Resaw King experience

[Susumu Mori]

Hi all,

I wonder if you could share your experience with RK blades. I have a 1-inch blade. It cuts very clean with thin kerf.
I love it,,,, most of the time.

The issue I have is, when I resaw poplar and maple with more than 10-inch width, it builds pitch quickly and it burns the wood. Actually, it still cuts and the burn mark to the wood is not that bad (a vertical brown streak in every few inches). However, I get a pile of brown saw dusts and burning smell make me feel uneasy.

The blade has almost no set. It has 3 TPI. I can see the clearance of the chips would be a potential issue.
However, I read "it cuts like butter" often. Yes, it cuts like butter as long as the stock is narrow.
As the width of the boards exceed 8-10 inches, mine starts to choke.

What I want to know is,

> Is it what we expect from this blade?
> It should perform better? Does your cut (resaw) 10-inch board like butter?
> Am I cutting too slow or fast (I get brown saw dust no matter what the feed speed it seems).
> I have used it about a year with not-so-heavy use, but maybe the time to re-sharpen(I remember the pitch was not building this fast in the beginning)?
> Something wrong with my bandsaw (FB510)?

Your experience with RK would be much appreciated here.

[Max Neu]

I have a couple of RK's for my 24" Laguna,I don't use them.They make very nice cut's for a bandsaw,almost like glass.The reason I don't like them is because they cut way too slow for my liking,I don't have that kind of patience.I prefer to just use a 1/2" 3 TPI,over cut a little bit,then run them through the widebelt.If you are cutting some really expensive exotic wood and wanted maximum yield,then I think they would be more beneficial.That is just my opinion of them,I am sure you will get others as well.

[glenn bradley]

Like Max, in wider stock I go to a 2-3 vari tooth blade; wider kerf but, the chips get easily cleared and the feed rate can be increased. At the same rate that finer set blades will allow, the quality is not that far off. I talked with Torben at a show about 10 years ago. He demonstrated the RK on one of his saws with some 10" stock. His feed rate was about 1" every 2 seconds or so; quite slow. This was in some birds-eye maple and at that feed rate the cut was very clean with no burning.

[David Ragan]

I run a 1 1/4" RK on a MM-16.

While I am not a professional user, and has been some time since I have resawed anything, the RK has worked better for me (smoother surface) than any other brands, and I tried a few.

YEs, the burning smell would make me nervous. You are talking central DC, right? Maybe go with something more peripheral, shop vac till you get it figured out.

[Jeff Duncan]

Good blades that feed too slowly for me as well. The smell is just the burning maple, not a big deal…..except…..it means there's excessive heat building up which is not good for your carbide tips. If you keep running it like that it will dull the carbide.

good luck,
JeffD

[peter gagliardi]

Sounds like the gullets are filling and packing before exit on cut, and blade speed is too high. You will not be able to overcome basic design deficiency for that width, even if you could slow the blade. Time to find a blade designed for your application.

[Susumu Mori]

Thank you all for the feedback.

I burned poplar once and then it started to burn frequently. I have to clean it each time after resawing a wide board. I guess I dulled the carbides, based on what I hear from you.

RK has a wonderfully thin kerf and smooth surface, but I wonder if its small sets are prone to clogging.
Maybe it is a good time for me to test a blade with wider sets.

I would appreciate any suggestions for alternative resaw blades here.

thanks,

[Andrew Hughes]

My take on the Resaw King is its a good blade for resawing very dry expensive boards,Highly figured Claro walnut would be one.Since the blades have no set if you get into woods that have too much moisture or pitch,they can dull fast.
Dont get me wrong I'm not dirting the Rk its a good blade I haven't bought one for a couple years now.So I'm mostly going from memory.

[Wade Lippman]

I used to have a 3/4". It was marvelous; did 10" stock with no burning. Maybe it is your saw. I don't do enough resawing to justify the price with my new BS.

Of course, I have never seen any pitch on maple from anything. I thought it was just a feature of softwoods.

[ian maybury]

I don't have experience of the RK, but some thoughts based on other blades.

+1 that it's possible that the gullets are filling on the RK once it reaches a certain depth of cut - it doesn't seem to have a whole lot of gullet volume. The FB 510 is probably running the blade quite fast (as all larger bandsaws will tend to do), which may make it more prone to heating in that situation. It probably also has the power to accept a heavy feed without straining. A lighter saw running less blade tension might well run into drift problems once the gullets start to clog, but the heavy saw could be masking the effect.

Wonder if perhaps heating is contributing to the resin issue?

I'm guessing S that some combination of slower feeding and regular blade cleaning (a right PIA) may be your best bet. Either that or a blade with a deeper gullet….?

While no doubt some cope better than others, it's clear that pitch/resin (judging by its effect on table saw blades) can be a real problem. It's hard to predict or deal with. I've had cheap but not obviously resinous eastern 18mm plywood which caused a subtle build up of brown/yellow resin (or maybe degraded adhesive?) on the teeth of even a freshly sharpened universal blade - leading after only a few panel cuts to a noticeable increase in the feed force, more tear out, and a need to frequently clean the blade. It wasn't a heavy coating, and was quite soft - it washed off so easily with an oven cleaner (not reckoned to be good for blade coatings) or degreaser that it's hard to think that it can have such an effect.

I've not had it happen on a bandsaw blade, but regular washing may be the only way out if the wood is that way inclined. Wonder if there's any preventive treatment that works, maybe one of the spray on dry PTFE coatings? (could be a bit of a gimmick)

I guess that bandsaw blade designers like everybody else have to balance requirements, and the RK may sacrifice a little speed/depth of cut and ability to handle less than favourable woods in favour of delivering a fine surface finish. The Woodmaster CT has a much deeper gullet and a 1.5tpi pitch, but may not be so smooth cutting.

Minimal set is probably another requirement for a smooth cut. Tipped teeth can be ground so that the side of the tooth 'planes' the cut surface, and are probably (with the precision brought by grinding) the main reason why this type of blade gives such a good finish. The price may be that there's little room for surplus sawdust to escape once the gullet is filled - a steel blade with a heavy set probably 'leaks' a lot more.

[Scott T Smith]

I run 1-1/4" RK's to make sawn veneer on a dedicated horizontal resaw with no problems resawing up to 16" wide. A slow feedrate is important though because the gullets on the RK's are fairly small, so there is not much room for sawdust storage during the cut.

The only time that I encounter burning is in the last cut, if the blade exits the cut in any locations. Other than that it is a great band.

[John Coloccia]

I wood never say it cuts "like butter". It uses a heavy feed pressure and ssllloooow feed rate. I WOULD say it "cuts like glass", though. I usually can't tell if a piece came straight off the saw or my planer.

Now the Woodslicer blade cuts like butter, but it dulls quickly.

[Davis Young]

I find 3 or 2-3 tpi to be too many for large format resawing. The Lenox Woodmaster CT I use has 1.3 tpi and it doesn't slow down my feed rate at all. Finish is quite good. Also with fewer teeth it is less expensive. Downside is a wider kerf, about .01" compared to the Resaw King.

[john lawson]

My experience is buy a Lenox Trimaster carbide blade. I know, I know, they cost a lot. And even they will wear out faster than you want to admit, but the resaw king I had wore out very quickly.

[ian maybury]

I guess that ultimately it may be a case of matching blades to requirements - that there's a definite trade off between quality of finish and permissible feed speed once the depth of cut starts to get near the limit of the ability of the blade gullets to clear the sawdust as suggested above.

Wonder if the variable pitch of the Trimaster might bring some advantage in terms of avoiding vibrations that might spoil the finish with fixed pitch blades?

[Allan Speers]

I find 3 or 2-3 tpi to be too many for large format resawing. The Lenox Woodmaster CT I use has 1.3 tpi and it doesn't slow down my feed rate at all. Finish is quite good. Also with fewer teeth it is less expensive. Downside is a wider kerf, about .01" compared to the Resaw King.


Davis, do you find 2-3 TPI too much even if you go slowly?

I'm sure many folks are like me, in that they want a really good resaw blade, but also don't want to have to constantly change blades. A 3 TPI will suffice for a lot of ripping & general use cuts, but 1.3 tpi would be a bit iffy, no?

So, maybe the RK is a good trade-off, if one is not in a hurry? (I have no idea yet.)

[Davis Young]

Allan, admittedly resawing is the primary purpose of my bandsaw (20" Agazzani), so the blade I use is optimum for that application. I do use it for other purposes but they are secondary to me. For example, I use it for cutting curves, but a 1" blade regardless of number of teeth won't exactly be making sharp turns anyways. And for curves (or cutting big stuff down to size for that matter) I'm usually cutting proud of a line and finishing with planers, saws, spokeshaves, etc. so finish quality on the bandsaw doesn't matter that much to me.

[Morey St. Denis]

Laguna ReSaw King blades - Buy 2 get one Free, LTO...

I could likely make use of two, but owning three resharpenable carbide tipped band saw blades is a big investment to have mostly hanging on the wall... Anyone located on the mid-Atlantic coast care to go in on an order for 1" width 2-3 TPI Variable pitch blades in the range of eleven foot length at 30% off their usual cost of $200 each? Laguna direct offer said to be good until end of the month. PM me...

[John TenEyck]

I have the same experience, and applications, as Davis. I have a 1", 1.3 tpi Woodmaster CT on my Grizzly 636X and have nothing but praise with how well, and fast, it cuts. It eats wood about as fast as you can push it through the blade and the finish is good to excellent. I use that saw only for resawing and slicing veneer so my requirements are that the blade cut fast and straight with a reasonably good finish. The CT meets those requirements perfectly. I used to use a 3 tpi blade on my little Delta. It didn't cut any smoother but it sure cut a lot slower. No way I would use a 3 tpi blade on a big saw for wide resawing/veneer slicing. You just can't clear the chips fast enough. It's like making your big saw a little saw.

John

[Joel Christensen]

Hey I just want to point you guys to a very fast carbide tooth bandsaw blades and the blade I found to resaw extremely fast is the starrett carbide tipped bandsaw blade for woodworking they are good blades if you want speed.

[Morey St. Denis]

Surely you were attempting humor or sarcasm, right? Appears there is nothing particularly unique nor innovative with those Starrett Advanz carbide blades, certainly nothing suiting an application to woodworking and resawing of valuable hardwoods. Conventional kerf width of 1/16", backing band thickness 0.035" (would not be applicable to bandsaw wheel sizes 16" and under). Somewhat similar to the Lenox Tri-Master; among at least seven different Advanz product formulations, there is not even a single one suggested for use with wood... Recommended for cutting case hardened alloy materials up to HRc 65 and beyond! There is even a polycrystalline Diamond tip composition for all your resawing and veneering needs in ceramic, glass, silicon wafers, stone, marble and granite! Tooth geometry incorporating a Negative 20 degree rake angle, (not hook mind you, that's Rake!) Here are some representative manufacturing specs & details for Advanz carbide tipped blades:

New carbide tipped band saw blades designed for cutting cased steel and induction hardened chrome shafts. Teeth ground from micro-grained carbide cylinders welded to a tough, ductile backing material.
20° negative tooth tip rake angle for increased strength needed to penetrate high hardness materials.
Triple Chip tooth geometry.
Exceptional resistance to fatigue, shock and wear.
Ideal for tough Titanium alloys, shafts, induction hardened shafts, linear bearing shafts and case hardened materials up to HRc 65!

You could use this to resaw or reshape all your saws, plane irons, planer blades and other HSS edged tools! I've no doubt these blades are a very high quality product from Starrett for certain specially intended applications. Believe Starrett's great reputation is based upon excellence with metrology, gauging, inspection and most industrial metalworking applications. Except for their durable precision lay-out and measuring tools, I don't know that they've yet entered the woodworking market in a big way...

The Laguna Resaw King uses a band thickness of only 0.6 mm or 0.024"; saw kerf amounts to about a millimeter or 0.041" of width, resulting in a full 34% less material wasted... Simple physics also shows that there is substantially less spring force demanded of your saw's structural frame to properly tension a RK blade in comparison to most any other conventional resaw blade.

Another great benefit of reduced backing band thickness as compared to most other resaw blades marketed, is with reduced bending and material fatigue stress repeatedly imposed every revolution, especially at the weld joint, and at each tooth's brazed carbide juncture to the band. While there exists a simple linear relationship between width and area to tensile stress, with bending stress it's actually an exponential relationship to thickness! The highest bending stress imposed on a band conforming to smaller tire diameters is an exponential inverse function; so a simple reduction by 1/3 in the band thickness will result in essentially halving both stiffness and peak band stress... Applied engineering brilliance on the part of Torben Helshoj! Conventional tooth offset and even "Triple Chip" edge grinds are mostly for general and multi-purpose band blades that also work well in ferrous and non-ferrous metals, the application to wood appears strictly an afterthought... Resaw King is optimized for use in exotic and other valuable hardwoods, it can readily accommodate band saws as small as 14". Due to greater band thickness and subsequent elevated bending stress, most 0.035" thickness blades are not recommended for band saw wheels 16" and under. RK cutting teeth minimize the perturbation of harmonic vibrations that contribute to surface roughness by employing variable pitch spacing, typically in the range of 2-3 TPI; a feature not afforded by many other multi-purpose blades... Smaller kerf width also rewards with proportionally reduced power demands during tall resawing cuts. A lot of people may be happily getting away with certain subtle misapplications in their power equipment, but there's no cheating the physics, mathematics and material science applied to our craft.

[Joel Christensen]

Morey st. denis there is a new starrett carbide tipped woodworking blade it's the Advanz FS and they don't give you as smooth of a cut and they are meant for production work and you can get it for a 14 inch laguna 1412 bandsaw I do my research before I buy blades like that and I read reviews about the resaw king and the advanz FS. I got the resaw king due to the fact I won't lose as much wood and It leaves a smooth finish but it cuts slower. I am a woodworker that has one of their combination squares and that thing is precise and easy to read. The other thing of starret that I have is one of their bandsaw blades made to cut softwood quickly and resaw pallet wood to which it does great. I believe starrett is trying to enter the woodworking world as I have noticed more things from them at rockler. I do highly recommend the resaw king if you don't want to spend alot of time sanding. If you need speed and you got a shop with a drum sander and a planer then go for the starrett. This is the site for the starrett FS http://www.bandsawbladesking.com/bandsaw-blade-deals/carbide-tipped-blades/starrett-advanz-fs-carbide-tipped-band-blade/?gclid=Cj0KEQiAsP-2BRCFl4Lb2NTJttEBEiQAmj2tbY8onJdGE8gbC2_IFRcFXIjub OtfFdyeNSsRRYYPj0QaArcV8P8HAQ