Break-In Procedures

1. Set band speed to the normal recommended S.F.P.M. for the material.
   Set feed at 50% of the normal cutting rate
2. Determine the recommended square inches of material to be cut at break-in from table. 
   Watch chips being formed. Chips should look like watch springs and hand warm. Powdery chips-increase feed rate. Heave blue chips-decrease feed rate
3. Always check tension after making a few cuts
4. Never start a new blade in an old cut
5. Never stop a blade during a cut
6. Avoid starting on sharp edge and corners
7. Gradually increase the feed rate to normal over total break-in period.

For Bi-Metal Blades

For Carbide Tipped Blades

   Properly breaking in a bimetal band saw blade ensures longer blade life, faster cuts for a longer period of time, and consistent performance.  Conversely, blade life can be significantly compromised if the proper break-in procedures are not followed.

   The teeth on a new band saw blade are razor-sharp. If teeth are not broken in properly, the edges will chip and will wear out faster and result in rougher cuts.  To withstand the cutting pressures of band sawing, each tooth should be homed to create an extremely small radius on its tip.

   For soft materials like aluminum and carbon steel, first run the normal surface feet per minute (SFM) Adjust the feed pressure about half of the normal cutting rate for the first few cuts or for the first 50 to 100 square inches.  From there, gradually increase the feed pressure to the normal cutting rate.  It is important to avoid vibration.

   For hard-to-cut materials such as nickel-based alloys like INCONEL, hardened steels and stainless steels, run the normal SFM and adjust the feed pressure to about three-fourths the normal cutting rate for the first few cuts or for the first 25 to 75 square inches.  Gradually increase the cutting rate for the next few cuts until you reach the normal cutting rate.  Again, try to avoid unnecessary vibration.

Bi-Metal Band saw blades

 Sharp cutting edges having extremely small edge radii are required for high cutting power.

 For keeping the optimal blade life, we recommend to break-in the blade properly.  Please determine the correct cutting speed (m/min) depending  on the material to be cut and its dimension. It is important to break-in a new blade with only 50% feed rate. Micro breakages caused by too large chip thicknesses can thus be avoided.

 New band saw blades may tend to vibrations and noise.  In this case, a slight reduction of cutting speed is also helpful.  With small work piece dimensions approx. 300 cm2 of the material should be cut to break in the blade.  In case of a large work piece dimensions we recommend breaking-in over a period of about 15 min. After breaking-in, the feed rate may be slowly increased up to the full value.

 Carbide Band saw blades

 After choosing the optimal parameters for your application, you should break-in a carbide tipped band saw blade with approx. 50% feed rate and 50% cutting speed.

 It is very important to avoid vibrations and noise.  In such a case it should be helpful to reduce the cutting speed.  After breaking-in period of about 15 min. or 300 cm2  please slowly increase the cutting speed and then the feed rate up to the full value. 

 In addition to the band tension, which should be about 300 N/mm2 , please also check the oil content of the cooling lubricant before first use.