dusty wrote:I too use the standard Shopsmith band saw blades, at least until now. I bought these, at the slightly higher price, just to check. I am hard on band saw blades and if I could find some that were superior, without giving an arm and a leg, I will be very pleased.
Shopsmith says the following about their premium blades:
Premium Bandsaw Blades Feature Less Heat Build-Up For Longer Blade Life
Shopsmith blades are made from premium-quality silicon carbon steel with precision milled teeth for added sharpness and consistency of cut. These premium blades are induction heat-treated to ensure an even hardness, and feature a special tooth set and rake angle to provide more aggressive cutting with less pressure. This reduces heat build-up, prolonging blade life substantially.
Hopefully, I will back in the shop soon and I will provide my opinion as to whether or not these are, in my opinion,premium blades. There is that word premium again. I think the claim might be that milled teeth rather than stamped teeth makes them "better".
Note, however, that Shopsmith does not make mention of the blades being more brittle.
OK Dusty, here is the info from the Suffolk Machinery web page.
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Hello,
Thank you for your interest in our company’s products. We’ve been in the woodworking business since 1976 and are very proud of our evolution over the years. We feel it is our job to help our customers achieve the maximum production and life from our products whether that is done by offering the best blades on the market or through education.
Thanks to my father, I first fell in love with band saws and woodworking when I was 8 years old and that appreciation has only grown through the years. As a young apprentice, I saw my father’s frustration when trying to re-sharpen and reset blades, in his own primitive way, to make them cut better. And they did! Many years later, when researching and developing the best woodcutting blades possible with our partners in Sweden, I was reminded of the trials and errors of my father. For that reason, Timber Wolf® band saw blades have been a tremendous personal investment.
The manufacturer in Sweden that we have teamed up with many years ago is the granddaddy of band saw blade technology. They invented the applied science of Electro-heat induction hardening (known as high-frequency hardening) in Sweden in 1946. This technology breakthrough was a closely held secret for 40 years and has given them and us a big advantage over our competition.
Our exclusive use of low tensioned, high ductile Swedish silicon steels, working in combination with our unique geometric gullet designs and sets, has resulted in our having many of the finest band saw blades in the world. All of our teeth are milled, not stamped or crush-ground. Our quality control is unsurpassed in the business. In fact, we are considered a leader in the manufacturing of specialized set tooth, high performance blades.
Our reputation and service is excellent. We guarantee all orders to be shipped within 48 hours, courteous personnel, and an awesome Technical Service Department.
Give us a try, you have nothing to lose. Everything we sell has an unlimited time and performance guarantee. We guarantee all of our welds except on blades shorter than 65″ in length or any blade that has been improperly sharpened. We do not, however, guarantee blades that are run on any three-wheel machine. If you do not like our blades we will refund your money and pay the freight upon their return. This also gives us a second chance the opportunity to analyze the blades in order to determine why they did not meet your satisfaction.
Sincerely,
Art Gschwind
CEO and Founder
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Suffolk only makes one blade and that is a "Premium" blade. Also, the only thing they make is band saw blades. I like buying from a one product company since I would think they have an interest in supplying that one product in a superior fashion. If you don't you go out of business and they have been around since 1976.
Milled, hardened teeth and Swedish silicon steel at a significant saving.
If you are hard on band saw blades why not try a Timberwolf? It will be at least equal to the SS blades and cheaper. Remember, buy direct or you won't save any money.
On another note the new 510 I picked up yesterday had an interesting accessory I didn't know existed. It has a 5/8 saw arbor that has a large 1 1/4 threaded flange similar to the arbor for a standard SS 10 inch saw blade. I have a couple of 5/8 arbors for standard blades which have the washers and nut but this is much nicer.