Blade speed is how fast the teeth pass through the work. Spec sheets give it in feet per minute (ft/min or SFPM), metres per minute or metres per second. It is the main difference between a woodworking bandsaw and a metal-cutting one, and it decides what a saw can cut.
Working it out.
If your manual doesn’t give the speed, you can work it out from the wheel diameter and how fast the wheels turn:
speed = π × D × rpm
- D is the wheel diameter, measured across the tyre.
- rpm is how many turns the wheel makes per minute, not the motor’s speed, unless the motor drives the wheel directly.
Example: a 14 in (0.356 m) wheel turning at 800 rpm moves the blade 3.1416 × 0.356 × 800 ≈ 895 m per minute, or about 2,930 ft/min. If the motor drives the wheel through a belt, divide the motor speed by the ratio of the pulley sizes to get the wheel speed. These figures are only an illustration; use your saw’s own.
Wood, aluminium and steel.
- Wood cuts best fast. Woodworking bandsaws typically run their blades at a few thousand feet per minute.
- Steel needs a slow blade, or the teeth overheat and dull. Sawblade.com’s chart, for example, suggests about 250 ft/min for mild steel and 120 ft/min for stainless steel in small sections.
- Aluminium, brass and plastics sit in between and depend on the alloy, the blade and the saw. See cutting aluminium and plastics.
Saws with more than one speed.
Many metal-cutting bandsaws have several speeds, set by moving a drive belt between pulleys or with a gearbox, and some woodworking saws have a low speed for non-ferrous metals and plastics. Variable-speed saws let you dial in the speed. Change belt-driven speeds only with the saw unplugged, as the manual describes, and follow its table of speeds for each material.
Speed, feed and the blade.
Speed works together with feed, how hard you push, and the blade’s teeth. Too fast in steel and the teeth burn; too slow in wood and the cut is rough and slow; too much feed at any speed and teeth strip. When a cut goes badly, check all three before blaming the blade; see bandsaw blade problems.
Find your bandsaw and its manual ↗︎Sources
- Sawblade.com, “Band saw blade speed and feed chart”.