Good price for Ellis Bandsaw Blades

[garybdavis]

I'm picking up my Ellis 1800 next week and the LWS I'm buying it from makes blades. They sell bi-metal variable pitch blades for this saw for $38. I forget the brand, but I think it was a good one.

Is this a fair price and how many different blades/pitches do I need to keep around? The majority of my cutting will be hot rolled steel, maybe 14ga square tubing to 2" solid hot rolled round bar.

[precisionworks]

That saw uses an 11’0” x 1” x .035 blade. I buy M K Morse Bimetal Matrix blades for $18 (8' long), so your blade should cost around $25.

$38 is pretty high. Try Decatur Custom Tool at 800.235.0637, ask for Stacey Groenwald.

[x-ray]

That price seems right, the place I like to get blades from would cost ya in the thirty range + ship for that size.

http://bandsawblade.com/arntz_band%20saw%20blades.htm

Swapping blades is simple on the Kama, don't know about the Ellis, if its too much of a pain, and you only have a few cuts of the gauge materials then I would just decrease the down feed pressure for the thin stuff, and run the optimum variable blade pitch for the thicker stuff.

[garybdavis]

A while back, one of the forum members cut some like size steel and timed the cuts so I could compare the speed to a chop saw. So, I’m comfortable with the speed of the cuts, but I haven’t thought much about how long a blade will last. I’ve run through a few hundred 14” abrasive chop saw blades in my shop.

I'm beginning to wonder how long a bandsaw blade will last compared to a package of chop saw blades. My first experience with a metal cutting bandsaw was not a good one so I guess I’m a bit tentative.

You guys talked me into plunking down $3k+ for a saw I’ve never even seen so if this doesn’t work out, you guys are in big trouble.

[lramberson]

I run ELLIS blades and if you break them in properly, I have seen 100 + hrs of constant cutting with no issues. Try that with a chop saw .

We run the GP (general purpose) blade on a production job. The saw was working 10 hrs a day for 2 weeks and the had no issues cutting both drill pipe and 1/2" plate.

The problems we experiance are caused by operator error, dropping the saw head, or not securing the material correctly. The second most common is the usual force feed and they all have the same result.
The dreaded head bounce and I am weird and change the blade just because I can't stand it.
I have worked the saw with head bounce just to get the job out the door.

You should enjoy the machine....

[garybdavis]

I've watched the Ellis DVD that explains how to properly break in the blade, but what is the dreaded head bounce?

[BigDTig]

I've watched the Ellis DVD that explains how to properly break in the blade, but what is the dreaded head bounce?

It happens when you have damaged teeth on the blade and the next tooth catches so much there is a head ricochet as the force causes upward momentum of the saw head.

It's an easy problem to solve: change your blade.

[garybdavis]

BigDTig,

Hey I'm in your neck of the woods this week. Later on this week, I'm picking up my Ellis from IGF Industrial over Ft Worth. They had the best pricing and were the closest dealer to me.

Thanks for the head bounce explanation. Makes sense now.

[precisionworks]

I'm beginning to wonder how long a bandsaw blade will last compared to a package of chop saw blades

By my best estimate, a kazillion times longer. Mine go for a month or more with three to four hours cutting per day, say 60 hours per month. I'd use 120 chop saw wheels to cut that same material.

120 x $12 = $2400 on the chopsaw. About 1% of that on the bandsaw. It easily produces the lowest cost per cut of any tool.

[garybdavis]

Okay, I'll quit second-guessing you guys and just go pick up the saw. Perhaps my bandsaw blade will rust out before I wear it out.

Afterall, you guys made me trade in my Bobcat 225 with 5 hours on it for a TB302. That one cost me $1500, you know.

[ShieldArc]

120 x $12 = $2400 on the chopsaw. About 1% of that on the bandsaw. It easily produces the lowest cost per cut of any tool.

You should try Allison Abrasive chop wheels, i think they are about $8 each. Thats an $800 a month savings.

[precisionworks]

try Allison Abrasive chop wheels

The abrasive chop saw is my dimensioning tool of last resort. Oxygen Axe or chop saw ...

I finally settled on the Norton Charger Free Cut wheel. More expensive than others, thin, does a good job on stainless.

The best chop saw? One of those Eur-O-peen things that weighs 500#, costs $5000, and turns 50 RPM...

[lramberson]

Gary, I am doing a Ellis order this morning I will tell you how bad it hurts.

The head bounce issue is user caused. I have seen shops that actually like it when they have the bounce. NOT THIS BOY, the Ellis in my shop will cut very accurate and percise. I did have to do a very slight adjustment to get dead on accuracy. I will see if I can find the dial in pictures of the cuts.

You will like the unit, I am sure of it...

[garybdavis]

Seems like I remember someone on the forum that had an accuracy issue with their Ellis, but everyone else says it's darn accurate. I'm still trying to get over my bad "el cheapo" band saw experience from a number of years back.

Post some pictures if you can so. Hopefully, mine will be dead on right out of the crate.

[x-ray]

"The dreaded head bounce "

The Grizzly G9742 http://www.grizzly.com/products/G9742 , did the same thing when trying to cut thin aluminum or sometimes on 16ga tubing as the teeth snagged. Adjusting the down-feed helped with the steel tubing, but did nothing for the Aluminum stuff. Changing blades may have helped, but that was its own ordeal