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which resaw blade?

3K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  AHuxley 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
A friend cut down a tree and I am thinking about trying to mill up some of the logs and air drying them. Not sure what kind of tree it is, but I want to do it more as a learning experience so really don't care too much. I have a Grizzly 17" band saw and need to get a resaw blade for it. I have seen the woodslicer blades highly recommended, but when I went to order one I noticed that their site says they have a variable 3-4 TPI design and most of the other info I have seen online has people recommending between 1-2 TPI. Which is correct? Also, the stuff I see online has people using 1-1.25" blades while the woodslicer comes in 1/2 and 3/4 widths. I assume I should buy the widest blade possible since it will be stronger. Is that right?
 
#2 ·
True you want the widest blade; but be sure it is the widest blade that fits your saw. I don't think you can put a 1.25" blade on a 17" bandsaw. But, I don't have a 17" bandsaw, so someone else will have to address that issue. I do have a wood slicer for my small saw and its a very good blade for dried lumber. You might need to look at a lower tooth count for sawing green lumber.
 
#3 ·
Timberwolf has a new 1", 1TPI resaw blade that I use on my 17" Grizzly. It is a little pricy but they told me it will outlast at least 5 regular blades. You will have to call them as it is not in their on line catalog yet. I love mine and consider it money well spent. I posted a review of it if you're interested.
 
#5 ·
I don't remember the exact price ($50-70). No sure what a "hardback blade" means. Just call them on their toll free#. They always seem very knowledgable and willing to answer questions. I think my review has the price and more specs.
 
#6 · (Edited by Moderator)
First, the blade you would want for green wood is completely different than one for dry wood. You need a blade with a significant amount of set for green wood, for dry wood the same blade will cut it BUT it will leave a very poor finish and require much more prep work. The Timberwolf blade gfadvm mentions is a bi-metal blade and will outlast a carbon blade 6 or 7 times and a silicon steel blade (like much of the TW line) well over 10 times (silicon steel produces softer teeth than carbon steel) but it isn't the best choice for green wood. Probably one of the best choices that will work on your saw (just) is the Lenox Woodmaster C, it has a lot of set and will work well with the green wood, I would get it in 1" width and 1.3 TPI it should run about $16 from a good supplier like Spectrum Supply or Iturra Designs, I also recommend woodcraftbands.com but I do not think they carry that Lenox band. Lenox also makes the Woodmaster B which is a bi-metal band BUT I would not recommend it for that saw due to the tension it needs to work its best (it is more like a $60 band).

The Woodslicer and the other bands like it made from Atlanta Sharptech stock are going to leave a better finish and waste less wood than any of the other non-carbide tipped blades and are cheap (especially when you order the same band from different sources than Highland) but they dull quickly but are the way to go on smaller saws like this unless you want to go with a $200 carbide blade which even in 3/4" this saw really can't put enough tension on, unless you get the thin gauge Laguna Resaw King.

My point of all of this is make sure you get a blade that will function well in green wood, and if you don't plan to do a lot of green wood cutting just get a carbon blade and save the bigger bucks for blades you will use more often in dry wood.

BTW hardback refers to the how flexible the body of the blade is, although I seem to be seeing more people recommend them for "hobby" saws the industry standard has long been not to weld hardback blades in lengths less than 15' (or roughly 24" wheeled saws), some even recommend nothing less than 30" wheels with hardback. Generally, all blades used for "hobby" saws should be flex-backed. Nothing says you can't use them but the smaller the wheel the faster they will develop fatigue cracks in the gullets, their main benefits are in high speed feeds, something you want get if you are handfeeding stock.

Regarding blade strength. Blade strength is related to width and gauge and the type and hardness of the blades body. None of those are a real issue in a handfed saw once you are wider than 3/8" no matter what gauge it is. What you gain with increased cross section, whether it is from width or gauge, is beam strength or the bands ability when tensioned to resist being pushed back. Beam strength is always good BUT you need to make sure that the cross section and type of blade don't require more tension than a given saws can provide, just because a saw says it will accept a 1" blade does not mean it can tension every 1" blade properly and in reality a BS that says it can take a 1" blade can usually only properly tension a few select bands.
 
#7 ·
AHuxley, thanks for the very detailed response. I never considered that the blade choices might be dictated by green vs dried wood so I would have bought the wrong one. That makes some of the stuff I was reading online make more sense now. I'm definitely going to check out the Woodmaster C. For $13.50 it doesn't seem like I can go wrong. Thanks!
 
#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
Mr. Huxley, and gfadvm

Thanks for sharing all that info, very informative even for an 'old woodworker' like myself.
It was like the Wikipedia of Bandsaw Blades, except more clearly defined.

Work Safely and have Fun. - Len
 
#10 ·
I serached for the TOS for this forum and couldn't find them, is it OK to post links to other forums? If so I have a fairly long (for a forum post) primer on bandsaw blades I made on another forum a couple of years ago that I could post if anyone is interested and it is allowed, I would cut and paste but since it is posted there is essentially became that sites intellectual property… As you can tell I try to follow the rules.
 
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