Morse - 1/2" resaw blade (Rating: 5)

My Highland Woodworking Woodslicer got dulled up really bad because I did not pay attention when I put it on the Jet bandsaw. I was using a 3/4" and it was really too big for a 14" bandsaw. I ended up running it against the blade guard and just beat the crap out of the teeth. My bad.

Markrules is a fellow LJ and reps Morse blades. He suggested that I try their 4 TPI 1/2" blade.
Well, when I unfurled the blade one of the teeth caught my thumb. I can tell you that the teeth are sharp. My bad. I have a little blade shaped gouge on my thumb.

I put this blade on my saw and roughly centered it on the wheels. Adjusted the guides to just behind the teeth and left a little room on the back guide for the blade to press against. Tensioned it up to where I thought it should be according to the marks on the tension bar.

I had three hunks of oak that I wanted to resaw. I also planned to resaw some of this wood pretty thin, so I made a large fence that fit over the regular fence. Picture 2.

Right off the bat the blade ran straight and true. I've got the 6" riser on the saw so I can get a good 12" cut. Sliced thru the oak like a warm knife thru butter. Picture 3 is some of what was cut.

I also cut some poplar. Same easy cut and no drift. I cut the oak as thin as 1/4" and the poplar as fine at 1/8". For me, that is a first. I really don't think I need the fence except to guide my shaky hand.

Now the blade is not shiny and pretty like the Woodslicer. It's a flat gray. Who cares about the color?! Mark says that the blade will wear out before the teeth dull (as long as you don't run the teeth against the blade guard.) I've only cut up three oak logs 12" diameter and 2' long so I can't attest to that but I can tell you that the teeth are sharp and it cuts true, straight and fast.

Morse is not carried by Woodcraft or Rockler or Stone Mountain in the Atlanta area so you will probably have to go to their website to find a dealer near you. www.mkmorse.com Worth the search. This is my new favorite resaw blade.

Lee