What did I do to dull my bandsaw blade?

[elwoodblues]

x

[PaulMarcel]

Wow, all that's missing are the chrome knockoffs

I recently blew a lower thrust bearing that took out a 3/4" blade. When the bearing went, it jambed and locked the blade until it snapped. Anyway...

Are you sure the blade is now really dull? If it still cut pretty quickly given the slower feed rate, I'm guessing it is okay. The burn might be because you only had support for the back from the top. Unless you had it really highly tensioned, the bottom of the blade would want to twist being unsupported. So the blade going through starts straight then ends twisted. That generates a lot of heat. It's a bit of a guess that it could get hot enough to discolor the wood, but certainly when I've resawn 12" boards, the blade is warm at the end and there was no twisting through wood involved.

If you are going to run one bearing shy of a full saw, I'd take the lower outside bearing off and put it in place of the thrust bearing. Not great, but I think it will save your blade and make for better cuts. The tension should keep the blade close to where the bottom outside bearing was guiding it.

Also, bearings aren't cheap, at least decent replacement bearings. I bought a full set of bearings after my blowout at McMaster-Carr. If I had to do it today, I'd consider ceramic guides instead.

[nateswoodworks]

FYI, you can get most bearings at your local automotive store for a LOT less than tool suppliers, I found mine for less than half price. When I rebuilt my saw there wasn't a bearing I couldn't get there, even when the bearing went on my Iturra Blade Guide I was able to get replacements that were nicer than the originals so I replaced them all. I suppose it depends on your local store and the amount of time they will spend searching for a bearing but I would say it is worth a try especially since I wouldn't want to run without a bearing! Good luck and kep us posted.

Nate