poihths wroteThe shopsmith 1/16" bandsaw blade has been "currently not available" (see
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/bandsawcarbonsteelblades.htm) for, I think, some years now.
Is there a third-party alternative?
I did some searching today without coming up with a likely-looking candidate, but maybe I'm just not looking in the right places.
Pointers appreciated.
Thanks!
If you are looking for 1/16" blades I presume it is because the ones you have are prone to breaking. That is the problem I have had with the SS and others (Super saw had a few but as far as I know, I bought the last of them about 8 to 10 years back). A few years back, I bought every SS one that came on the market at Ebay. They are so prone to kinking and breakage that they can be very frustrating to use. I think I have spent as much or more on having them repaired as I did buying new. If the work you are doing can be handled with 1/8" I would highly recommend just switching to 1/8". I am fortunate that I have a scroll saw to create pieces with narrow kerf and sharp arcs. I have 3 SS band saws. One for resawing, one for fine detail work and one for cutting mild steel. I save the 1/16" blades for precious woods where I need that size, but have adapted all the other fine detail projects to use 1/8". It's not the most convenient, but I don't think any company makes them anymore. I did see a company that had a 100' reel so you could make your own, but that has been at least a year and that reel was around $250.
I am sorry the news is less than encouraging.
Ed is very much correct that Ebay would be your best bet.
Another possible source would be to directly contact Lenox. They might have some old stock hidden in a corner of a warehouse.
However, none of the blades you will find are bi-metal and you will have little to no choice on set or tpi.
If you absolutely must have 1/16" then that's what you need to keep searching for. You may need to just buy what you can find no matter the length and then have them made into 72" loops. However, if you can modify your projects to accept the performance parameters of a 1/8" blade. you will at least have a choice in materials and tpi.
Good luck.
Be well,
Ben
