Need help for first bandsaw Blade Purchase (Resawing)

I am sure you will be getting plenty of feedback and plenty of brand preferences with this topic. Everyone seems to have opinions (some stronger than others) about what “brand” to buy. FWIW, IMO it is probably more important to focus on having the correct blade width, set cut and TPI than to worry so much about what brand it is.

Here is what I run, a Timberwolf 3/4in 3TPI blade on my 14in Rikon Deluxe 10-325 BS.
”...Timber Wolf makes the worlds only thin-kerf, low tension, silicon steel bandsaw blades that will outlast your old carbon steel blades by a mile! Your bandsaw will cut better and faster, with less wear on bearings, shafts and tires. Tooth angles and gullet symmetries, combined with a unique set pattern, create a blade that is everything a wood-cutting blade was meant to be. Blade has over 60 of the speed capabilities of a hook blade while giving you the great finish of a skip. The round design of the gullet eliminates any work hardening zones. Couple that with the special 6.5 degrees rake, 5-tooth set pattern, and .025” thick thin-kerf blade and you have an awesome bandsaw blade! ...”

My impressions: This blade resaws very well for me. I did have to file on the back side of the weld slightly to eliminate a slightly “off” alignment, however, after that adjustment all is well with this blade for re-sawing.

-- HorizontalMike -- "Woodpeckers understand..."

A good ½” wide blade with 3 or 4 TPI is a good choice for resawing and cutting thick stock. I have never seen a 2 TPI blade for consumer bandsaw but they may exist.

Tooth set or style also important, have found simple flex back carbon steel blades with hook tooth work well for me. Have good luck re-sawing logs and cutting bowl blanks. This type of bandsaw blade least expensive blades to buy. Been buying Lenox FB CS 3 TPI hook blades since buying my bandsaw. There are other brands selling carbon steel blades too that should work as well as Lenox.

http://www.ereplacementparts.com/article/2484/Band_Saw_Blades_101.html

Suffolks Machinery Timber Wolf blades very popular, excellent customer service as well as Highland Hardware Wood Slicer blades too. Can learn a lot from these web sites.

http://www.suffolkmachinery.com/distributors/

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/woodslicer12resawbandsawblades705to137.aspx

-- Bill

I am a Timber Wolf fan. 1/2” 3TPI. Works great. One of the woodworking industry’s least expensive luxuries, IMO.

-- PaulMayer, http://www.vernswoodgoods.com

I’m a big fan of the Wood Slicer blades sold by Highland Woodworking. I’m not sure what size blades your bandsaw takes, but here’s one link:

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/woodslicer34resawbandsawblades105to166.aspx

-- Rich;) -"Dada make a big mess?" "Yes Dada made a big mess."

I’ll second the recommendation for the Wood Slicer blades sold by Highland Woodworking. I’ve been using these on my 14” Rikon saw for years and with the fence properly adjusted, I can cut 18” slices that clean up in an instant on the belt sander. The blades are reasonable, last a long time and are amazing to work with. I leave this saw permanently set up with the Wood Slicer (1/2” wide) and use another band saw for cutting the tight curves.

-- Skip, Forestville, CA, http://www.sonomastainedglass.com

I will add my recommendation for the Wood Slicer sold at Highland Woodworking. I have used mine for over a year now and it has performed flawlessly.

-- Troy, Virginia

Here is a good reference to use when trying to determine what blade to buy for your BS. This chart is found on the inside door of my 14in Rikon 10-325, though I suspect others may have similar charts for your information. Your BS may already have such a chart pasted on the door.

http://www.rikontools.com/bladeselection.pdf

-- HorizontalMike -- "Woodpeckers understand..."

That is a great quick resource Mike posted. Thanks HM.

-- " I'll try to be nicer, if you'll try to be smarter" gfadvm

More band saw blade brands are discussed in this thread: http://lumberjocks.com/topics/41668

BTW, welcome to LJ! Hope you’ll have fun hanging out here!

-- "someone has to be wounded for others to be saved, someone has to sacrifice for others to feel happiness, someone has to die so others could live"

www.sawblade.com for me. Quality matched with affordability.

I agree with Fishinbo. I got my blades for my Central machinery bandsaw at www.sawblade.com. Their blades are good and very affordable. You can call this number 201-450-9810 for help.

I’ve got a 14” Powermatic BS. I have a 3/4” Timbefwolf blade I bought for resawing, but was not able to get it to work well. Might have been me, but it seemed like I couldn’t get enough tension on the blade. I plan to play with it again when I have some time to kill, but I needed to resaw some boards and bought a 1/2” woodslicer and that worked really well.

I’m not blaming, or knocking, the Timberwolf; based on my experience I would stay with 1/2” blades for a 14” BS. And I can recommend the woodslicer highly.

-- John

I am going to say that John is probably more correct than incorrect when he says ”...stay with 1/2” blades for a 14”BS…” While I am successfully using the 3/4” 3TPI on my 14” Rikon 10-325, I also recognize that I have my BS tension right up on the limits of its ability to tension this blade. Even when I release the “Tension Arm” the spring indicator still indicates that its tension is nearly at the 1/2” mark. I only leave the blade tensioned long enough to make what cuts I need and then immediately de-tension the “tension arm.”

FWIW, I have had this 3/4” blade on the machine for about 2-years thus far. It will be interesting to see how many years I can get out of this setup before and/or IF the tension spring begins to weaken. So far, so good.

IMO, a 1/2” 4TPI would probably be the perfect setup for a 14” BS. That 4TPI would also put your minimum board thickness back to 3/4”, right where you would be with dimensional sized lumber (of your own making or purchased).

-- HorizontalMike -- "Woodpeckers understand..."

H Mike, That is interesting about the blade width/tension. I have a 1”, 1TPI on my 17” Grizz and tension it to the #4 (scale is 0-8)mark. It seems to cut great and Timberwolf says to tension by the ‘deflection’ method which I did. How did you know to tension yours to the max? I may be doing this all wrong.

-- " I'll try to be nicer, if you'll try to be smarter" gfadvm

ouengr …... iturra design for band saw blades welded right. no website but he can be reached here:

http://www.manta.com/c/mmc3znn/iturra-design

absolutely, IMHO, the best resouce for all things band saw related in the US.

-- there's a solution to every problem.......you just have to be willing to find it.