Urethane vs. Rubber Bandsaw Tires: Which Works Best?

When you’re working with band saw equipment, your equipped bandsaw tires are crucial to the success of your project. These components are designed to provide the control wheel with grip to guide the blade. It makes the machines accurate. As such, you don’t want just any tire calling the shots. Urethane and rubber are the two most common materials used for the manufacturing of bandsaw tires. But one certainly stands out above the other in performance. Read on to learn whether urethane or rubber tires work best for your application.

Rubber Bandsaw Tires

Rubber is an incredibly durable material when it’s used for machine components. Its flexible nature makes it one of the ideal substances for cushioning hard impacts and its abrasive resistance properties ensure it won’t get torn or scraped. These characteristics have made rubber the standard bandsaw tire material for a long time. However, it’s important to note that it does have its limits when it comes to longevity.

Urethane Bandsaw Tires

Urethane bandsaw tires are a rising contender for their increased durability and life span. This chemical compound—also known as ethyl carbamate—can last several years longer than rubber. As such, it offers a much better cost value since you won’t need to replace them as often. Urethane also doesn’t require special adhesives to get installed (which rubber models do.) Instead, they simply slide right on and stay in place on their own.

The Overall Better Option

While rubber is a strong contender for replacement bandsaw tires, urethane models are better because of their increased performance length. Not only do they save you money on your equipment’s maintenance, but they can also increase its productivity and efficiency on the job. Urethane tires are becoming more common in the marketplace as well, making them the easier option to obtain as a whole.

Now that you know the differences between urethane and rubber bandsaw tires and which one works best, it’s important that you narrow down a quality supplier. At Texas Belting and Supply, we carry only the highest quality urethane bandsaw tires for your wood or metal cutting equipment. They’re available in a series of sizes and work with a variety of cutting machines. Contact us today to learn which one is right for you.