Thode Knife and Saw are extremely proud to have secured a supply agreement with voestalpine for the supply of Uddeholm bandsaw steel.

As a result Thode will be supplying all wide bandsaws using the Uddeholm brand. We are excited to have this strong relationship and once stocks of our other brands of bandsaw steel run out we will be transitioning 100% to the Uddeholm brand.

This rationalisation of our bandsaw steel supply will create better raw material planning, and improved logistics in order for Thode to provide continued on time delivery of quality product to our valued customers.

We still have some inventory on hand of existing bandsaw steel so we will continue to supply your currently purchased brand on a stock item basis while stocks last, then transition to Uddeholm.

We trust that this progression will be seen as a positive move with the Thode supply of bandsaws to the Australian and New Zealand markets.

Above from left while at Ligna May 2023:

Kevin Parker

(Director - Thode Knife & Saw),

Christian Peterlechner

(Sales Director Saw Steel - voestalpine Austria)

Aaron Hartley

(Sales & Customer Service Manager - Thode Knife & Saw)

Please note, as of 03/07/23 our CHCH branch is at a new location

29A Blakes Rd

Belfast

Christchurch 

Thode Knife & Saw  and Iseli thank Scierie St-Armand, Quebec on their purchase of their Iseli BNP200 Profile Grinder. The BNP200 is one of the most advanced Bandsaw Profile Grinder available and is becoming first choice amongst advanced Sawmills in Canada. Pictured is Renald Yergeau with his New Iseli BNP200. Renald is head filer (left) with Phil Higgins (Manager Thode Knife & Saw Canada) who completed the commissioning.

Thode Knife & Saw & Iseli also thank Affutage JL at St-Pamphile, Quebec on their purchase of a new Iseli RZ1. Kathy Pelletier on the left and Christopher Gagnon  on the right  with  their new RZ1.

The Iseli RZ1 is the worlds biggest selling Automatic Levelling & Tensioning machine and is a great addition to their filing room.

One Forty One Jubilee Highway BNP200 Left & Right Hand Bandsaw Grinders Installation

December 2022

Aaron McRae & Regan Eisenhut Commissioned two new Iseli BNP200s with the latest Tooth Tracing System for One Forty One Jubilee Highway Sawmill in Mt Gambier South Australia.

These two machines will now complement the recently installed RZ1, BNF100 side grinder and SAA stellite tipper as part of their major capital investments in the Sawshop.

Aaron McRae (Thode) Mauro Rossi and Matt Bowering (OFO) going into the screen settings on the BNP200

Thode Knife & Saw Pty would like to Thank OFO for their ongoing support of the Iseli products.

Special Thanks to Barry Kuhl, Matt Bowering and staff for your Hospitality.

Aaron & Regan.

Over the past 12 months our CA customers have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of their new Iseli sawshop equipment. 

After successful comissioning, it's all smiles for this group of discerning buyers. 

Thode and Iseli thank you for your continued support. 

From left Philipp Iseli CEO Iseli Swiss Precision, Phillip Higgins Manager Thode Knife & Saw Canada, Kevin Parker CEO Thode Knife & Saw

Thode now in its fourth year providing filing-room solutions with Iseli Machinery and saw blades in Canada after expanding from Australasia where it has been operating for over 75 years. Iseli also in business for over 75 years has had a collaborating partnership with Thode for over 20 years in Australasia and since the inception of Thode Canada.

Our bandsaw manufacturing plants also use the latest technology featuring Iseli equipment which is giving customers Canadian made saws of the highest standard and consistency using renown Uddeholm 000 material.

We would like to thank our customers for their support giving us confidence to build a new manufacturing plant in BC and we look forward to building on the relationships and business that is growing as a result.


Please direct your enquiries to Mr Phillip Higgins our Thode Canada Manager.

Tel: +1 (778) 684-6078
Email: phil@thodecanada.ca

Phil shows off an Iseli BNP200 bandsaw profile grinder at the BC Saw Filers Convention 2022.

Link to Canadian Forest Industries article here.

Kendall Lawson of Freeman Lumber Nova Scotia stands proud of his new Iseli RZ1 Auto Bench. This was commissioned by Regan Eisenhut (Operations Manager from Thode Knife & Saw). The Iseli RZ1 is the benchmark of Bandsaw Auto Level & Tension Machines available in the world today.

If you are wanting high efficiency and consistency in your filing room contact Thode Knife & Saw to discuss the benefits this machine will give your Sawmill.

Thode Knife & Saw would like to thank Freeman Lumber for their purchase.

Kendall Lawson of Freeman Lumber Nova Scotia

Phil Higgins (Thode Canada Manager) recently commissioned an Iseli BNP100 CNC bandsaw profile grinder for Downie Timber

Heath Hanson (pictured) the head filer at Downie Timber in Revelstoke BC Canada stands proud with the new BNP100 grinder which has just been installed.
This is a new filing room in their Selkirk Cedar plant where a variety of saw specifications are catered for as used in the production process.

Thode Knife & Saw Ltd thank Downie Timber for choosing Iseli equipment for their filing room. Iseli has become a brand of choice for many leading companies throughout the world due to the technology, precision and reliability which gives customers assurance of improved quality and efficiency.

Variable Pitch and Depth Bandsaws

By: John Eisenhut

A bit of background on myself, I’ve been in the Saw doctoring industry for quite a few decades now and in those years I’ve experimented a little outside the box with many things over those years.

Several in particular:

• Hit and miss tipping
• Variable kerf, something I have a huge passion for.
• Variable pitch band saws off older cam Technology grinders.

Now most of us know and I would think agree that reducing vibration in a saw is beneficial.

A Variable Pitch or Variable Pitch and Depth saw will run quieter than a standard pitch profile. There is no doubt about this; it’s an actual fact and has been documented well over the years.

So a few points to consider

Firstly: from a health and safety point of view, quieter saws in the saw mill are an immediate benefit in itself, and for most in the industry reason enough to make the change to a Variable Pitch saw.

It is common to receive feed back from the operators that they can’t hear the saw and in the next breath say I don’t like it, I can’t here it how can I cut fast and smooth if I can’t hear it?

What he is actually saying is the saw has changed its cutting pitch.

This is nothing that a re-adjustment period and a bit of reassurance and coaching over a few days won’t fix and it is definitely not something that should dictate not changing to the Variable Pitch concept.

This is a free advantage, no outlay, no more expensive than a standard saw.

Old technology grinders or standard cam grinders can grind a three pitch scenario with not too much effort, so the gain is there for us all.

Another benefit from a VP saw is the ability of the saw to decrease or eliminate completely any wash board that may be occurring… This. again is achieved without any other investment or modification being required. It’s a free fix.

Some of the myths around using Variable Pitch saws are that they cannot be serviced on a cam driven grinder, this is absolutely not the case.

Yes care needs to be taken to not over grind the face of the tooth “and” the tooth shape may not be as “pretty” as a CNC machine, however the additional benefits are there to grab. Your choice

The assumption that a VP saw is harder to deal with is also misguided information, setting a Variable Pitch saw going on a cam grinder or a CNC grinder is a simple task.

Continued Benefits

Now the money maker advantages

Increased feed rates

A decrease in within board deviation or a combination of both and again these benefits are being harnessed without any other investment or upgrade, it’s effectively a free performance increase for your sawmill.

You have to buy saws for your saw mill; there is no difference in price between buying a standard profile saw or a Variable Pitch profile saw,

We at Thode can cut your saw to any profile you require

Water cut by Thode Knife and Saw / cold cut flat and true, with no punch deformation

Even if you only have a cam driven grinders we can cut a profile to suit what they produce,

Our CNC water cutter allows us to cold cut your profile to very close tolerances,

The cut is clean, accurate and without heat absolutely no deformation in the plate

This can save you hours of grinding time, and have your new saw up and running in no time at all.

Iseli Latest Technology 

ISELI TOOTH TRACING SYSTEM (TTS)

Programming tooth shapes is still a major challenge for many customers. The ISELI Tooth Tracing System (TTS) can help! The tooth shape of the saw you desire to be emulated can be probed automatically by an acoustic sensor and saved as the tooth shape of your choice. The data obtained is then used for sharpening in the recipe. Parameters such as tooth profile, hook and back angles, tooth height, variable pitch and depths etc, are automatically determined and saved by the program.

This process enables the exact reproduction of existing tooth shapes directly on the machine without a great effort. These can be used going forward on all saws you have in service. So an exact repeat of tooth profiles on every saws

Inaccuracies are also copied, which means that the removal and thus the costs can be reduced to a minimum, even if the profile is not precisely defined. In addition, inaccuracies on the grinding wheel are compensated for when probing and enables absolutely precise grinding of the profile, even with a worn grinding wheel.

Tooth shapes generated on a system using TTS can be read in other ISELI machines of the BNP series. 

AUTOMATIC INSERTION AND EXTRACTION

Automatic insertion of the blade is now possible. The machine inserts the blade until a height pre-set in the recipe has been reached; the machine then closes the saw clamp. The first saw tooth is determined and the tooth pitch is calculated. In the case of variable tooth shapes, the group of teeth is automatically detected. This significantly reduces operating errors and the effort involved in searching for variable divisions.

The saw blade can be inserted / lifted to the stop point automatically on demand in automatic mode. The search for teeth and the determination of the zero point takes place automatically and the grinding process is started. In summary, the operator can insert the blade and start the machine by pushing the start button. The rest of the work is done automatically by the machine. The option is completed with a revised height adjustment, which works faster and more precisely thanks to a variable-speed drive.

The Iseli BNP200 Bandsaw Profile Grinder

The BNP 200 automatic profile grinders are equipped with a 3 axes CNC system which gives automatic tooth finding functionality and different options for optimised accurate profile grinding. This also opens the door to many other saw machining options for the future.

A user friendly touch screen makes the machine very easy to use.

Pan Pac have opted to run a full oil immersed CBN wheel system. The Iseli machines were found to have the best oil containment details of all machines considered including close fitting wipers, oil mist extraction system and a fully automatic fire suppression system.

The machines run an electronically controlled central height adjustment system for saw blades, a pneumatic blade clamping system. The machine also has a Thode designed swarf magnet and back feed engagement device, both of which build upon the base machine from Iseli.

The Iseli BNF100 Bandsaw Side-Grinder

The BNF side grinder from Iseli is a 4 axes CNC machine; it runs a user friendly touch screen that makes the machine very easy to use.

The machine runs a full oil immersed CBN wheel system for the very best side grinding results with accuracies second to none.

The oil also assists in lubricating all moving parts keeping maintenance to a minimum.

The machine also comes with an oil mist filtration system and a fully automatic fire suppression system to mitigate against the risks of using an oil lubricant.

We are now seeing the market return to normality post Covid lockdown with strong orders for knife steel and bandsaws, we have good stocks and capacity to process your orders quickly.

Kevin Parker and Darren Clissold (2nd and 4th from right) representing Thode at the Kanefusa Seminar during Ligna 2019.