Bandsaw set up for cutting blanks...

[Jack Gaskins]

I have a Grizzly 14" with woodslicer 1/2" blade and am tired of trying to get the tension correct to cut through a 6" thick hardwood blanks. So, I am going to get a large bandsaw next spring. Which of the bandsaws in the 18 to 24" range would slice through 6" hardwood blanks like butter!

I just want my blanks to be pretty flat on both sides and be able to cut a good circular blank. My chainsaw skills really suck and my blanks coming off the chainsaw are very uneven on all sides and it makes for roughing them down a pain in the BUTT!

I really want to get the Minimax or Agazzi saw with a carbide blade but dont know if that is overkill or not.???

[David Christopher]

Jack, I use a 1/4" blade when I want to cut round blanks.. the 1/2" is too wide and wants to bind when making a tight circle
I have a 14" Rikon BS and it will cut through a 6" slab like it was butter....yours should do the same

[James Combs]

Jack, I use a 1/4" blade when I want to cut round blanks.. the 1/2" is too wide and wants to bind when making a tight circle
I have a 14" Rikon BS and it will cut through a 6" slab like it was butter....yours should do the same

Ditto on the Rikon. I have the 10" with a 3/16" blade and the 14" with a half inch blade. I regularly cut barely clearance pieces of hardwood on the 10" without any trouble. I believe it would cut bigger pieces too if it had the gap for it. If I have to cut thicker then about 4.5 inches I switch to the 14" and it does the job.

[Scott Hackler]

Something sounds off for sure. Your saw shouldnt have any problem cutting 6" blanks. Doing a curve with a 1/2" blade might prove difficult, though. I have a 1/2" on my Craftman and I usually slice the circle in different stages to keep binding down.

This might sound stupid but I have to ask: Is the blade on the correct way? I once installed my table saw blade backwards and couldnt figure out why my new blade wasn't cutting!

[John Beaver]

The 1/2 inch woodslicer is the wrong blade for cutting blanks. The woodslicer is designed for clean straight resaw cuts. I recommend a 3/8" 3tpi blade. You can look at the "woodturners" blade from Highland and get it or something similar.

As far as bandsaws, I just upgraded and after a ton of research ended up with the Grizzly G0636 ultimate saw. I needed the 16+ resaw capability. If you don't need that much saw you can look at the G0513 or G0514. I think Fine Woodworking just did a comparison on saws in that range. My dad has a Laguna HD16 and I like my Grizzly better. It's way heavier, the table is larger, and it's more stable. Works great for cutting blanks as well as very precise cuts.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I have the Grizzly G0555 14" with a riser. I use a 1/4" 3 tpi and have never had a problem cutting blanks up to 8 inch deep. Yes you do have to take it a little slower. A 1/2" blade is to big as has been said. It binds to much to do much good cutting round blanks.

[Bill Bulloch]

If your blank are not fairly flat, then it might be twisting the blade as you are turning the blank past the blade. This would cause a stall and probably trip the circuit breaker.

On blanks 6" or less, I run them through my thickness planner to flatten them. If you do this with wet wood take light cuts so as not to over load the planner.

I use a half inch blade, too.

[Wally Dickerman]

Been using a 1/4 inch blade on my 16 in. BS for cutting blanks of any size. I use 4 tpi skip tooth. Clears the sawdust wet or dry very well. By using a !/4 incher I can easily cut pieces to a 2 inch circle for collars etc. Some folks use a 3 tpi blade, but if you want to cut thin stuff, 4 tpi is better.

Wally

[Jack Gaskins]

Well I guess I will have to revist my set up once again. Probably will order a 1/4" and 3/8" blade. The tension is what is a pain. I have the riser block installed and the tension spring is almost all the way compressed. May have to buy a different spring?

[Reed Gray]

A 1 hp motor with a good sharp blade should cut 6 inch high with no problem. The tension meters on most bandsaws are way off, and adding an extra or stronger spring might help. If your blade guides are not set up right, that can complicate cutting. There are a couple of bandsaw books out there, and are well worth the investment. Probably some thing on You Tube as well. A 1/2 inch blade will cut a 6 inch diameter bowl blank without too much trouble. Carbide or stellite tipped blades are for cutting veneers. You want a bimetal blade for roughing blanks.

robo hippy

[Prashun Patel]

Jack-
I'm going thru this right now. I have a Grizzly G0555 without a riser. My chainsaw skills stink too. I don't think the prob is yr saw.

I echo what Bill says: blank has to be flat on the bottom.

I'm having good luck with a 3tpi, 3/8 hook tooth raker set blade.

I don't think the Woodslicer is a good choice. IIRC, that has minimal set in the teeth, which great for conserving wood when resawing. But it's bad for ejecting wet dust from a green log. The raker set made a lot of diff for me.
I think the Woodslicer folks make a special woodturner's blade for this purpose.

[Harlan Coverdale]

I'll third the opinion on the Woodslicer being the wrong blade for the job. It's great for cutting straight lines in thick dry wood, but it's not suited at all for cutting curves in wet wood.

I use generic 1/2" and 3/8" 3tpi hook tooth blades I get at a local supply house. They cost me less than half of the Timberwolf blades everyone raves about, and they cut just as well and last at least as long. The only "name brand" blade I use is the Woodslicer. All the specialized "woodturning blades" seem to be mostly marketing hype to me. They may be marginally better when brand new, but by no means worth two to three times the price. IMHO.

[lynn smith]

I have had no problems with the 18" Poineer that I bought from Western Tool using 3/8" 3 TPI. Cutting blanks from 6" to 15" diam. 8" thick.

[brian watts]

Jack-
I'm going thru this right now. I have a Grizzly G0555 without a riser. My chainsaw skills stink too. I don't think the prob is yr saw.

I echo what Bill says: blank has to be flat on the bottom.

I'm having good luck with a 3tpi, 3/8 hook tooth raker set blade.

I don't think the Woodslicer is a good choice. IIRC, that has minimal set in the teeth, which great for conserving wood when resawing. But it's bad for ejecting wet dust from a green log. The raker set made a lot of diff for me.
I think the Woodslicer folks make a special woodturner's blade for this purpose.


i have the same BS with woodslicer 1/2" blade for resawing and i will cut osage 10" thick with a new blade and really like the bandsaw ..

[Jake Helmboldt]

Well I guess I will have to revist my set up once again. Probably will order a 1/4" and 3/8" blade. The tension is what is a pain. I have the riser block installed and the tension spring is almost all the way compressed. May have to buy a different spring?

Jack, I suspect the tension isn't the issue. Mark Duginske (noted bandsaw expert) has written books, articles and posted here on the Creek on the subject and feels that the stronger springs are usually unwarranted. First change the blade and see how that does.

You didn't say why you think the tension is the issue, but I'm guessing the Woodslicer is deflecting or wandering because a) it is made for resawing, and b) it is wider than you need.

I'm guessing you'll find you get acceptable results simply by switching to a good blade that is aggressive and has plenty of set (and is not as wide).

[Scott Crumpton]

I also have the G0555 with riser. I'm using a Timberwolf 2tpi x 1/2" AS blade for cutting blanks. I've also used the same blade in 3tpi. These blades are thicker than their other blades with more set and tension doesn't seem to matter much. I just set it based on the scale on the saw. I'm not expecting a quality cut from 2tpi and haven't had any problems cutting 7-10" thick.

One thing that greatly improved this saw was the addition of ceramic blade guides and thrust bearings. The original ball bearings would cause the blade to gum up when cutting wet wood. The ceramic guides keep the blade scraped clean. The original bearings also had a tendancy to freeze up due to debris getting in them. Also, adding brushes to keep the tires clean is a plus.