Broken Bandsaw blade Recycling

[maineframer]

I run an LT40HDG and have accumulated around 8 or 9 broken  blades----do you just toss them in the trash or do any of you re-weld or otherwise recycle these blades.
I was going to put them in the dumpster but frugality "kicked in" and I thought I would post here.  ;)

[Tom Sawyer]

Scrap metal.  Maybe wait until you have a bunch of other stuff to take, or find a neighbour with a bunch of scrap and throw the blades in.

Tom

[Chuck White]

I roll mine up and put a zip-tie on them "for safety" and put them in the recycle bin for the trash man to pick up!

I suppose that if you had a recycling center nearby, you could save them until you had a substantial amount of weight and get money for them at the recycling center!

I have heard of some people welding their blades after a break, but usually (not always) there will be other cracks somewhere on the blade.


Chuck

[Tom]

I've tried to have them welded, but found that they break again anyway.  They get work hardened and will have cracks or weaknesses all around the band.

I've donate some of them to knife makers and made some knives of my own, but you can just use so many knives.

I fold them over and hit them with a hammer so that they break into pieces about a foot or two long, then store them somewhere in case I get the gumption to take them to a recycle center.

I've buried a lot of them too.  I figured that they would deteriorate and put iron in the soil in that particular spot, so why not.  A fellow told me that his grape vines weren't doing too good until he buried a bucket of old nails under them.  Why not old blades.   Might just be an old wives tale, but it got rid of the blades. :D

they make pretty good wood scrapers for finishing wood projects too.  How many of those can you need.  :-\

I've used them in fabrication when acetylene welding when I had nothing else. You can cover up a lot of stuff with one.

[ARKANSAWYER]

  I use mine for rebar in concrete all the time.  You can just send them back in a box to Re-sharp and let them worry about them.

[Papa1stuff]

I have had only a couple broken blades ,I sent they back to resharp and they were replaced at a 10% discount!

[D Martin]

I used one for a shim when fabricating a tensioner for my mill. I needed to make up a little for mis measurement so I cut two little pices off it, and stuck it behind the tensioner frame. It served on the mill as a blade then in the mill as a shim. 

[aksawyer]

First check for more cracks,if there are no more than the break was premature.I roll them up into tight circle and heat them with a weed burner,than weld it with my wirefeed,grind it smooth let it cool and use it again.I run an lt15 so my mill never over feeds.The lt15 is very friendly on blades.

[woodrat]

I break them into small pieces and haul them off with the scrap. I save a few around for odd projects and barn tools, too.

[tcsmpsi]

I hang mine on the back of the tool box in the mill shed.  I figure I'll keep them there until one day, they will be antiques and I'll make a mint.


                                                                                     :D

[Karl_N.]

I made a hoe out of a broken blade. I found a dead cedar sapling, cut it to about 5', bent the blade into a u-v shape around the end of the cedar which had a little crook to it and bolted it into place. Makes a really nice hoe for weeding out the garden. Next one I make will be with the teeth up, I'm not sure which will work best- the teeth do seem to pull out the roots pretty well.
Wish I had a picture to show you.

[Dave Shepard]

That's a great idea. Maybe I should make some of those to sell with the tomato stakes at the farmers market. :D

[StorminN]

We put them in a 55 gal barrel, either coiled or broken up, with the rest of our metal pallet strapping and such, and our recycle guy takes it all away and pays us a little for it...

-N.

[boardum]

Dido wih AKSAWYER. Only one crack weld them up and keep using them. Running a 6" double cut, welding a crack now and then is just part of process. The little 1 1/2" bands weld up quick without the needs of the larger bands, like preheating with a torch. As AK said, wire feed and grind them smooth. Just get the ends butted square or you might need to hammer them a little so they track straight.
  I like the hoe idea. good thinking.
When we haul the old bands off for scrap they want them rolled and tied or broke into 2-3' lengths so they are not a hazard. They always pay top dollar for the bands as #1 steel. A year ago that price was 375.00 a ton here. Haven't checked lately. Last I heard scrap #1 was down to 135.00

[mike_van]

I started a 55 gal drum of them in 2 ft. lengths.  I see mixed iron & steel at 162./ton now for less than truck loads, so it looks to be going back up.

[redprospector]

I'm going to try something new with my old blade's.
My sister came to visit last fall, she's one of those real "crafty" girls. She spotted an old broken blade rolled up and laying by the shed, and asked if she could have it. When I said yeah, she asked if I could take my angle grinder and knock the sharp points off the teeth. ???
She decorated it up and took it home as a rustic Christmas reath (actually looked pretty good). She called me a couple of weeks later and asked if I had another broken blade I could send her, she had sold the first one to a friend for $25.00.

I think that's pretty good. Buy a blade for $25, run it till it gives out, knock the points off and decorate it a little, and sell it for $25. My sister just might be a genious.  :D

Andy

[trapper]

pictures of the wreath?

[LeeB]

Weld them end to end and use it for barb wire fence.  :D

[redprospector]

pictures of the wreath?

Sorry, I didn't think anything of it untill she said she sold it.
I'll try to remember to get a picture when I (my wife) make one. Hopefully by then I'll be set up to post pictures.

Andy

[bic]

There sometimes used as a deterant for bears that get a little to nosey, leaning against windows in bush camps, just nail a piece from side to side of the window about 3-4" above window sills...you get the idea..

[LandfillLumber]

You can use them to keep a project up off the surface for finishing/spaying it works well just hit the teeth with a file once or twice so they are not sharp enough to bite into the project.I used old band saw blades for the same thing,but the sawmill blade give you better height.Victor

[bandmiller2]

I feed a legnth of it down  woodchuck holes let them no good varments handle it,leave a little where you can reach to reset it.Frank C.

[Qweaver]

I've always bought my HSS metal cutting blade steel in a roll and made my own blades by silver soldering in a jig.  But with our woodcutting  band saws the length of the blade might be more critical and the loss in squaring up and rewelding could be a problem.  I'm not sure about that.

[isawlogs]

I have made a few utility knoves with mine, but how many can I guy need. I had saved them up in coils for a good long time , then when I build my garage I uncoiled them into the ciment with the rebar. Now I break them up into two foot sections/lenghts and put them in a box, when scrapping out a car they get put in for added weight.  I am sure they come back as blades somewheres down down the road 

[r.man]

Anyone who has older farm buildings and has pigs around knows that it is very hard to keep them from breaking doors or anything else short of a log wall by lifting it with their snout. My father resorted to attaching old crosscut saw blades, and he probably sharpened them first, point down on the bottom of his granary door where the pig food was stored to stop them from breaking the door. I suspect old bandsaw blades would work just as well.