With a spotlight on its low-cost bandsaw machines, at the opening ceremony of the new facility, located above the showroom of saw dealer and service agent Tewkesbury Saw, Starrett marketing manager John Cove said: “We are not selling Ferraris and Porsches here,” referring to the machines’ particular niche in the metalcutting market; the highest specified stock model, the S4240 (semi-automatic), costs £8,758 (plus VAT).
Although LS Starrett (UK)’s Jedburgh, Scotland factory has been making saw blades since the late 1950s, it has only been selling a range of pull-down and semi-automatic bandsaws, within which the S4240 falls, for a few years in the UK.
This product offering – and associated blade sales – was actually pioneered by its São Paulo, Brazil, sister company; the UK (01835 863501) is the second market. Almost all of the machines are manufactured in Taiwan, to a US design. Once in the UK, larger units are given a pre-delivery inspection to check the electrics and motors, bandwheels, blade tension (including the setting of a tension guide), blade guides and mitre angles.
Opening ceremony (left to right): Stuart Haig, Starrett technical support engineer; Bruce Keen, managing director of Tewksbury Saws; Alan Murphy, sales director of Tewkesbury saws; Donald Miller, Starrett general sales manager; John Cove, Starrett marketing manager; Graham Munro, Starrett technical support team leader
The two largest models on show, the S4230 and S4240, of which UK stocks are held, offer customers semi-automatic operation: band speeds vary from 20-85 m/min, with DRO on the control panel, hydraulic feed control, hydraulic part clamping, powered coolant system, saw tension gauge and wide cutting angle (-45° to +60° on S4230; -45° to +75° on S4240). The more basic S3720 features hydraulic braking on manual/gravity feed, and a two-speed motor (45 and 90 m/min).
All three saws take a 27 mm-wide blade from an array of bi-metal products (such as Primalloy, Intenss, Versatix MP) manufactured in Scotland. Customers for this bandsaw trio include metal stockholders, fabricators, maintenance departments, construction trades and even hobbyists.
A new battery-powered portable bandsaw taking a 13 mm bimetal blade offers an alternative to angle grinders in a shop or construction environment. The £250 S1005 has a 64 mm diameter bar capacity
These low-cost models were represented at the MACH exhibition in Birmingham earlier this year, as were recent carbide-tipped metalcutting blade introductions. The company’s newest blades are in its larger sizes of carbide-tipped Advanz MC5 (34-54 mm width) and MC7 (34-67 mm width) products. Their tooth geometry features multiple cutting surfaces (five and seven respectively), improving product lifetime.
The Advanz MC5 is intended for aluminium and cast irons, the MC7 for tool steels, Inconel and titanium.
As bandsaw blades are consumable tools, Starrett provides recommended parameters for cutting speeds and feeds for common metals, tabulated for both its bi-metal and carbide blades. These can also be calculated with free software Starrett PowerCalc, available for Apple or Android smartphones, or for PC (https://is.gd/uyegix).
This article was first published in the December 2016 issue of Machinery magazine.
