Resawing-Lenox C-sharp blade

[Matt Day]

Does anyone have any experience with this blade? I talked to spectrum supply and this is what they recommended for me - 1" 1.3T. I am in need of a re-saw blade for my 20" Powermatic bandsaw. I don't do a lot of resawing, but when I do I would like to have the right blade.
I can't find much information or reviews on this blade, so I was hoping somebody here would have some experience.

[Chris Padilla]

I've never heard of that one but the 1.3 tpi sounds suspiciously like the Woodmaster CT blade. Is it a carbide blade?

[Chris Padilla]

Okay, I looked it up...a carbon blade. I'd politely PASS on that one. You want either a carbide or bimetal blade if you want some decent life out of the blade but you will pay a bit more for it. The carbide blade's prices might shock you but the Lenox Trimaster 2/3 var pitch blade is an excellent carbide resaw blade but expect to shell out $200+ for it in your size. Something a bit more palatable might be Lenox Diemaster2 blade. Mine is 6 tpi, hook style, and it is a bimetal blade....probably 1/4 - 1/3 price of a carbide but it cuts extremely well.

[Matt Day]

Nope. I think all of the Woodmaster blades come in either 1.3 or 2.
Do a quick Google search for it and you will get a video and a couple webpages. cost is about $28 for the length I need.

[Matt Day]

Thanks Chris. I don't mind spending 50 or $60, but I'm not willing to step up to the carbide tipped.
I'm looking for a big aggressive blade, probably in the 1 inch range. The die-master only goes up to half an inch.
I was planning on the Woodmaster B (1", 2tpi) but then got a different recommendation from the sales rep and thought I would ask here.

[fRED mCnEILL]

I have them (1/2" and 5/8") and they are awsome. Nice straight smooth cuts. 3TPI. Just as good as Woodmaster from Highland Hardware at a fraction of the cost.

[Matt Day]

Fred, the C-sharp only comes in 1 inch and above according to the spectrum supplies website. What Woodmaster are you referring to?

[Chris Padilla]

Diemaster2 at only a 1/2" wide runs awesome. I use it all the time on my MM20 for resawing. :) What length of blade do you need for your PM?

[Matt Day]

158 1/2". I have a 1/2" flexback and am not happy with it resawing.

[Peter Quinn]

I haven't tried the C-sharp, I'm using the Lenox Woodmaster B from Spectrum, its bi=metal, HSS teeth on a flexible carbon back, claims 7X the wear of regular carbon steel, and from my experience that is at least accurate. Might be more like 10X. So when you price it out, the Wood master B delivers a lot more LF of resaw per $$$ than regular carbon steel without the OMG price tag of carbide. Mine is a 1" 1.3 pitch, cost around $60 for a 156" band. Cut is pretty good. Maybe ask the salesperson about the Bimetal option? For a little more than double the cost you get a lot more resaw. Its amazing how fast the carbon steel blades go dull in heavy resaw.

[Matt Day]

That's exactly what I was looking for Peter, thanks! I agree with your thinking. I was all that impressed with the salesman to be honest. I think he really knew the details of the products, but wasn't a woodworker.

[Dan Hahr]

I just bought a Lenox bimetal Classic in 3/4" for the same saw. I was told that this blade was the exact same blade as the Diemaster 2 but I wondered why it was named differently. I called and spoke with a tech at Lenox and he confirmed it. The 3/4" 3 tpi hook .035 is the same as the Diemaster 2 (which is limited to 1/2") but couldn't be listed since the Diemaster is touted as a countour cutting blade. I bought mine from Woodcraft Bands and it was cheaper than Spectrum by a good bit. I'm just getting set up for resawing but it worked fine in a few pieces of oak I ran through it.

I like the the idea of a big wood ripping blade but a smoother cut impresses me more.

Dan

[Matt Day]

I went ahead and got a Woodmaster B, and a Woodmaster C as a backup/beater since it was about $16.
Thanks for the advice. I'll report back once I've used them a bit.

[Gus Dundon]

I run 3 TPI band saw blade for resawing.