Bum Band Saw Blade?

[David C. Roseman]

Don't know if I got a lemon, or am just expecting too much in green wood. I put a brand new Timber Wolf 1/2" 3 TPI .032 AS SERIES on my Delta-Rockwell 14" band saw to cut bowl blanks from some green Black Walnut, Black Cherry and spalted Silver Maple. I've happily used other Timber Wolf blades for flat work with seasoned lumber for years, in 1/8", 3/16", 3/8" and 1/2" sizes. But I've only gotten serious about turning in the last year, so haven't tried to process much green wood and have no frame of reference. From the get go, this new blade requires such a slow feed rate and so much pressure that I'm wondering if it might just be a lemon. The saw has the 6" riser block and a full 1 HP motor. The fastest I can feed a 6" bowl blank (cutting across grain) is about 2-1/2" per minute. To "resaw" a very green Black Walnut log standing 11" high on end (i.e., cutting down through end-grain), the feed rate is barely 1" per minute. I need to use very firm pressure in both cases. Does this sound right? I hate to fire up a chain saw for this. I've read some good threads on SMC and other boards about various brands of blades for green wood. I'm thinking of trying Highland Hardware's Woodturner 3/8" 3 TPI, and some bulk blades from Bandsawblades.com. But Timber Wolf is a good brand. Did I maybe just get a lemon, or should I expect this with green wood? Would appreciate any guidance.

David

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Trying to cut green wood with the grain running up and down ( matching the travel direction of the blade) is very slow and not a good test of a blade. Even when cutting with your chainsaw it is slow to stand a log on end and try to rip cut it. The blade will cut better in either case if the log is laying down/ Band saw blades don't last very long in green wood. The chips can't clear well and the blade gets hot. Does the blade cut well across the grain. If not, time to replace it. Pushing hard on a bandsaw is a disaster waiting to happen/
faust

[Roger Chandler]

David,

I use Highland's Woodturners blade 3/8" 3tpi and .032 thickness........these are the best I have ever used in my 30 years of woodworking for green wood.........that being said........I have also used the Timberwolf blades you have spoken of as well. It sounds to me like you have a need for a new blade..

Some woods are more abrasive and dull a blade faster than others.........the Highland blade has a wide teeth set on it as well, and give a maximum kerf, which help the sawdust clear better, and make turns better in a curve.........please know, that it is an aggressive blade as well...........you need to be safe and keep your hands away from the cut path.

I recommend that you have a flat of the blank on the table of the saw for stability and even if you can rig one up, some type of circle cutter jig......only takes a small pin and a little hole in the blank to make it spin fairly safely........be safe!

[Bruce Pratt]

Dumb question: have you got the teeth pointing the right way?

[Wally Wenzel]

I have ued the 3tpi from bandsawblades.com and am amazed how they cut green bowl blanks. I don't thinki could do any better even on my 1/2hp saw
Wally

[Greg Just]

David:

I use that same blade and have never had a problem cutting green wood. Mine is 105 inches on a Shopfox bandsaw. IMO it should cut like a knife in butter.

[Harry Robinette]

I used that blade for years on my 14" Jet w/ riser. I now use it on my 18" Rikon and have had no trouble at all.Oh ya NEVER PUSH HARD on a Band saw that is an accident waiting to happen.If you need to push much at all you need a new blade.

[Brian Kent]

Dumb question: have you got the teeth pointing the right way?

Been there. Done that on a table saw. :o

[tom martin]

I'm with you Wally,
Great company, I buy $100 dollars worth at a time to get free shipping and they last me for years.Good blades at about a third of the price of the premium blades. I did have one break on me bout 2 years ago and I called them up and I had a new blade in my hand in two days at no charge!
Tom

[Pat Scott]

I've used that exact same blade for years to cut green bowl blanks. A new blade should cut through green wood like butter. It should cut so easy and fast you have to be careful that it doesn't get away from you. I'd call the place you bought it from and have them exchange it.

[glenn bradley]

Dumb question: have you got the teeth pointing the right way?

Right, like that ever happens :o.

[Richard Jones]

David,

They cut good when really new, but I've found that the TW blades just don't last very long. I use Lenox blades from bandsawbladesdirect.com as well, and they have performed wonderfully. For cutting green wood, I would suggest a 3tpi Bi-metal skip, as thick as you can get it. I use an .035 on my big saw, 1/2" wide. They last half of forever.......... The Highland WS blades also perform well when new, but dull faster than the TS, at least for me. The Lenox also works well on dry wood, and I use it for resawing
, tho' the 3tpi isn't as clean as some finer toothed blades, nor is it intended to be.

[John Keeton]

I think the key element here is, as Faust noted, David is trying to "rip" the piece by cutting endgrain on an 11" high piece. That would be a lot of work for a blade intended to cross cut wood as is usually the case with 'resawing'.

[Larry Lilly]

Sharpen the blade. You can do it easily if you have a dremel/ It takes about 5 minutes for a 103 inch blade with 2-3 TPI with the dremel and a cutoff disk, good eyes and good light. rk a starting tooth with a magic marker. Get on a stool, lock your arm so that when you dress the TOP of EVERY other tooth, the dremel is held in a constant angle with the flat of the disk at approx 15 degrees to the right side. Then you gently dress the top of every other blade with a sliding down motion as you turn the wheel by hand. When you reach the marked tooth, move your arm and wrist to the left side, and repeat the process using the same motion and hitting every other tooth that you didnt dress before. In good light the teeth you hit will be shiny. The ones not sharpened will be dull. Once you get the hang of it, you can generally dress a blade at least two times. Gentle pressure is all that is needed, dont remove steel, just remove the dull sheen on the blade top. Do Utube search on sharpening band saw blades using dremel. On type of technique I dont use is the technique that uses a dremel with a round diamond sharpening file/stone that dresses the gullet. The method I like just kisses the top of the tooth, ending with the tip getting shiny.

And I used the TW blade once and found it to be lacking for wet bowl work. I use the bandsaw blades from Highland. But if you are cutting bark and wet, all the blades will get dull. Its not like bookmatching, its sort of wood butchering.

[David C. Roseman]

Very helpful responses, everyone. All good advice. Thanks very much!

Larry, I'd not heard of your technique for sharpening a band saw blade from the top of the teeth. Very interesting approach. I'm going to give that a try while I wait for some new blades, and see if it makes a difference in the cross cuts. :) Won't be trying to saw into end grain again any time soon.

David

[Curt Harms]

Been there. Done that on a table saw. :o

Did it with a dado set. They were all correct ..... except one chipper. Talk about an interesting finish to bottom of the dado :p.

[Ian Upwood]

Pushing hard on a bandsaw is a disaster waiting to happen/
faust[/QUOTE]

A picture is worth a thousand words: Luckily only grazed the flesh.

Ian254708

[Reed Gray]

I will second the Lennox bimetal blades. Die Master I think they are called. They are kind of like the CBN grinding wheels in that they last a lot longer and cut better. A friend who had used Timberwolf for ever tried one because of my ranting about them. He switched.

robo hippy

[David C. Roseman]

Here's a follow-up. I sharpened the Timber Wolf 3 TPI hook tooth blade this evening with a Dremel and small fiber cut-off wheel, filing the top of each tooth. Took me about 10 minutes for the 105 in. blade. Boy, what a difference in the cut. Thank you, Larry, for sharing that tip with me!

Since this was a brand new blade with only four or five cuts on it, I'm now figuring that there must have been something abrasive in the bark of one of the earlier pieces. Still going to try some of the different brands that have been suggested here, including the Lennox bi-metal that Reed likes. Thanks again, all!

David