This guide is for workshop supervisors, maintenance teams and buyers whose saw blades lose teeth on tube or bar. A chipped tooth costs you a blade, a stopped machine and a wasted cut. A broken tooth can have more than one cause, so here is a list of what to check before you reorder.
Look at the teeth first
Do not throw the blade away yet. Keep it, and look at where the damage is.
- One broken tooth, with the rest in good order.
- Several teeth chipped at the corner.
- Teeth chipped all round the blade.
- Chips on one side only.
Take clear photos of the blade from the front and from the side, close to the damaged teeth. Note when the damage appeared: at the first cuts, after a long run, or after a change of material. These facts help us far more than the word "chipped". If you have an old blade of the same model that worked well, keep it for comparison.
Check the blade against the material
A blade is made for a kind of steel and a kind of cut. Our catalogue rates each blade on rows such as Low Tensile, Medium Tensile, High Tensile, Stainless Steel, Thin tube and Multi/thick tube. Compare your material with those rows before you order again.
Here is an example from our KINS' RED line. The MT blade lists Low Tensile at 4 and Medium Tensile at 8. The LF blade lists Low Tensile at 9 and Medium Tensile at 8. The two blades are in the same line, but they rate differently for the same steel.
Tell us the exact material: carbon steel, stainless steel, or another grade. If it is stainless, tell us the grade. If the material changed recently, mention that as well.
For stationary tube cutting, our catalogue lists the KINS' BLUE line. It has rows for thin tube and for multi or thick tube. Check which kind of tube you cut.
Flying cut-off on a tube mill
On a tube mill, the blade cuts while the tube keeps moving. Our KINS' ORANGE line is the catalogue's flying cut-off line. It has rows for carbon steel, stainless steel, scarf, tube and profile.
If you run a flying cut-off and teeth chip, tell us the tube shape and the material. The stationary lines and the flying cut-off line are different products. Check that the line matches your machine.
Vibration, clamping and the machine
Vibration is one of the first things to check, because a blade that shakes in the cut can chip teeth. It can come from several places.
- The tube or bar is not held firmly, and moves in the clamp.
- The blade does not sit flat on the flanges, or the flanges are dirty or worn.
- The machine has play in a bearing or a guide.
- The blade has been hit or dropped, or it was stored with other tools on top of it.
- The surface of the tube or bar is rough, or it has hard scale or a weld seam where the blade enters.
Follow the machine maker's instructions for clamping and for mounting the blade. If you are not sure the machine is running true, ask your maintenance team to check it. We cannot judge that from a photo.
Change one thing at a time when you test, so you know which change helped. Write down the date and the blade you fitted.
Tell us how the machine behaves. A change in sound, a rough cut surface or marks on the tube can all point to vibration.
Colour on the teeth is a different symptom. See saw blade overheating and discoloured teeth. For rough cut ends, see burrs and rough ends.
What to send us for a quote
- The blade line and model name, and the size and number on the blade if you can read it.
- Photos of the damaged teeth, taken close up from two sides.
- The material and grade you cut, and the tube or bar size.
- The machine type: stationary, semi-automatic or flying cut-off on a tube mill.
- When the damage started, and what changed just before.
- How the material is held, and whether you notice vibration.
- The quantity you need.
You can browse our saw blade range, then request a quote or message us on WhatsApp. Tell us and we will confirm the right blade for your cut.