Which Blade for 19" Shop Fox W1729 Bandsaw?

[Steve H Graham]

The blade that came with my bandsaw is very wide. I would like to order a 1/8" blade and maybe a better-quality 1/2" blade, but it's hard to find 143" blades for this thing. Suffolk Machinery offers 144" but not 143" blades.

Do I have to find an obscure company that sells blades for this saw? Amazon lists something called "Magnate."

[Jim Becker]

Suffolk will make the blade to the exact length you need. Call them.

BTW, a 1/8" blade on a big band saw like that can be tenuous. I did recently use one on my MM16, but had to take great care with tracking it and with adjusting the Euro guides. I typically don't like less a 3/8" blade on a big machine, although again, I was successful running both a 1/4" and 1/8" blade on my machine.

[Steve H Graham]

Thanks for the help.

[glenn bradley]

+1 for Suffolk. There are others out there as well and I'm sure folks will join in. I have never had a problem with a Timberwolf and they are reasonably priced.

[Ron Blaise]

Will make any blade length you want, but don't try to e-mail, you will have to call them. I only had one blade from them over the years that was defective (bad weld). They responded immediately with a new one and sent me a report on the defective one. I really like their blades and service is second to none.

[John Bailey]

BTW, a 1/8" blade on a big band saw like that can be tenuous. I did recently use one on my MM16, but had to take great care with tracking it and with adjusting the Euro guides. I typically don't like less a 3/8" blade on a big machine, although again, I was successful running both a 1/4" and 1/8" blade on my machine.

Jim's correct, but that has a lot to do with the crown on the tires. I've not seen the Shop Fox, but I checked out the Grizzly version and there seemed to be a bit more crown than on some other larger saws I've looked at. Certainly more than my 18" Oliver. Also, the Shop Fox, if I recall correctly, is advertised to accept 1/8" blades. This may, simply, mean the guides will work with the narrow blade, but it may mean that this saw has a little more crown than the normal 19" saw. Either way, you're going to enjoy that saw.

John

[Mikail Khan]

Bought a few 143" timberwolf blades from pswood.com. They are a distributor for Suffolk machinery. You can order online.

They make them to any length you want.

MK

[Curt Harms]

There is no shortage of vendors that will make any length blade you want--They're just typically not mall or home center stores. I've used Timberwolf with good success. Other options include Woodslicer from Highland Woodworking (http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=PRODSEARCH&txtSearch=woodslicer&btnSearch=GO&Page=1), a similar blade from Iturra Designs(no web site 866-883-8064) and Supercut, (http://www.supercutbandsaw.com/aboutus.html) Lenox Bimetal blades get good reviews if your saw will tension them and your Shopfox should do fine. Lenox also makes a couple carbide tipped bands that are highly regarded but ain't cheap and work best on saws with larger wheels. I'm sure there are other good vendors--these come to mind.

Caution: If you go to Highland Woodworking's site, make sure your fiscal controls are functioning at a high level;).

HTH

Curt

[Tom Clark FL]

Steve,

After 35 years as a machinist, I find that most bandsaws will tolerate quite a bit of length difference in blade length. + or - one inch from optimum should be no problem.

My favorite blade for everything is 1/2" wide with 4 teeth per inch. It handles just about every job well without ever having to change blades.

[Steve H Graham]

I thought this saw would only go down to 1/4", but apparently I was wrong, because the manual says it accepts 1/8" blades. My best guess was that a good 1/2" blade and a 1/8" blade should cover just about every need. Am I mistaken?

I can't wait to crank this thing up, but I have to go to Home Depot and get some electrical stuff so I can add a couple of 220 outlets. It's really irritating, the way 220 plugs vary. I've decided to use 6-50 style plugs on all my big tools, but they won't work too well on thin cords, so I guess I need to grit my teeth and make two new outlets.

[Curt Harms]

I thought this saw would only go down to 1/4", but apparently I was wrong, because the manual says it accepts 1/8" blades. My best guess was that a good 1/2" blade and a 1/8" blade should cover just about every need. Am I mistaken?



I have a Rikon 10-325 with roller bearing guides. I find those blade guides don't work well with less than 1/4" blades. There has to be enough metal between the bottom of the gullet and the back of the blade for the blade guides to ride on. You don't want the blade guides touching the teeth. There is another solution for very narrow blades from Carter Products (http://carterproducts.com/product_list.asp?cat_id=14). For my 14" saw I find that 1/2" and 1/4" work well. If I had a 19" saw I'd add a 3/4" to 11/4" 2-3 TPI blade for resawing. Timberwolf's site has a table comparing blade width to minimum radius if you're interested. My opinion and worth what you paid for it:).

Curt

[Sonny Edmonds]

6-50?
Can you provide a link?
It sounds like you are about to put range cords on all your big machines.
I use 6-20P (http://www.onestopbuy.com/620PV-6599.asp) on all mine.
More than plenty amperage wise. Fits all the factory provided cords.
Don't do something stupid. :(

[Steve H Graham]

I have one item that requires a 60-amp circuit, so it has a 6-50 receptacle. I also have a welder that came with a 6-50 plug. When I bought my Powermatic 66, I removed the 50-amp dryer plug and replaced it with a 6-50 plug so I wouldn't have to add a second receptacle. A 6-20 would not be "more than plenty" for my machines. In fact, it would melt.

A big plug or cord will do no harm to a small machine. The converse is not true. And if you read what I wrote, you'll notice that I didn't say I was putting big cords or plugs on small machines.

I don't think it was necessary to suggest that I'm stupid.

[Jim Becker]

Jim's correct, but that has a lot to do with the crown on the tires.

Many of the Euro style saws...including those from Europe... :) ...don't have crowned tired. My MM16's tires are flat. Blades 3/8" and larger are tracked with the gullets just off the wheel. Blades 1/4" and under get tracked mid-wheel, but that requires adjusting the saw.