Anyone using Carter Bandsaw Blades?

[Bill Trouard]

I ordered 3 new carter blades when placing an order for carter guides for my new Rikon 14" Deluxe. I thought I would save on shipping and order blades from them and the blades are just horrible.


Of the three 111" blades I ordered
3/16"/111" blade was too long it was 112" bottomed out the tension adjustment and it still had slack
3/8"/111" the blade had a bad weld made quite the clicking noise as rotated by hand
3/4"/111" the blade is once again to long it was 111 11/16" it would still bottom out the tension adjustment and have 3/8" deflection. not very good for re-sawing. I do not even thing its safe to use, also very noisy with out the blade contacting anything except the wheels when rotating by hand
The blades that were too long, if they were laid on the ground the original blade would fit inside the loop with room to spare.
Overall the backs of the blades they advertise as being round, they were not. actually they had very sharp square edges with lots of burs. this is the second round with replacements and still have not made any sawdust with them.

Is this common with Carter blades?

I'm very happy with the guides and stablizer though.

I will have to wait for my Wood Slicers to arrive, I hope by the week end.

[Matt Winterowd]

I had a couple of 105" Carter blades for my Delta 14" BS. Same as you, I just ordered them since I was already buying a stabilizer. They were the correct length and well finished, but nothing spectacular in terms of quality. Certainly weren't worth waiting 3 weeks to get over TW or Olson's that you can get at any store.

Their CS is pretty good though, I would certainly let them know what happened and ask them to replace them.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Most likely, Carter didn't make these blades but had an outside vendor make them. Outside most likely meaning outside the USA. Check out Woodcraft Bands for the best deal on blades, both price and quality.

[Ruhi Arslan]

I was curious enough to check the three Carter blades I've ordered but have not tried yet. My order was for 145" and they all are 146 1/2". The range of blades my saw accepts is 144-146". I'll give them a call tomorrow to hear what they say... Bill, thanks for bringing it up.

[John Coloccia]

Funny...I ordered 2 or 3 143" blades a while back, and all of mine were so short I couldn't even get them on the wheels. I never bothered to send them back, but I'm sure it wouldn't have been a problem. The couple of times I've dealt with them they've always been exceptionally nice to me.

[Gene Thayer]

I ordered a 1/2" 105"Carter resaw blade from Amazon to fill out an order. It's not as smooth as my Woodslicer, but did OK. It was also $20 vs. $30 plus shipping for the Woodslicer.

[Bill Trouard]

My Wood Slicers blade arrived today, well all I can say is I'm sold on that blade, smooth cut and quiet. the back side of the blade is round and smooth, the carter advertises that this is also done to there blades, but out of the 6 rejects for size none of them had a rounded back.

The Wood Slicers blade is also right at 111"

Now its time to resaw some 8/4 cherry for a project.

I also installed a Kreg bandsaw fence on the saw along with the carter quick adjust guides, so guess my Rikon is tricked out now.

[Salem Ganzhorn]

I have only bought one. It fit my saw but I really wasn't impressed. It never cut smoothly. I think a couple teeth had too much set.
Salem