium, and tool and stainless steels, Williams notes. “Those are going to be the ones that give you better life and performance.”
SPREADING OUT
To extend blade life by spreading the chip load over more teeth, the MC5 features a multiple chip grind with a high/low tooth sequence, Williams explains. That grind generates five manageable chips rather than one large chip when sawing. “It’s almost like a broach method, because the material is so hard you don’t want to try to take that chip in a single cut. You want to be able to take that chip progressively so that you’re not putting a lot of pressure on a single tooth.”
The MC7 blade design takes it a step further and has a progressively ground four-tooth trapezoidal design that creates seven chips. “It’s really about how to spread out that chip load across those multiple teeth,” Starrett explains.
Unlike the CS blade, the other blades have a positive rake angle, with the company labeling the rake angle for the TS blade as “aggressive.” When sawing challenging materials, Williams explains, the material will work harden if the saw does not pull the chip every time the blade goes through the workpiece. “It has to be a little aggressive at that time.”
When producing a carbide-tipped band saw blade, Starrett says the manufacturer grinds the backing material to form the gullet and then welds the carbide cylinder onto the tooth before sharpening the tip to the necessary tooth profile design. The company offers several carbide grades that vary in composition. This grade variance will determine how hard the carbide tip is and the type of carbide selected depends upon the workpiece materials that Starrett’s Advanz line is designed to cut.
HELPFUL HINTS
However, the band saw blade is only part of the successful sawing equation. “We could have the best blade in the world,” Williams says, “but if the machine is not sufficient enough to pull that blade or use that type of blade, it’s not going to matter.”
It is critical to have a rigid band saw that can run at the necessary machining parameters the blade was designed for. “Vibration is the killer in sawing operations. We’ve seen a lot of new saws being bought because of the material that they’re cutting,” Williams says. To help customers get in the ballpark for the speeds and feeds needed to cut a material with a specific blade, Starrett offers a cutting chart that provides starting point recommendations, Williams says.
“Then you work with the feeds and speeds of that specific saw to make sure that you’re getting the optimal amount of performance.”
As more exotic materials are being cut, including proprietary products that have unknown compositions, more carbide-tipped band saw blades are being purchased, Williams notes. “There’s a real performance benefit to upgrade to a carbide-tipped blade that helps end users lower their total cost of ownership.”
When selecting the appropriate Advanz carbide-tipped band saw for an application, Starrett says it’s important to know whether an end user is cutting a variety of materials where a more general-purpose blade with a TS tooth profile is suitable or if a MC7/MC5 tooth profile is better to overcome the challenges, or pain points, experienced when regularly sawing one type of material.
“Is it about improving the finish of the cut? Is it about improving the speed of the cut? Is it about improving blade life? All of those factors might add to the decision-making process for what type of blade is selected.”
The L.S. Starrett Co., 888/674-7443, starrett.com
