My band saw blade snapped mid-cut on a whole ribeye yesterday

I was breaking down a 60 lb primal ribeye for steaks yesterday morning around 10 AM and about halfway through the first cut the blade just gave out with a loud pop. Sent a chunk of metal flying across the cooler floor and scared the new guy pretty bad. Turns out I had been running the tension too high for weeks and it wore a weak spot right near the weld. I had to switch over to my backup handsaw to finish the whole thing which took forever and messed up my timing for the lunch rush. The blade was only three weeks old so I'm wondering if I got a bad batch or if I'm just cranking it too tight. Has anyone else had this happen with the bimetal blades from the supply house on High Street?

4 comments

4 Comments

knight.mason2mo ago

Yeah that tension issue will get you every time. I had the same thing happen with a bimetal blade from a different supplier, snapped right at the weld after maybe two weeks. Check your gauge too, if you're running a thinner blade for those ribeyes it's way more touchy with tension. I backed mine off a quarter turn from where I thought it should be and haven't had a problem since. Did you notice any wobble before it let go or was it just sudden?

hugo_bennett2mo ago

Funny you mention the weld, but I actually saw a bandsaw blade fail because the guy was running it through a half-frozen product. He had some ribeyes that were still partially frozen in the core and the blade hit that hard spot, twisted, and snapped at the weld instantly. Even with perfect tension, a frozen center will wreck a blade way faster than any tension issue will. Might be worth checking your incoming meat temp if you're seeing failures at the weld.

nancy5241mo ago

Did you notice any wobble" gets me every time, I had one that sang like a tuning fork before it went.

jennyp191mo ago

Man, that's brutal. I feel for you, that pop sound is the worst, especially when you're in the middle of a 60 pounder. I had a similar thing happen last fall with some whole striploins, blade went sideways and kicked a piece of bone right into my wrist. @knight.mason I hear you on the tension, I was running mine like a guitar string and it just gave out on a cold morning. The weld spot is always the weakest link, it seems like. I think I was cranking it too tight trying to get a cleaner cut, but it just wore it down fast.