BS Blade for rounding blanks?

[Steve Busey]

What blade do you use on your bandsaw for rounding log blanks? I have a fine cut small blade with a high TPI, which is not enough to make much progress through 6-8" thick log blanks; and a 3/4" coarse blade which cuts fairly well, but cannot "turn the corner" to cut round blanks - I end up with hexagonal pieces, which really beat me up when starting to rough them out. What works best for you folks? Thanks!

[Paul Heely]

I've had good luck with a 1/2" 3 TPI Timberwolf blade. On smaller stuff, <6", I just knock off the corners, so I'm not sure how small a corner it will turn. I just did some 7" bowls, and the 1/2" blade had no problems following the curve.

Hope that helps.
Paul

[Erik Johanson]

I usually use a 1/2" or 3/8" by 4 tpi on my bandsaw in my high school wood shop. This works well for most cutting operations. If the arc is more sever than the blade can handle we routinely use relief cuts on the scrap side to relieve blade tension while we cut.

[Dan Hintz]

I use a 1/2" DieMaster II, 4-TPI hook on my 18", 3HP saw... I ordered this after watching it cut through an 8" thick Cherry blank with a piece of barbed wire in it and not skipping a beat on Mike C's 20" saw. Still cut like a champ. turns out that blade was designed with both metal and wood in mind. Leaves a very smooth cut, to the point where I use it for cutting all blanks, including small pen blanks... I would compare it to sanding with 180 grit.

[Prashun Patel]

I use a 3/8" 3tpi raker. Works very well.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I use a 3/8" X 4 tpi Timberwolf. I went down from a half inch as you can turn tighter circles on smaller pieces and it will still cut the big stuff.

[Reed Gray]

I prefer the Lennox Die master bimetal blades as well. The harder metal of the teeth cuts through just about anything without totally destroying the blade, though they do dull. They cost slightly more, but are worth getting resharpened if you can find a saw shop that does a good job. Try as I might, I could never go a good job sharpening my own, and it was time wasted for me. A 1/2 inch blade will cut a 6 inch radius without any problem.

robo hippy

[Wally Dickerman]

I will differ with everybody. My choice is a Timberwolf 1/4 inch 4 skip tooth. The 1/4 inch handles just about everything with ease. I can cut a 14 inch bowl blank or a 2 inch piece of thin ebony for a lid. The skip tooth clears wet wood better than any other I've found. If I was cutting just bowl blanks I'd use a 3 per in. Since I cut a lot of thin stuff the 4 tooth works better.

I order blades 3 at a time. That'll last me for at least a year. I have sucessfully sharpened blades using a dremel tool. I put a piece of masking tape on the blade at the starting point. I just touch the top of the tooth with the small dremel grinder. It takes about 20 minutes to sharpen my 113 in. blade.

[Greg Just]

I'm with Bernie. I use a 3/8" X 4 tpi Timberwolf and I also went down from a half inch. Timberwolf makes one for green wood.

[Russell Eaton]

Hey Steve run by Highland hardware on your way home, they have some awesome blades for most bandsaws. I think the price is reasonable also. Russell

[Steve Busey]

Hey Steve run by Highland hardware on your way home, they have some awesome blades for most bandsaws. I think the price is reasonable also. Russell Russell, that's where I got my 3/4" wood slicer. Nice for straight cuts, but pretty useless for bowl blanks. And while I'd love to swing by there on the way home, the rest of the carpoolers would not be amused...

[George Guadiane]

I've had good luck with a 1/2" 3 TPI Timberwolf blade. On smaller stuff, <6", I just knock off the corners, so I'm not sure how small a corner it will turn. I just did some 7" bowls, and the 1/2" blade had no problems following the curve.

Hope that helps.
Paul

I order these blades a dozen at a time from Suffolk Machinery. I LOVE them!

[Steve Busey]

Thanks everyone, sounds like a pretty strong consensus on 3/8" 4tpi. I'll give that a try and keep the others in mind.

[Prashun Patel]

Not to be a fly in the ointment, but I see no reason to use a 4tpi vs. a 3tpi. The 3tpi will be more aggressive and will be better at wet dust ejection. The only reason to use a 4tpi would be for a 'cleaner' surface, which is unnecessary for this type of op. 4 may very well get the job done, but I believe 3 is a better - especially if yr saw is on the border of being underpowered, as is my Grizzly G0555 14".

[Dan Hintz]

I use 4TPI simply because I don't believe the 1/2" DieMaster II comes in a 3TPI version... I chose from what was there.

[Prashun Patel]

I don't work for them, but I order blades from Bandsawblades.com by the 10-pack. They're as economical as anything out there, and cut as well or better than any of the Timberwolves I've used.

If it were me, I wouldn't pay a premium for "Green wood blades". I think they're just 3tpi, raker set blades. If there's something different about the steel or any kind of coating on the blade, I can tell you that the 'plain old' blades I've used have worked just fine for me.

[Wally Dickerman]

Not to be a fly in the ointment, but I see no reason to use a 4tpi vs. a 3tpi. The 3tpi will be more aggressive and will be better at wet dust ejection. The only reason to use a 4tpi would be for a 'cleaner' surface, which is unnecessary for this type of op. 4 may very well get the job done, but I believe 3 is a better - especially if yr saw is on the border of being underpowered, as is my Grizzly G0555 14".
Believe me, I've tried lots of combinations of size and tooth numbers...the reason that I prefer 4 vs 3 teeth is that when cutting thin stock I get a much smoother, better cut when at least 2 and better, 3 teeth are in the wood. That's why when cutting nothing but thin stock a higher number of teeth such as 8 or 10 are to be preferred.

[Richard Jones]

3/8" 4tpi or 1/2" 3tpi, Lenox Diemaster 2, both .035 thick. This saw (18" Rikon) does a lot of different things, from green wood turning blanks to ripping to resawing to use as a cut off saw. My table saw is covered in bowls, postage scale, and other misc. turning stuff.............:)

I have found that these blades last way longer (for me) than TW's, so the economy of them should be apparent.

Having said that, you need to try out a number of different blades to see which one performs best for you and your saw. I would be very surprised if you didn't love the Lenox.........

Rich

[Steve Busey]

I'm gonna try the 1/2" 4tpi Diemaster 2 - pricy, but bound to do better than my current set of blades. Thanks everyone for your input!

[Highland Woodworking]

While it's not as well known as our Wood Slicer resawing blade, our Woodturner's Bandsaw Blade is configured specifically for cutting bowl blanks from green wood. (The Wood Slicer's minimum tooth set is configured for smooth, straight rip cuts in kiln-dried or air-dried lumber. We don't generally recommend it for green wood.)

The woodturner's blade is 3/8" wide with 3 TPI alternate set w/raker tooth pattern. To help it hold up while shaping logs into usable bowl blanks, the band thickness is .032", 28% thicker than normal .025" general purpose blades. Its extra-wide tooth set provides plenty of room to help keep the blade from binding while cutting through wet, kerf-closing, growth-tensioned logs.

The blade's deep, rounded gullets efficiently clear chips from the kerf to enable aggressive cuts. The hardened teeth (Rc64-65) stand up well against dulling bark and log grime (though we recommend removing as much grit as possible from your stock before cutting with any blade). The 3/8" wide band allows a cutting radius as small as 1-1/2".

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/woodturners-bandsawblade.aspx

Chris Bagby, owner
Highland Woodworking

[Steve Busey]

I'm gonna try the 1/2" 4tpi Diemaster 2 - pricy, but bound to do better than my current set of blades. Thanks everyone for your input!

The DM came today, so I put it on the saw and grabbed an old charred (from it's last exposure to my bandsaw!) chunk of dry cherry. It cut like butter, with a beautiful curve and very little effort!

All I'd ever had on that saw was the original Jet blade, and a HH Wood Slicer, which I'm sure is very old now. It probably cut like butter back in the day, but those days are past.

Here's the cherry chunk - you can see the burn marks on a couple surfaces, then the clean cut curve.

Thanks again for all the input. Slap me if I ever let a blade get that dull again!

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