12 Inch Carbide Reciprocating Saw Blade - 8TPI | Reo Bar, Stainless & Thick Steel

Carbide teeth, 8TPI, rated at up to 50 times the life of a bi-metal blade in thick steel. This is the blade for the material that destroys everything else — high-alloy construction steel, stainless, rebar and car beams. One blade, 300mm, side-set teeth.

• Carbide Teeth — the tooth material that survives what work-hardens and strips a bi-metal blade
• Up to 50x Longer Life — in thick metal, against a standard bi-metal blade
• 8 TPI / 3.2mm Pitch — coarse enough to clear chips in thick section without loading up
• 1.3mm Thick Body — heavy spine that resists deflection and whipping in a long cut
• 250mm Cutting Length — takes material up to 250mm across
• Side-Set Teeth — cuts a clearance kerf so the blade does not bind and grab
• Universal Half-Inch Shank — fits every common recip saw

When to reach for carbide over bi-metal

Bi-metal is the everyday blade — it handles mixed material, timber with fixings, general sheet and profile, and it is a third of the price. Carbide is what you put in when the material is fighting back: rebar, stainless, high-alloy structural steel, medium wall thickness, car and truck chassis.

The economics only work in the hard stuff. In softer material a carbide blade will not out-cut a bi-metal one by anywhere near enough to justify the price. In rebar it will still be cutting long after you have been through a box of bi-metal blades.

Getting the life out of it

Let the blade cut. Carbide teeth are hard and brittle — leaning on the saw chips them, and a chipped tooth takes the ones either side with it. Keep the shoe firmly against the work so the blade cannot chatter, run at a moderate stroke rate, and let the teeth do the work. Heat and vibration are what end a carbide blade, not honest cutting.

Specifications

Questions

Is it worth three times the price of a bi-metal blade? In reo bar and stainless, comfortably. In timber and light sheet, no, use the bi-metal 5-pack.

Will it cut cast iron? Yes, and it is one of the better options for it. Go slow.

Why did the teeth chip? Almost always too much feed pressure or the blade chattering because the shoe was not held against the work.