Grizzly G0555XH Owner's Manual page 39

Tooth Pitch
Measured as TPI (teeth per inch), tooth pitch
determines the number of teeth. More teeth per
inch (fine pitch) will cut slower, but smoother; while
fewer teeth per inch (coarse pitch) will cut rougher,
but faster. As a general rule, choose blades that
will have at least three teeth in the material at all
times. Use fine-pitched blades on harder woods
and coarse-pitched blades on softer woods.
Tooth Set
Two common tooth sets for wood bandsaw blades
are alternate and raker. Each different type of
tooth set removes material in a different manner,
leaving cuts with different characteristics (see
Figure 53).
Alternate
Figure 53. Common woodcutting bandsaw blade
tooth sets.
Alternate: An all-purpose arrangement
•
where the teeth are bent evenly left and right
of the blade.
Raker: Three teeth in a recurring group—one
•
bent left, one bent right, and then one that is
not bent. The raker set is ideal for most con-
tour cuts.
Model G0555XH (Mfd. Since 1/18)
Blade Material
Bandsaw blades must meet two requirements:
flexibility and hardness. The flexibility of a blade
allows it to travel on the wheel as a band, while
hardness allows the teeth to cut and hold an
edge. Modern materials technology has allowed
bandsaw blades to meet these requirements in
various ways.
Carbon Steel: These blades are differentially
heat treated to provide hard teeth that will hold an
edge, and yet be flexible in the back.
Carbide Tooth: Extremely hard carbide is either
welded onto or impregnated into the carbon steel
blades, providing superior edge-holding charac-
teristics (see Figure 54).
Raker
Bi-metal Blade: A strip of high-speed tool steel is
precision welded to a flexible carbon blade, then
teeth are ground into the blade to provide good
edge-holding qualities for blades taking a lot of
abuse (see Figure 55).
Carbon Steel
Carbide Impregnated Steel
Figure 54. Carbide-tooth blade composition.
Carbon Steel Blade
High-Speed Steel
Figure 55. Bi-metal blade composition.
Weld
-37-