Hacksaw blades

[JonParticipant @jon]

All manufacturing blade quality went down the pan at least 11 years ago, fortunately still have a few Eclipse of old left.

As someone that used to use daily the old Eclipse as a comparison lasted around 2 1/2 weeks. newer Eclipse, Bahco, Starret and other supposed quality brands last of the order 1 1/2 days, same with files.
New current blades cut well at first but rapidly wear.

As for ripping the teeth off you should always have a minimum of three teeth at any point.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Update: For information …

I took the opportunity to advise Starrett UK about this interesting discussion, and have just received a response from their Marketing Manager, John Cove:

[quote]

Perceived quality issues are always of huge concern to us.  Having read through the thread, it is difficult to give you any kind of accurate feedback without some more information on what was being cut, the exact blade being used, the type of frame, blade tension etc etc.

What I can tell you is that we are constantly testing our blades against the key competitive product, much of which has been listed in the thread, and product performance is never an issue. No matter who we test against, our blades always offer at minimum comparable performance and in the majority of cases enhanced performance when compared against competitive product

If a customer buys a blade and that blade fails for whatever reason, we would encourage the customer to return the blade to us. It will then be metallurgically tested in our lab and if the failure can in any way be attributed to a manufacturing issue then the blades will be replaced automatically.

[/quote]

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I am quite sure that any reputable manufacturer would give a similar response; but I do find it encouraging that he took the trouble to read the thread, and respond so promptly.

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 21/12/2015 09:40:28

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Posted by Speedy Builder5 on 20/12/2015 11:22:13:

Yes, but what do we do with the old blades – I just can't bring myself to throw them away. There have been threads on what you can use old blades for. We need a thread on how to break the habit of just keeping them – for something useful !!
BobH

Some years ago I cleared a workshop out where the old boy had converted a Myford ML10 wood lathe into a saw sharpener and it could also do hacksaw blades.

There were a few sharpened ones kicking about which I kept and believe me these were sharp and cut very well.

Considering that these things are stamped out by the millions they can't be produced to the best quality or no one would buy them. If your time is your own then it might be worth it.

As an aside the last batch of Eclipse blades I bought, blue all hard's, are absolute rubbish. Unfortunately I bought a load so stuck with them for a bit.

On my big band-saw which will cut up to 18" x 12" I have found that the best blades for cutting and lasting are Lennox, perhaps it's time to see how their hacksaw blades match up ?

I try to keep clear of Starrett after having had a very, very expensive experience with them some years ago.

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

Just out of interest, I had a couple of Elephant brand hacksaw blades, they belonged to my Plumber Grandfather, and possibly dated to pre WW2, these blades were 1" wide x 12", with teeth cut on both edges. They have had many years use, they have all of their teeth, and they now reside in our museum.

Ian S C

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

10 packs of 24 tpi eclipse blades from a well known site have been fine for me so far

[Mick HenshallParticipant @mickhenshall99321]

Sandflex blades have served me well made in Sweden annd I use in hand saw and mechanical hacksaw, 18tpi

Mick

[Dave HalfordParticipant @davehalford22513]

It's always possible we are running into counterfeit blades and they are just not what they purport to be.

[egaParticipant @ega]

The OP asked for advice about "general use" but the key to hacksaw heaven is selecting the right blade for the particular job and I would recommend having at least three frames ready for use.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Dave Halford on 21/12/2015 12:33:36:

It's always possible we are running into counterfeit blades and they are just not what they purport to be.

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See post #6 here

MichaelG.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by John Stevenson on 21/12/2015 10:13:56:

Some years ago I cleared a workshop out where the old boy had converted a Myford ML10 wood lathe into a saw sharpener and it could also do hacksaw blades.

There were a few sharpened ones kicking about which I kept and believe me these were sharp and cut very well.

Dennis Chaddock showed a setup for hacksaw blades and said it was worth doing because they were sharper then new blades, even though they didn't have much set.

So now all you have to do is finish that Quorn, John.

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

This thread reminds me of the general problem with HSS. The term in itself doesn't mean much. During training all of the stuff I used was brand named with for instance the analysis on the side of packets of tool bits. Hacksaw blades probably all came from the same company for years and years and known to be reliable. My favourite tool bit was a brand with a name something like Novo Inva. More expensive than others. The packets showed a slight variation in the constituents plus other materials and it was way better than others. These days HSS can range from M2 to varying degrees of cobalt and that is all we are told. One thing for sure an HSSE 5% cobalt hacksaw blade is likely to last a lot longer than plain old M2 but then as is often the case there is no info at all on them so who knows what they really are made up with. HSS in itself doesn't really mean anything at all.

John

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[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by John W1 on 21/12/2015 14:01:01:

This thread reminds me of the general problem with HSS. The term in itself doesn't mean much.

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John,

You might find this of interest.

MichaelG.

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P.S. … just found this interesting Indian Standard

Note the enlightened attitude to public disclosure

… have you seen the price of BS/ISO/etc. publications 

 

Edit: it's worth going back one level on that Indian page, to this long list.

 

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 21/12/2015 15:26:01

[egaParticipant @ega]

Speedy Builder5:

According to the late D H Chaddock the best-known use for old hacksaw blades is conversion to tooth rests on tool grinders – another reason for having a Quorn!

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 21/12/2015 12:57:14:

So now all you have to do is finish that Quorn, John.

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Need a PhD in ball handles first…………………………….

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

That is interesting Michael. Including the life of tool steel blades at 1/2 the stroke rate. That's what we had to use during training and if they weren't worn all along the edge there was no way to get a new one until it was. I have bought so called HSS blades that don't last as long or cut as well. The standard does show scope for variations in the HSS make up.

I usually try and find BS and ISO details on the web. Never complete but sometimes adequate. The lack of info can be irritating at times.

I once design a largish press tool where the strip was fed through twice, once with the strip reversed to save on waste. A T shaped part. I used a pull back onto it stop – spring loaded with a bit of hacksaw blade. It didn't go down well with some – too radical maybe, not sure. They do make good finger style supports for tool grinders. It's pretty easy to keep the flutes on milling cutters in contact with them while the sides are being resharpened. Ends too.

John

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[egaParticipant @ega]

Here's an example of what DHC had in mind:

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

There is another arrangement I have seen used where the indexing finger isn't on the one being sharpened. I had a TCT radial arm saw blade sharpened once. The sharpening didn't work out to well as it was a side cutting finishing blade and that aspect was partly lost but otherwise it was fine and cut like new. Must be something to do with how Freud mount the tips.

John

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