Tools From Bandsaw Blade

[TexasLady]

5/20/12

I took a sculpture class in college last summer. After the class ended, I found the big, long, saw blade from our bandsaw in the wastebasket. It had worn out and maintenance had replaced it. Of course, I couldn't keep my hands off of it, so now it's in a box in my house, waiting for its next purpose in life. I've read here on this forum stories of folks who've made wonderful tools,... knives and such,... out of pieces of random metal they have found. Sometimes their creations are super-effective. But sometimes, I've read comments from highly knowledgeable forum members (who really know their metallurgy), saying that the composition of such-and-such was too brittle (or too flexible, or too hard, or too soft, etc.) to make a such-and-such (a knife?) out of it. I'm hoping to avoid putting a lot of work into something that has no chance of success. But here I am with this great band saw,... not really worn out,... just not sharp enough to use for another semester in a college sculpture class,... and I'd lke to know what I might make out of it that could further my leatherwork. Thanks. - TexasLady

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

It really depends on the band saw blade. Some are all tool steel (carbon steel, high speed steel, etc), others are bi-metal blades that have a soft back and a hard cutting edge. Then it depends on how wide, and thick the blade is, and what you may want to make with it. My blacksmithing forum members uses it to make billets of pattern welded steel for bigger projects.

[TexasJack]

In order to make things out of it, you have to be able to cut it and grind it into shape. Depending on the blade and on what you want to make, that may be a bit of work. Grinding steel heats it up and too much heat will ruin the steel for use as a blade. It can be annealed and then quenched when you're done, but that takes some knowledge of what the particular steel is. In addition, drilling holes in it to affix a handle can be tough - most drill bits won't survive.

People do make some things out of old blades. I finished out a knife made from a very wide bandsaw blade and made a sheath for the finished knife for a friend. Her father had started it years earlier but died before he could finish. I remember it being a lot of work and I wouldn't have taken it on except that it meant a lot to a friend.

Other than making some sort of knife blade, I'm not really sure what tools you envision making.

[TexasLady]

5/22/12

Thanks to you both. Those were really good answers.

Biggundoctor, I'll be able to get some measurements off of my blade. But, I'll have to hunt down the maintenance man (who is actually one of the teachers) to find out the composition of the blade. You put me to work, using the term "billets of pattern welded steel". I had to Google it. And that's how I found the gorgeous work done by Robert P. Shyan-Norwalt. See his photos: http://www.octavia.net/anglosaxon/theCreationOfAPatternWeldedBlade2.htm Believe it or not, the college sculpture class that I took included 'welding'. We had several types of welding machines. The welding job that I did in attaching my heavy metal pieces together took on a life of its own. Every time I'd try to 'even it up', I'd make yet another drip. You get the picture. Still, without having tried it, I couldn't have had my present appreciation for the skill it takes to do a neat welding job.

TexasJack, I'm so glad for those warnings on the difficulties that will be encountered if I persist in this madness. I'd taken a college Jewelry-Making class in which my copper jewelry would get too hot to hold while grinding, or even buffing, it. I used a gas torch to anneal copper, but we didn't work with steel. I'm glad that you were able to finish that knife for your friend. Wow! and a sheath for it too? And I'm sorry she lost her father. But, I hope it's not too politically incorrect, under the circumstances, to now say how very amused I am at the idea of charging all of my artist friends with finishing my houseful of unfinished art projects in case of my own demise,... and telling them that it's their obligation to figure out how to finish them. Stuff that even I couldn't figure out how to finish. :-)

As to what to make out of my bandsaw blade that would further my leatherwork,... maybe there isn't anything to make with it. If it wouldn't rust, I could use it as a clay tool. Again, thanks. - TexasLady

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

This is a site that will show you some fantastic pattern welded blades. Jim lives down the way from me in the big city. www.atar.com

Clay tools would be fine, you don't have to worry about the rust as long as you dry them off when done. That would be a good application for this.

Depending on the size of the blade, it could be used for rule dies.

Edited May 22, 2012 by BIGGUNDOCTOR

[TexasLady]

5/22/12

Biggundoctor,

"Steel rule dies", huh? At first I thought, "Why do you insist on making me increase my vocabulary?" So, I Googled 'steel rule dies',... and wow! What a great idea! I love it. I found this site: http://www.die-cut.net/steel_rule_dies.htm I've got plywood and carving tools,... no router though. But I think that I could make my own die. I could use it for clay or for leather. And, the work at Jim's site www.atar.com is just amazing. Such precision. Beautiful work on those knives.

So, tell me, do common folks ever make a die and use it to cut out leather shapes successfully? - TexasLady

[Northmount]

I was looking for more info as well for making dies. There is a little info in this thread, but he never followed up with the results. Dies

CTG

[TexasLady]

5/22/12

Thanks, northmount. Yes, that's a great Thread. 2007? Maybe he just can't wear out those dies, and doesn't want to report back to us prematurely? This gives me hope of being able to someday mass produce some part of my leatherwork. I don't have a press, so I wonder how else I could get a die to work for me. I've already forgotten what it was that the author of that other Thread said he was using. - TexasLady

[TwinOaks]

You could always make a "hammer-die". It's quite a bit trickier to use, but you essentially make a plywood pattern (5/8ths inch thick or better) using a bandsaw, scrollsaw, or handheld jigsaw. Then, you nail the band saw blade along the sides with only about 1/4 inch or so protruding from the wood on the 'bottom' of the pattern. Then, carefully sharpen (by hand) that 1/4 inch 'blade'. Drill a hole or two in the center of the wooden pattern so you can push the leather out when you're done. You place the pattern on the leather and use a hammer of some sort (dead blow hammer recommended) to punch the pattern out of a piece of leather.

[TexasLady]

5/22/12

Thanks, TwinOaks. Yes, I could do that with my saw blade. I've got a jigsaw,... though the bandsaw or the scrollsaw would do a much smoother job. We had a scrollsaw in that college sculpture course that I took. I really miss it. And, you made me learn more words again. "dead blow hammer" That's useful to know about. I'll get myself one of those at Home Depot or Lowe's. I wonder how thick of leather that kind of a die would cut? I can't help myself. This is off-topic, but I'm going to post a photo of my little oriental tree sculpture that I cut free-hand with a scrollsaw last summer in a college sculpture class. My only regret is that when my instructor took this photo with his camera, I couldn't get him to rotate the tree-trunk pedastal to coincide with the 'back' and the 'front' views of the tree. - TexasLady

Edited May 23, 2012 by TexasLady

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

NIce tree.

Jim is probably one of the top 4 bladesmiths in the country, and he was recently finishing his 4th book on knife making.

As to dead blow hammers, they work good for some applications , but not everything. For something like this it would be fine, but a punch with a narrow handle , no. They are usually made with rubber, or plastic faces that can be easily damaged from the force of the blow on a narrow hard object.

Since you like sculpture , go to the iforgeiron site, and search for a member called scrapartoz. He does beautiful scrapmetal sculptures, really world class stuff. He has one thread that has gotten fairly long with his various projects.

You can make the die without nailing the blade to the board (which requires punching holes first), by cutting the pattern with a scroll saw that has a blade kerf as wide as the used blade's thickness. Cut the shape, form the blade around it, and slide the other piece of wood back onto the pattern trapping the blade. Finish it by attaching a backer piece to the blade holding assembly. Some blades will bend, some will snap if bent too sharply, so be careful.

[TexasLady]

5/22/12

I'll check out that site tomorrow, Biggundoctor. Thanks for telling me about it. Yes, I think I see what you mean about cutting out the area and then using that same piece of wood to wedge the blade tight into the thin space that was removed. Sounds like a good time to wear my goggles. iforgeiron I'll look for it soon. Late now. See all of you tomorrow. Thanks for the help. - TexasLady