Anybody Ever Use These

[freudianfloyd]

Do any of you have experience with the Bahco Easy Cut M42 Band saw Blades? Here is the description:

The 3857 Easy-Cut 3/4 inch blade from Bahco (A Snap-On Industrial Brand) is a bi-metal bandsaw blade engineered to cut a variety of sizes and types of materials. Just one blade does it all, eliminating the headache of changing blades and lost production time in your facility. BAHCO Easy-Cut M42 Bi-metal Bandsaw Blades are designed exclusively for general purpose sawing in tool rooms, machine shops, maintenance rooms, fabricating shops and welding shops. We offer the lowest cost bi-metal multipurpose blade available today.

Easy-Cut blades cut almost anything without changing blades: Tool Steel, Wood, Pipe, Mild Steel, Plastic, Channel, Stainless Steel, Sheet Metal, Angle Iron, Aluminum Tubing, I Beams, Copper, Solids H Beams, Brass, Bundles & Drill Rods.

The unique patented tooth design cuts any shape or size in virtually any material, while eliminating the need to specify pitch or tooth form.

Easy to use - patented anti-tooth-stripping design and M-42 tooth tips combine to create a blade that lasts longer and will not strip teeth like other blades, allowing the operator to spend more time cutting and less time changing saw blades.


They sound almost too good to be true, so they probably are but.....

 

[freudianfloyd]

Well I guess I will have to be the first to try. I will give a review if I get a chance.

 

[toolchaser]

If their anything like the Bahco hacksaw blades, they should be awesome...

 

[freudianfloyd]

If their anything like the Bahco hacksaw blades, they should be awesome...

I hope you are right. I finally got my vertical bandsaw fixed after tearing up quite a few other blades, so I'm dying to try it out with a nice new sharp one.

 

[jeremy v]

Here is the Bahco catalog PDF that talks about them. The Easy Cut blade info starts on page 11. There is a nice cutting comparison table on page 11 that doesn't make them look like the best option by comparison. It looks like the 3857 blade cuts GOOD in all materials, but 4 of the other 6 Bahco blades shown in the same chart perform BETTER or BEST in all the same materials. I haven't looked at any of the blade prices though, maybe the Easy Cut is considered a versatile blade with good bang for the buck.

http://www.bahco.com/files/uploads/files/Metalcutting Catalogue.pdf

 

[freudianfloyd]

Here is the Bahco catalog PDF that talks about them. The Easy Cut blade info starts on page 11. There is a nice cutting comparison table on page 11 that doesn't make them look like the best option by comparison. It looks like the 3857 blade cuts GOOD in all materials, but 4 of the other 6 Bahco blades shown in the same chart perform BETTER or BEST in all the same materials. I haven't looked at any of the blade prices though, maybe the Easy Cut is considered a versatile blade with good bang for the buck.

http://www.bahco.com/files/uploads/files/Metalcutting Catalogue.pdf

Nice find. I am hoping for my purposes, that the Easy Cut is a good all around blade that will work on most things I would make in my home shop. The others seem to be more industrial as I am having a hard time finding them for my little 4x6 horizontal and 14" vertical bandsaws.

 

[sleepy127]

The things you want to look for are what type of material they are made of, in this case M42 which is 8% cobalt (real hard, good for cutting hard metals and goes through soft metals like butter) and the Teeth per inch (TPI). The material you want to cut determines TPI. There are charts out there that explain what to use for what type of material.

The brand is a good brand so if you get the right blade for what you want to do then you should be happy. Only other thing I will say is that while their claim of "one blade to rule them all" (is it ok if I paraphrase?) may be off. It may do ok in most materials but it certainly won't do it great. If you don't buy a blade for the material you are wanting to cut there may be a point where you become dissatisfied with the performance. It may not be fast enough or dulls too fast. Just food for thought.

 

[freudianfloyd]

The things you want to look for are what type of material they are made of, in this case M42 which is 8% cobalt (real hard, good for cutting hard metals and goes through soft metals like butter) and the Teeth per inch (TPI). The material you want to cut determines TPI. There are charts out there that explain what to use for what type of material.

The brand is a good brand so if you get the right blade for what you want to do then you should be happy. Only other thing I will say is that while their claim of "one blade to rule them all" (is it ok if I paraphrase?) may be off. It may do ok in most materials but it certainly won't do it great. If you don't buy a blade for the material you are wanting to cut there may be a point where you become dissatisfied with the performance. It may not be fast enough or dulls too fast. Just food for thought.

That's the "innovation" with these blades. They don't tell you the TPI because they say you can use them on any material and any thickness. If that is the case, it would make it ideal for my home shop.

 

[zmotorsports]

Subscribed. Please post back your findings/opinions if you don't mind.

I have been using the Lenox bi-metal blades and have been very happy with them but I am always anxious to hear what other people are using.

Mike.

 

[freudianfloyd]

Subscribed. Please post back your findings/opinions if you don't mind.

I have been using the Lenox bi-metal blades and have been very happy with them but I am always anxious to hear what other people are using.

Mike.

Will do. I hope to order them tomorrow.

 

[freudianfloyd]

Update....

For aanybody waiting on an update of these Bahco bandsaw blades, I would have to say they have been holding up great. I have not put them to any extreme use, but the blade in my horizontal has been used on everything from wood to steel to stainless in various thicknesses without any issues.

The one on my horizontal bandsaw has been used more, and has held up great. I would say they are holding up as good as the Lenox and Starrett blades I use at work, for much less cost. If you are looking for a "one size fits all" blade, these may be as close as you can get.