Band saw gloat and blade questions

[Dave Cav]

Another Craigslist find- a Grizzly G0570 14" steel frame bandsaw for $500. It was a little more than I wanted to pay, but considering the (apparently) current model of this saw, the G0457 is $895, maybe not such a bad deal after all. The biggest differences I can see between the two saws is the newer one has an enclosed base and 1 1/2" more resaw capacity. This shouldn't be a problem as I also have a G0513X2 that I got last year, so I have plenty of resaw capacity with it. I got the bigger saw to replace an ancient 14" clone saw that had died, and I really like it (the 513), but I wanted a smaller saw for scroll work. I bought it from a car stereo shop that is going out of business, and it has apparently had very little use. I'm in the process of cleaning it up and will try to post a couple of pictures later.

For those of you with two saws, how do you have them set up? I am thinking about using a 3/4" 3 or 4 TPI hook blade in the bigger saw, and a 3/16 or 1/4" in the smaller saw, probably a 6 TPI raker, which seems like a good compromise considering I may be doing anything from flat panels to bandsaw boxes. I have a couple of Timberwolf blades for my big saw, but I don't know if I am convinced that they are all that superior to generic blades; does anyone have a favorite supplier of reasonably priced blades? We use Lennox blades at school and they seem to work just fine. Also, what's the general consensus on Carter guides for smaller blades?

Thanks
Dave C

[Lance Norris]

Dave... I have 2. The mentioned G0457, and the Ridgid 14". I keep a 3/4" 3 tooth blade on the griz and a 1/8"14 tooth on the Ridgid. I like having 2 saws because I tend to work in an un-orginized manner. Id get a big blade set up and then Id need the small blade and then Id need the big blade again...so i bought the Ridgid and now Im happy.