How do I know what kind of band saw coolant to use? I just bought a new band saw, or I’m thinking about buying a band saw, but I want to maintain it properly, and I’m not sure what I need.
Band saw coolant is generally pretty simple
Band saw coolant pump with chip collection drawers
You can really improve cutting rates and extend blade life by using coolant. This will reduce the heat caused by friction between the cutting blade and the material. Coolant will also remove chips and prevent blade teeth from being damaged.
Regular water-based cutting coolant will work fine for most applications if you’re cutting aluminum, steel or stainless steel.
Specific sawing applications
Coolant delivery system
Depending on what kind of band saw you’re working with, it may be equipped with a coolant tank or a misting system.
Bundled segments of material to be cut by a band saw
The misting system can help in reducing friction heat much like a reservoir tank, but since it is not providing evaporative cooling, you will need to reduce band speed slightly.
Material types
Faster band speeds used for free machining metals will require a higher amount of evaporative cooling. Hard metals will not require as much, because of using a lower cutting speed.
When cutting large cross sections, the blade will heat up more, and a synthetic coolant may be more appropriate than oil-based.
What you’re cutting will determine your band saw coolant needs
In most cases, generic water-based band saw coolant is a cost-effective way to run your band saw with higher band speed and extended blade life. For more specific applications, you can use oil-based coolants, synthetic coolants or even mix your own formulas.
Our cutting experts are happy to help determine what works best for your machine and application. We can even recommend some great band saw options for whatever jobs you have coming up.
