New Band Saw

I am no expert with band saws and I am sure others here can give you more in depth knowledge.

From my limited experience, the more teeth per inch (tpi) on a blade, the smoother the cut. However blades with lots of teeth will cut slower. The guides/rollers will help prevent deflection along with the proper blade tension. But remember the more narrow the blade, the smaller the radius that can be cut, however the narrower the blade, the more difficult to cut a straight line.

For aggressive work, such as resawing, the widest blade your saw can handle with the fewest tpi will probably work best. Check the manual to see the max width specs for your saw. Also, for resawing, I have heard that a carbide tipped blade is really great but EXPENSIVE! Skip tooth blades are usually used for resawing and hook tooth for hard woods.

I have pretty good luck with Timberwolf blades form Woodcraft.

Hope this helps.

Lew

This is the blade you want:

http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/76

Get the 1/2” and you’ll never look back.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

All BS blades are going to deflect a little and give you some drift. The wider the blade the less drift you’ll have. Drift is no big deal and the Wood Whisperer has a pretty good video showing how to adjust your fence to account for it. Basically you just pencil a straight line parallel to the edge down the middle of say a 2×4 24” or so long and saw along that line to about the midway point and stop the saw and don’t move the board. Then you just match up your fence to the edge of the board.

As far as blades go, for resawing, you’ll probably need a 3 or 4 tpi blade. 3/4” will work better than a narrower blade for resawing, but I usually use a 1/2” so I don’t have to change it out to make an occasional curved cut. I’ve got an 18” BS that will take up to an 1 1/4” blade, but haven’t put a wide one on it yet.
You’ll want to get a good quality blade such as Timberwolf or Woodslicer. I haven’t tried a Woodslicer, but I can vouch for the Timberwolf. It’s a great blade. If you want smoother cuts on your curved stuff, you can get a 6, 8 or 10 tpi in blades as narrow as 1/8”. Well, that’s what’s worked for me, good luck! Carl

-- Carl Rast, Pelion, SC

I got to admit I don’t know much either but with the help of a couple of books I understand them alot better and know a little about super-tuning them. I bought an inexpensive Ridgid 14” a couple of years ago for 349.00 at HD and put a grizzly riser block that I had to modify on it, replaced the tires with some Carter’s tires, I use a 1/2 ” TimberWolf blade for most work, and put in cool blocks which were invented by the latter author in below links to books. This saw has worked great for cutting tenons, and that is all I really use it for. My plan is to one day use it for other things like resawing that is why I bought the riser and a 3/4” Timberwolf blade from Suffolk Machinery. When I called Suffolk Machinery and told them what woods I was mainly working with they helped me select the right blades. They also had a buy 3 and get one free which they have going on now. So I got a 3/16”, 1/4”, 1/2”, and a 3/4”...

Most of the reviews I have seen on your Grizzly Bandsaw seem good and in hindsight it is only a few bucks more then what I got and I probably should have bought that one but until I read thru the books which I bought later, I could not have made an informed decision. So I reccommend reading thru the books to help you get the most bang for your bucks…They had both for 25.?? on Amazon.com

http://www.suffolkmachinery.com/

The Bandsaw Book [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback) amazon.com
by Lonnie Bird

Band Saw Handbook (Paperback) amazon.com
by Mark Duginske

http://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-G0555-Ultimate-14-Bandsaw/dp/B0000DD0AC/ref=cm_cr-mr-img

Good Luck

-- Frank, Little River/Academy, Texas , http://www.allthingsrustix.com

Gary is right “This is the blade you want:

http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/76

Get the 1/2” and you’ll never look back.”

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

Gary is correct… first thing, throw our the grizzly blade.. great saw comes with a sharp band that some may mistake for a blade. Enjoy your new saw..

-- making sawdust....

Good luck with your purchase King. Will have to call you the bandsaw buddy. LOL

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python