bandsaw blades

[brent5631]

okay quick question.
If i am going to get a roll of bandsaw material and only want to spend the dough for a blade of a certain tpi. is it better to get a higher tpi and have to wait longer for it to cut thicker stock or get the lesser tpi?
I do occasionally cut 1-1.5 bar stock and also smaller material like 14 gauge tubing.

 

[Vicegrip]

High TPI might just clog and heat up on thick stock. Each tooth carves out a chip of metal as it passes through the stick you are cutting. The goal is to have each tooth carve a curl out that is about the size of the curved gullet of the tooth. to high a TPI and the chips overfill the gullet and gall or smear in the kerf causing a poor cut, clogged blades and over heating. Too few teeth and the teeth try and cut too much metal per pass damaging the points or jamming the blade. 2 teeth per stock width is a round about target. With tubing this all goes out the window as the TPI needs to be higher due to the ever changing angle of attack a the blade moves through the tube.