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The Bandsaw Store
A bandsaw cutting through a rough grey casting held in a vice, with curled swarf around the cut, a gloved hand at the right edge and more castings on a pallet behind

Industry guide

Blades that survive sand, gates and risers

Foundry-pattern carbide and bi-metal bandsaw blades for aluminium, brass, copper, bronze and magnesium, chosen for the abrasive, interrupted cutting of casting shops. Every blade is welded to your machine's length.

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Foundry cutting punishes ordinary blades. Castings arrive with sand still in the surface, gates and risers give interrupted cuts that hammer the tooth line and soft non-ferrous alloys pack gullets until the blade stops cutting and starts rubbing. If you run a foundry or a non-ferrous fabrication shop cutting aluminium, brass, copper, bronze or magnesium, you need blades built for that duty rather than general workshop patterns pressed into it.

That is why foundry-pattern carbide-tipped blades lead this page: tungsten carbide tips on an alloy backing stay hard and keep their edge in sandy, abrasive cutting, while set-tooth versions create the clearance interrupted cuts demand. Bi-metal and carbon options cover the lighter end of the same work. Every blade is welded to the length your machine takes.

Recommended blades for this work

Blades on sale today that suit this work, each with the reason from its own listing. Every one is welded to your machine's length.

Why carbide leads in the foundry

Carbide-tipped blades put tungsten carbide tips on an alloy backing (some are further coated). The tips stay hard far beyond HSS temperatures, which is exactly what abrasive, interrupted foundry cutting asks of a blade. Sand inclusions and high-silicon aluminium wear a conventional edge like sandpaper; carbide shrugs off the same abuse for far longer. For gates and risers, difficult sections and demanding foundry work, a carbide-tipped blade is the pattern built for the job rather than adapted to it.

Bi-metal blades weld a high speed steel tooth edge, commonly M42 or M51, onto a fatigue-resistant alloy backing. They remain the sensible step across for much non-ferrous work. Where the cutting is cleaner (machined bar or castings already fettled) a foundry-pattern bi-metal blade still resists abrasive wear well. Keep carbide for the sandy, interrupted and high-silicon jobs; run bi-metal for the everyday aluminium, brass and copper that makes up the rest of the week.

Read the carbide-tipped blades guideRead the bi-metal blades guideShop carbide-tipped blades

On the saw table

The workpieces this industry actually feeds through a band, and what each asks of the blade.

Cutting off gates and risers

Removing gates and risers is the classic foundry cut: interrupted, off-centre and often through surfaces that still carry moulding sand. Ordinary teeth chip and dull quickly under that hammering. Set carbide teeth, as on the Bahco Triple Set Foundry, create clearance in the cut and take the shock of an interrupted entry. Bahco rates the blade for aluminium including gates and risers, so it is a pattern built for exactly this job.

Gummy aluminium that loads teeth

Soft aluminium and other non-ferrous alloys cut fast but load the blade: swarf welds into the gullets until the teeth stop biting. Foundry-pattern blades are designed to keep swarf moving. A foundry-pattern bi-metal blade with an M42 edge resists the abrasive wear that sandy castings add on top. If your current blade slows mid-cut and leaves a smeared finish on aluminium, loading is usually the culprit, not blade sharpness.

Brass, bronze and copper sections

Copper-alloy work sits alongside aluminium in most non-ferrous shops. Brass, bronze and copper each behave differently under the tooth. Bahco rates the Carbide Triple Set Foundry for bronze and copper as well as aluminium, so one blade covers a mixed rack of castings and bar. For lighter sections on smaller machines, the Saw37C Flexback carbon blade cuts aluminium, copper and brass and suits shops that change blades often.

Material guides for this industry

Deeper guidance per workpiece, including the blades that genuinely cut it and why.

From the blog

Frequently asked questions

Why do castings blunt blades so much faster than bar stock?

Castings often carry moulding sand in and just under the surface. Sand is severely abrasive to a cutting edge. Gates, risers and irregular sections add interrupted cuts that hammer the teeth. Foundry-pattern blades, whether carbide-tipped or bi-metal, are built to take that combination, which is why they outlast general-purpose blades on casting work.

How do I stop soft aluminium clogging the blade?

Soft, gummy alloys weld swarf into the gullets until the teeth stop biting. Choose a foundry-pattern blade designed to keep swarf moving, keep the pitch coarse enough for the section and clear swarf from the machine regularly. If a blade slows mid-cut and smears the finish, loading rather than bluntness is usually the cause.

Can one blade cover a mixed non-ferrous workload?

Often, yes. Bahco rates its Carbide Triple Set Foundry across aluminium, magnesium, bronze, copper and plastics, so one blade can cover a mixed rack of castings and bar. Where the work narrows to cleaner cutting in a single soft alloy, a foundry-pattern bi-metal blade is a sensible alternative that saves the carbide blade for the abusive jobs.

Tell the blade wizard your material, machine and length and it will narrow the range for you.

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