Approximately 8 inches above and below the weld there was a slight deformation of the blade that prevented it from working properly. This may not be a huge problem for many people as the warpage was very small, about 16 1/1000, but on my new bandsaw it bounced off the rear ceramic guide block a bit and I didn't want it to wear out. new guide blocks are lowered prematurely. I only made 3 cuts with it. It was very sharp and straight cut. I'm just concerned about my ceramic guide blocks.