Folks, am I overthinking bandsaw blades?

[Steve Riess]

I have a new (my first) bandsaw (Grizzly G0555) set up and tuned. Through your many recommendations I too have purchased and studied Mark Duginske's Band Saw book. Many recommendation's tout this bandsaw to be above average but I am advised to discard the standard blade that comes with it. So I need to purchase blades. I have learned not to buy the standard prewelded blades that I might find in the local box stores. After an exhaustive search I can not locate a wood working specialty store anywhere in my area. Mr. Dugninski does not seem to endorse the swedish silicon steel blades offered by on line outlets.
I have some smallish oak boards from pallets that I would like to resaw for start up projects such as bird feeders and such. Most of my initail play will likely be with standard store bought pine boards. Any suggestions like perhaps I am overthinking this one!

[John Coloccia]

You're over thinking it.

Tiberwolf Blades (call Suffolk Machinery)

Carter Accuright blades (from Carter, of course)

Lennox makes a nice, pricey blade.

I've had great luck with both Timberwolf and Carter. IMHO, you can't go wrong as a new user with either company. You call them, tell them what you have and what you want to do, and they will hook you up with the proper blade.

[Bill Huber]

1+ what John said.

I use the Tiberwolf Blades and when I first got my band saw I had no idea what blade I needed a call to Suffolk Machinery and they walked me right though what I needed.

http://www.suffolkmachinery.com/

[Nathan Palenski]

I use timberwolf and resaw kings (from laguna) without an issue.

[mark kosse]

For what its worth I'd use that grizzly blade until it won't cut strait. People talk down about them but I buy 30 or so a year of grizzly 93.5" blades. I don't like them as much as I used to but they're OK blades. I haven't found the much higher priced blades to last very much longer.

[glenn bradley]

Another +1 with John. Start with a few Suffolk blades and see what you like. Fro re-saw on a 14" I favor 1/2" 3TPI but everyone has a favorite.

[Prashun Patel]

+1 on upgrading the blade. Timberwolf's a good go.
Woodcraft also sells Timberwolf blades.

I have the GrizG0555. The stock blade did not cut straight despite meticulous tuning. It'll just frustrate you.

I'd get a 3/8" 4tpi blade as yr 'first' blade. It'll do a little bit of everything pretty well.

I say practice on stock you plan to use for projects. Pine cuts misleadingly easy. You might have trouble turning the same radius or feeding at the same speed in oak or cherry.

I also don't think it's worth it to upgrade your guides (YET, that is). I'm looking into replacing mine but only after 2 years. The stock rollers are good enough. Use them until they seize on you or scream too loud.

I've also used the BORG RIDGID blades to good effect. They cut fine for me (and I've used them in 1/4 and 1/2 varieties for cutting curves and resawing 6" walnut). They just don't seem to last as long as the Timberwolfs. Conversely, I had a Timberwolf 1/2" that moved back and forth because of a bad weld.

[Steve Riess]

Great guys, thanks! So there are no problems with the silicone steel Timberwolf blades?


1+ what John said.

I use the Tiberwolf Blades and when I first got my band saw I had no idea what blade I needed a call to Suffolk Machinery and they walked me right though what I needed.

http://www.suffolkmachinery.com/

[Joseph Tarantino]

+1 on replacing stock blade. afraid i can't agree on the t-wolf blades. had 4 brand new blades with defective welds. suffolk people were very nice but couldn't seem to get me a properly welded blade. finally got a lennox (not a high end one) from iturra design that lou welded. solved 90% of my BS issues.

here is one of the t-wolf blades. note the oscillating motion caused by a defective weld:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrxBP8YBKYM

here is the same saw, with non-coplanar wheels thanks to a crummy jet dealer, and a lennox blade from iturra design (note the nickel next to the blade):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67s4qtbxHsk

i know some people swear by t-wolf blades. i have nothing against them, they just didn't work for me. and lou iturra has forgotten more about band saws than most of us will ever know. he is an excellent source of information for anything band saw related. follow his advice and you'll get the most out of your saw.

[Ed Labadie]

The T-wolf blades are excellent. Suffolk is excellent.
Quit worrying about it. ;)
Just call them........tell them what you want to cut, they will recommend whats best for your application.
They keep records of your saw(s) and what blades you buy. No rembering what blades you ordered. :)

I would also keep & use the original blade, it's good to learn with if you haven't used a bandsaw much. The T-wolf blades can cut a little fast for a learner.

Ed

[Michael Peet]

afraid i can't agree on the t-wolf blades. had 4 brand new blades with defective welds. suffolk people were very nice but couldn't seem to get me a properly welded blade. [...]

here is one of the t-wolf blades. note the oscillating motion caused by a defective weld:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrxBP8YBKYM



I have to agree with Joseph. I have had exactly the same problem with most of my Timberwolf blades and won't buy them anymore. The one Woodslicer I tried from Highland Woodworking was much better, so I bought two more (but haven't unwrapped them yet).

Mike

[Howard Acheson]

>>>> For what its worth I'd use that grizzly blade until it won't cut strait.

I agree, it's not an all bad blade like some other OEM blades that used to be supplied. It frequently gets a bad rap from new bandsaw owners who don't know that band saw blades are specific to a particular operation. The supplied blade is not going to work well in a resaw operation. It will work fine in cross cutting and many circle cutting operations.

[Prashun Patel]

I agree, it's not an all bad blade like some other OEM blades that used to be supplied. It frequently gets a bad rap from new bandsaw owners who don't know that band saw blades are specific to a particular operation.

Might be true in some cases. Was not true in my case. My stock 3/8" blade would not cut 3/4 pine straight. It drifted. Say what u want about newbie bandsaw owners, but I humbly beg to differ this one time with you, Howard...

[Van Huskey]

I am a fan of Lenox blades and despite what was mentioned their prices are usually BELOW most of the other blades if you know where to look. I assume the reference to high prices was talking about the Trimaster which is a carbide toothed blade and one of the best resaw blades.

Try Spectrum Supply, they carry a full line of Lenox blades and the prices are very good. The Kerfmaster is the equal of the Highland WoodSlicer for less money that and the Iturra (I think it is bandrunnner or bladerunner) are the best resaw blades for a 14" "clone" saw. I am in the camp that a 14" cast saw can not tension a 3/4" carbide or bimetal blade correctly, but others will disagree.

Good blades are a must and I agree with those that say replace the OEM blade, nothing worse than trying to learn to tune and use something when you have part of it frustrating you and you may not even realize it.

Have fun and after you get a good variety of blades consider the Carter stabilizer for the saw, for curve cutting with 1/4" and under blades its a wonderful addition.

[Rod Sheridan]

I have a new (my first) bandsaw (Grizzly G0555) set up and tuned. Through your many recommendations I too have purchased and studied Mark Duginske's Band Saw book. Many recommendation's tout this bandsaw to be above average but I am advised to discard the standard blade that comes with it. So I need to purchase blades. I have learned not to buy the standard prewelded blades that I might find in the local box stores. After an exhaustive search I can not locate a wood working specialty store anywhere in my area. Mr. Dugninski does not seem to endorse the swedish silicon steel blades offered by on line outlets.
I have some smallish oak boards from pallets that I would like to resaw for start up projects such as bird feeders and such. Most of my initail play will likely be with standard store bought pine boards. Any suggestions like perhaps I am overthinking this one!

Hi Steve, are there no industrial saw suppliers in your area?

These would be shops that cater to the industrial users, perhaps they're listed as saw sharpening companies.

They can weld blades to your requirements.

Regards, Rod.

[Dave Avery]

I am a fan of Lenox blades and despite what was mentioned their prices are usually BELOW most of the other blades if you know where to look. I assume the reference to high prices was talking about the Trimaster which is a carbide toothed blade and one of the best resaw blades.

Try Spectrum Supply, they carry a full line of Lenox blades and the prices are very good. The Kerfmaster is the equal of the Highland WoodSlicer for less money that and the Iturra (I think it is bandrunnner or bladerunner) are the best resaw blades for a 14" "clone" saw. I am in the camp that a 14" cast saw can not tension a 3/4" carbide or bimetal blade correctly, but others will disagree.

Good blades are a must and I agree with those that say replace the OEM blade, nothing worse than trying to learn to tune and use something when you have part of it frustrating you and you may not even realize it.

Have fun and after you get a good variety of blades consider the Carter stabilizer for the saw, for curve cutting with 1/4" and under blades its a wonderful addition.

I use the Lenox Trimaster on my G0513X2 and it cuts incredibly well.

[michael case]

Fastenal will make up blades. I had a lot of bad off-the-shelf blades whapping my thrust bearings. Somtimes an off-the-shelf blade is good the next bad. So if you do buy them keep the reciept and try them out within the return peiord. I've found about roughly 1/4 are bad. Don't be shy, bring em right back. In general I keep a 3 tpi skip tooth raker on my saw since resaw is my thing.

[Lee Schierer]

+1 on replacing stock blade. afraid i can't agree on the t-wolf blades. had 4 brand new blades with defective welds. suffolk people were very nice but couldn't seem to get me a properly welded blade. finally got a lennox (not a high end one) from iturra design that lou welded. solved 90% of my BS issues.

here is one of the t-wolf blades. note the oscillating motion caused by a defective weld:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrxBP8YBKYM

here is the same saw, with non-coplanar wheels thanks to a crummy jet dealer, and a lennox blade from iturra design (note the nickel next to the blade):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67s4qtbxHsk

i know some people swear by t-wolf blades. i have nothing against them, they just didn't work for me. and lou iturra has forgotten more about band saws than most of us will ever know. he is an excellent source of information for anything band saw related. follow his advice and you'll get the most out of your saw.

The second video gives a pretty good close up of the cut quality. Is tehre a blade that gives a better quality surface than the one shown without breaking the bank price wise?

[Victor Robinson]

Those of you who have had not-so-great experiences with the weld on the Timberwolfs - what would you recommend in a similar price range?

[Cody Colston]

I was using Timberwolf blades exclusively but was not satisfied with how quickly they dulled. I got a 3/4" Woodslicer for re-sawing (17" GO513) and could cut 1/16" veneers with no problems at all. It was the first time that I haven't had to adjust for blade drift because there was none. I hated to take it off when I needed to change blades...it was not dull.

Right now, I have a 3/8" Lenox Bi-metal on the saw. I've been cutting bowl blanks and so far, it performs like new. I noticed that it is much thicker than the Timberwolf blades, too.

Yes, the folks at Suffolk are very nice and helpful. Unfortunately, their product is just not that good, IMHO. I won't be using Timberwolf blades again.

[Van Huskey]

Those of you who have had not-so-great experiences with the weld on the Timberwolfs - what would you recommend in a similar price range?


Lenox blades, quality from top to bottom of their line, though I don't think they make narrow blades any more, I think Starret handles those now. For standard sawing the Flexback, for low cost resawing (like the Woodslicer) the Kerfmaster, for serious resawing on a machine that can properly tension them the Trimaster, my only deviation from the Lenox line is I have yet to decide the Trimaster is THE resaw blade since the Laguna ResawKing is excellent AND is easy to get them sharpened. I have had good luck with Spectrum Supply but there are lots of industrail supply houses that handle Lenox stock.

T-wolf is an OK blade and the folks at Suffolk are great but there is just better out there.

[Victor Robinson]

Lenox blades, quality from top to bottom of their line, though I don't think they make narrow blades any more, I think Starret handles those now. For standard sawing the Flexback, for low cost resawing (like the Woodslicer) the Kerfmaster, for serious resawing on a machine that can properly tension them the Trimaster, my only deviation from the Lenox line is I have yet to decide the Trimaster is THE resaw blade since the Laguna ResawKing is excellent AND is easy to get them sharpened. I have had good luck with Spectrum Supply but there are lots of industrail supply houses that handle Lenox stock.

T-wolf is an OK blade and the folks at Suffolk are great but there is just better out there.

Thanks Van. I was expecting your recs would cost significantly more but the Flexback line is fairly cheap.

[Jeff Willard]

Seems that Van and myself see eye-to-eye on just about everything bandsaw related.

[Paul Ryan]

I had similar problems with badly welded timberwolf blades, I wont use them anymore. For more reasons than the welds on the blades. I now use laguna 5/8 shear force for resawing exclusively they are awesome blades. I use lenox blades for general work. Timberwolf blades are easy to get but there are better blades for equal price out there. Woodslicer are nice blades as well. But the laguna is the cat's azz for resawing you can even get carbide blades from laguna for a 14" saw.

[Kevin Groenke]

BC Saw (http://www.bcsaw.com/), sells custom blades welded largely from Starrett coil stock, after many years of ~50 blades/year from Suffolk, we changed a couple year ago to BC Saw based on a recommendation from Micheal Fortune. The BC/Starrett combination is cheaper for comparable blades from Suffolk/Timberwolf, the Starrett's stay sharp longer and we've had less breakage - service/advice has been comparable.

BC also sells an MK Morse carbide tipped band that I thought we would compare to the Lennox Trimaster - that was 2 years ago and the Morse blade is still going strong. NOTHING beats carbide for re-sawing - GREAT investment.
http://sawmillcreek.org/showpost.php?p=940547&postcount=2

[Tony Shaftel]

I read Lois Ventura's bandsaw box book a few years back, and in the Sources section in the back of the book she listed Woodcraft Bands, Inc. Next time I was looking for blades, instead of the usual suspects I called them up on a whim and had a nice chat with the guy who owns and runs the place. Haven't ordered bandsaw blades from anywhere else since. He makes them up custom for my 20" and 14" machines; they may be from Lenox stock, I'm not sure, but I'm very happy with them. The website is www.woodcraftbands.com.

[Tom Winship]

In all the comments about the Timberwolf (Suffolk Machinery) blade, are you using the silicon steel or the bi-metal. I am tempted to try a bi-metal for resawing life.