bandsaw blade welders without shears

Bill D · Jun 13, 2018

I see many of the old bandsaws for sale that have a blade welder builtin do not have a shear. Some have a separate shear bolted onto another location around the corner from welder.
If the machine lacks a shear how are you supposed to cut the blade stock to length before welding? Would bolt cutters be good or maybe a abrasive disk in an angle grinder?
I suppose in a machine shop with multiple bandsaws you might save money by having only one shear in a central location. Not sure why you then need a more expensive welder for each saw.
Or maybe people take off the shears for some reason, like sharpening the blades, and they get lost over time.
Bill

DDoug · Jun 13, 2018

Tin snips work juuuuust fine.....Jeesh.

HuFlungDung · Jun 13, 2018

digger doug said:
Tin snips work juuuuust fine.....Jeesh.

Little bit hard on the snips, I would think....that is, if you ever want to cut tin again

Plus snips tend to curl the blade and you don't want that.

I'd use a cutting wheel: either a big 14" one on a chop saw or a 3" one on a die grinder (with shield). I usually have to grind the ends of the blade in reverse tandem anyways on some sort of grinder, so the shear isn't actually the final stage before the welding.

DDoug · Jun 13, 2018

HuFlungDung said:
Little bit hard on the snips, I would think....that is, if you ever want to cut tin again Plus snips tend to curl the blade and you don't want that.

I'd use a cutting wheel: either a big 14" one on a chop saw or a 3" one on a die grinder (with shield). I usually have to grind the ends of the blade in reverse tandem anyways on some sort of grinder, so the shear isn't actually the final stage before the welding.

Those older blade welders were built for carbon steel blades, HSS wasn't around yet.

Larry Dickman · Jun 13, 2018

HuFlungDung said:
Plus snips tend to curl the blade and you don't want that.

that's what the built in grinding wheel is for.

L Vanice · Jun 13, 2018

My welder has a shear attached. But I find it more convenient to pull the blade stock out of the box while laying it on the floor. Measure, adding an extra 1/8" for the butt weld, and cut with aviation snips, also called compound snips. I can eyeball a 90 degree angle close enough to work OK in the welder. But you can do an accurate grind on a belt sander, laying the two cut ends on top of each other, with a half twist in the blade. Even if the angle is not 90 degrees, the butt joint will match in the welder clamps. The snip jaws do not seem to be damaged by cutting blades, but I have other snips I use for cutting tin plate and shim stock.

compound snips - Yahoo Image Search Results

Bolt cutters will not work. You need a shearing action.

Larry

Bill D · Jun 13, 2018

I realize now that cutting with an abrasive disk is fine. it may heat and reduce the temper but the joint has to be annealed afterwards anyway. The way I will have to shoehorn the BS into a corner would make a mounted shear difficult to line up the blade stock to the left.
I guess the answer here is do not worry when looking at used saws if they have a shear or not. Having a welder does not seem to add much to the asking price.
Bill D.

DMF_TomB · Jun 13, 2018

i always grind the ends after cutting anyway. never have a problem cutting with tin snips

adama · Jun 13, 2018

HuFlungDung said:
Little bit hard on the snips, I would think....that is, if you ever want to cut tin again Plus snips tend to curl the blade and you don't want that.

Not really, band saw blade, even bi metal blade is softer than metal strapping, the curl is the biggest issue to over come.

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