Review of the Woodslicer bandsaw blade - WOW!

[Dan Friedrichs]

About a week ago, I asked for some help improving the smoothness of the pieces coming off my Laguna LT14SE bandsaw. Most suggested a better blade than the cheap Laguna steel blade I was using.

While I was tempted to get a Lenox Trimaster or other carbide blade, I decided to try a Woodslicer, first.

I think the pictures show the results very well. The slice I cut would need about 5 seconds of sanding at 220 to be indistinguishable from a piece fresh out of the planer.

I also tried with walnut, but had less impressive results. Good, but not as impressive as with the RO.

[Neil Brooks]

Nice!!

I've heard uniformly great things about the WS. Glad you're enjoying it.

I'm fond of veneers you can see through, incidentally :)

[Van Huskey]

A WS is the best $30 resaw upgrade you can do for a BS.

[Phil Thien]

Just a friendly reminder: Iturra sells Blade Runners made from the same Atlanta Sharptech stock for less $$$.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Thanks, Phil - I didn't know that. When this one wears out, I'll be torn between getting one of those or trying a Trimaster.

[Brian Effinger]

Phil, do I recall correctly that you have the Iturra catalog?

[Neil Brooks]

Phil, do I recall correctly that you have the Iturra catalog?

If you Google it, it can be found ... as a low quality .pdf file ... on the Internet, these days.

[peter night]

I too was amazed with woodslicer results cutting 10" Mahogany. But it did not take very much figured maple before the cutting quality dropped significantly - and not much after that until blade was pretty useless.

I ended up getting lenox carbide blade - cuts typically require 1 pass in the drum sander to clean up.

[Victor Robinson]

Peter - approximately how much maple did you resaw before you noticed dulling?

[Van Huskey]

In the end the Trimaster will save you money long term. Just not sure how the Lenox will like 14" wheels.

[Larry Fox]

But it did not take very much figured maple before the cutting quality dropped significantly - and not much after that until blade was pretty useless.

+1 on this. I went through 2 Woodslicer's pretty quickly and am still on my first TriMaster and it has lasted waaaaay longer than the two Woodslicer's combined.

[Curt Harms]

I typically get results similar to the "cheap Laguna" blade. it doesn't take much to clean up but still... Was talking with a sharpening and cutter guy about blade alternatives. He can get the "frozen meat & fish" blade which is what I believe the Woodslicer/Bladerunner is but his supplier cautioned that those blades tend to run hot due to little or no set. I wonder if that accounts for shorter life? Aside from resawing, a cleaner cut would be useful for ripping. Perhaps avoid jointing?

[Cody Colston]

I just got my first Woodslicer for my GO513...haven't even put it on the saw yet.

I was satisfied with the cut from the Timberwolf blades I have been using but was not happy with how quickly they dulled.

If the Woodslicer does not last significantly longer than the TW's before dulling, I guess I'll spring for a carbide blade, even though I don't do a bunch of resawing.

[Rich Enders]

I am surprised at the "dulls quickly" comments. I put one on a 14 inch Rigid in October 2008. I use it virtually every day, and it is still cutting well. The other three I bought are still waiting in the wings.

The first project was resawing about 400 feet of 4 inch wide white oak. Since then I have cut and resawn all kinds of hard and soft woods. I keep wondering if the blade will ever break or dull...

[John Thompson]

I used a WS on a 14" BS from about the time Highland introduced it. Great blade but.. I tend to agree on the blade life dulling. When I upped the ante to a 18" saw for re-saw... I found my best bet to be the Lennox Classic bi-metal in 3/4" which last about 1/3 the time of the Tri-master but is around $58 shipped to me.

So.. I can get 4 for the price of one Tri-master. Not quited as smooth but you have to surface sand the show side anyway. I also agree with Van that a carbide is not always the best choice on a 14" BS. A carbide requires much tension and most 14" can't deliver with stock springs. And frankly a 1/2" WS worked fine on my 14" for years. I see to need to tax the width of the wheel or tire with maximum width blades. The larger the width the larger the tension required.

[Jeff Willard]

He can get the "frozen meat & fish" blade which is what I believe the Woodslicer/Bladerunner is but his supplier cautioned that those blades tend to run hot due to little or no set. I wonder if that accounts for shorter life?

Those bands are very thin-typically .020-.022". I don't think the amount of set has as much bearing on it as does the thinner bands inability to dissipate heat. Not an issue with refrigerated or frozen meat products, but could become an issue with wood.

[Quinn McCarthy]

What speed did you feed at for the test? I am not getting that nice of cut from my wood slicer blade. I have a 19" grizzly. The best I am getting is like the laguna blade you where using.

I am kind of a newbie at resawing. I have a bunch to do coming up shortly.

Thanks

Quinn

[Cody Colston]

Woodslicer update:

I needed to resaw some 1/4" slices from 5" wide Walnut and Bois d'Arc for a box I'm making. I put the 3/4", 3 tpi Woodslicer on my bandsaw for the task.

First impressions are very favorable. While I didn't get cuts as smooth as off the planer, they were smooth enough that a quick sanding with 120 grit in the ROS was all that was needed. The cut was effortless, which is to be expected with a new blade.

It's also the first time I have not had to adjust my fence for drift, because there wasn't any. I set the resaw fence 1/4" away from the blade and held the stock tight against it when making the cut...voila, 1/4" slices. I may have gotten lucky with the setup and tracking but I never have before. I've always had to adjust for drift.

It will take quite a while to evaluate how long it retains it's sharpness but for now, I'm sold on the Woodslicer.

[peter night]

Peter - approximately how much maple did you resaw before you noticed dulling?

I had been cutting beautiful thin glu up ready veneers in 14" mahogany without any issues. Very quickly after starting on a 3' length of 12" maple, I started to notice significant bowing of the cuts (blade was only weeks old at that point). Admittedly - I could have ripped the maple down maybe to get less heat, but ultimately it is just not clear how much one could expect. I am pretty surprised to hear that someone could use a woodslicer for "100's" of linear feet.

Since replacing it with the .025 kerf ( thickest kerf you can put on a 14" saw) carbide blade, it just keeps cutting and cutting and cutting. I did not need to mess with tension at all. No doubt however - passing through the drum sander is a must, unlike the woodslicer.

- Peter