blank milling blade for bandsaw

[Wes Ramsey]

What blade is everyone using to cut blanks on the bandsaw? I've been using a resaw blade since its what I have, but I'm ready to try something that actually works well and cuts a radius.

[Hilel Salomon]

geen wood or dry wood? Makes a difference. Timberwolf sells a good blade as does Highland Hardware. Generally, I use a 3/8" 2 AS or 3, but I would call either Highland or a Timberwolf dealer (I think that I've used Sussex) and tell them what bandsaw you will be using and what wood you generally cut.

[John King]

Woodturner's 3/8" Bandsaw Blade at Highland Woodworking. Check it out at http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/woodturners-bandsawblade.aspx. - John

[Roger Chandler]

+ 1 on the Woodturners blade from Highland Hardware. I have used them for the last couple years, and have had the best performance from them....even better than the Timberwolf blades I used previously.

[Dennis Ford]

I am using Lenox 1/2" 2tpi "#32 Wood". It is a carbon steel band. The Lenox "Diemaster ll" series is bimetal and will last longer unless you hit metal. Hitting a nail with a brand new bimetal blade is painful to the wallet, less so with a carbon steel blade.

[daryl moses]

I use a 1/2 X 2AS Timberwolf blade. It's made for green bowl blanks or milling logs.
Probably not the best blade for a tight radius but for bowl blanks staying inside the lines isn't that important. It will cut tight enough if you make a few relief cuts.

[Reed Gray]

Lennox Bimetal Die Master blades, hands down. They can be resharpened, and I take mine to a saw shop that does bandsaw mill blades. Nails will dull them, but they sharpen right back up. I was chatting with the Carter Bandsaw guide people last year at the Pittsburgh Symposium and told him that they could be resharpened, and he didn't know that. I don't think I have worn one out due to sharpening so many times. Usually they break first. They cut straighter than any others I have seen. On my little saw, 1/2 wide blade by 3 tpi. Big saw, 1 1/4 inch blade with teeth at 3/4 inch apart.

robo hippy

[Wes Ramsey]

I've got a Grizzly G0513X2 17". I mostly use it for resawing, general straight cutting and milling blanks. All the flat wood I play with is air dried, and the turning blanks are anywhere from green to 'was green when I cut it last year' :) The saw handles 3/4" Timberwolf 3TPI blades well and resaws wonderfully, but that blade just doesn't do well at working up blanks. I'm still a bandsaw noob, so I'll probably go with the less expensive option to begin with. I read some today about the Woodturner's blade at Highlands and for <$26 its just what I'm looking for. Thanks guys!

[Dale Bonertz]

Wes anything over $20 is an expensive bandsaw blade. Go to bandsawblades.com (I think). You can buy six for quantity discount, if you want at around $12 each. I cut a lot of bowl blanks and can say you will damage blades fairly easy with wood stress pinching them, hitting a hidden obstacle, cutting bark and etc. These blades cut well and last quite awhile if you don't damage them. The timber wolf, lenox and others are better blades especially for precision cutting but are to expensive to use on bowl blanks which don't require precision IMHO.

[carl mesaros]

Another vote for the Highland woodturners blade. They seem to last forever, cut straight with no binding.

[Prashun Patel]

3tpi , 3".

I use cheap blades and they work fine. It's the tooth count that er counts.

[Wes Ramsey]

Wes anything over $20 is an expensive bandsaw blade. Go to bandsawblades.com (I think). You can buy six for quantity discount, if you want at around $12 each. I cut a lot of bowl blanks and can say you will damage blades fairly easy with wood stress pinching them, hitting a hidden obstacle, cutting bark and etc. These blades cut well and last quite awhile if you don't damage them. The timber wolf, lenox and others are better blades especially for precision cutting but are to expensive to use on bowl blanks which don't require precision IMHO.

Thanks Dale. I'll definitely check that out. I'm on my 3rd TW resaw blade. The first one broke - I think it was dull and I was pushing too hard. The 2nd one I bent installing on the saw and I gave up on it when it dulled and quit cutting straight. The one I have on now is doing well. I've had good luck touching up the teeth with my Dremel and it seems to cut better than it did new. Hopefully I'll have the same luck with sharpening the WT blade. Call it a gloat, but I got this saw (gently used and in fine shape) plus a Wood River mortiser for $700. The guy threw in about 25 different blades for it, most of them new and some that didn't fit this saw, which I gave away. I still have a few new TW resaw blades in reserve so I'm chalking the last 2 up as learning experiences. I wanted to get used to the saw before buying anything new and think I'm ready to try some different blades for specific uses.

[Pat Scott]

Wes anything over $20 is an expensive bandsaw blade. Go to bandsawblades.com (I think). You can buy six for quantity discount, if you want at around $12 each. I cut a lot of bowl blanks and can say you will damage blades fairly easy with wood stress pinching them, hitting a hidden obstacle, cutting bark and etc. These blades cut well and last quite awhile if you don't damage them. The timber wolf, lenox and others are better blades especially for precision cutting but are to expensive to use on bowl blanks which don't require precision IMHO.

Thanks for the info on bandsawblades. I might have run across them in the past, but passed them over due to their website being pretty sparse and no prices or pictures. Which blade do you use from them? (carbon or tri-temp. I assume not bi-metal). Thanks.

[Aaron Craven]

Another vote for the Highland woodturners blade. They seem to last forever, cut straight with no binding.

I have a buddy that cut up a couple hickory logs for me that would disagree... but then that stuff was so hard, he also dulled two chainsaw blades and (understandably) gave up halfway through the job. :D I offered to pay for a new blade but he wouldn't accept it. (I've since rough turned the four blanks we cut. Cut, sharpen, cut, sharpen, cut, sharpen... crazy hard stuff...)

That said, he strongly recommended the highland woodturners blades as well.

[Dale Bonertz]

Pat,
I haven't paid attention in a long time so thanks for making me look. I just call them and tell them I need more. They say extra duty carbon band on them 3TPI for my little saw. I am sure the big saw is the same but that is the 20" saw if they ask. The little saw is a 14". They are 1/2" BY 3TPI. If you call them they'll help you get the right thing. Or I suppose you could tell them you want to match what I use except in your size.

[Ben Pierce]

I've struggled with this myself. I've upgraded the motor on my Delta 14" BS and added a riser kit for greater capacity. 3 tpi is good. I have been using 1/2" blades lately but I suspect that 3/8 will cut easier--reduced binding. Binding on soaking wet wood is really a drag. (literally). Also check out various tips online about sharpening blades easily with a dremel tool. Doesn't take long, not that I've mastered it... Anyway, save the dull blades.

[Dale Bonertz]

You are correct Ben. 3/8" will not drag as much but with anything there is risk/reward. Reward less drag and risk is if you are cutting thicker blanks then the blade can twist, kink or break easier than a 1/2". I would decide on the thickness of the blade more on what I am cutting most often. 4" thickness and under 3/8" works fine 5" and thicker I would go with 1/2". A 1/2" blade will cut a 6" diameter and larger reasonable well for what we are doing.

[Roger Chandler]

Most bandsaw blades are .025 thickness .....the Highland Hardware blades are .032 thickness, and have a wider set on the teeth to clear the kerf better. I have found them to be rugged and last very well, especially considering the grit that is contained in the bark on a lot of trees.

Carter also has a very similar blade for green wood to the Highland Woodturners blade. I got one of theirs at our symposium because they had them on display, and I have probably cut approx. 20 blanks with it to date. Performance is very similar to the Highland Woodturners so far......I have not used it enough yet to tell if it lasts as long, but probably does. Same thickness and tooth count, 3 tpi.

[Jeffrey J Smith]

Been using the Highland Woodworking Turner's blades - 3/8" for several years now. As has been mentioned, they seem to outlast anything else I've tried, and do a great job on wet blanks that are up to about 5 or 6 inches thick - at least that's been my experience. Cheaper blades work fine, but don't last as long. I'd rather pay a little more for better performance.

[Reed Gray]

I have never used less than a 1/2 inch blade. I have never had any problems with it dragging. So this brings up the question about tooth set, or how much they tilt out away from the center line of the blade. I really have no idea if that is a measure that it ever taken or not. Only problems I have had with any blade is when the blank is not very flat on the bottom. I do prefer the thicker blades because they don't wobble as much.

robo hippy

[George Guadiane]

I'd agree on 1/2 inch blades... I use Timber Wolf blades from Suffolk Machine. They were recommended by a ukulele maker in Hawaii. When I called, they asked for the make and model of the saw(s) and what I was going to cut. For wet bowl blanks, they recommended 1/2 inch 3tpi as (I think).
They turned a saw that I thought was utter crap into a saw that did an excellent job. I'll probably never use anything else.

Whatever they recommend, go with it.

[Roger Chandler]

I'd agree on 1/2 inch blades... I use Timber Wolf blades from Suffolk Machine. They were recommended by a ukulele maker in Hawaii. When I called, they asked for the make and model of the saw(s) and what I was going to cut. For wet bowl blanks, they recommended 1/2 inch 3tpi as (I think).
They turned a saw that I thought was utter crap into a saw that did an excellent job. I'll probably never use anything else.

Whatever they recommend, go with it.

The Timberwolf blades you mention here are the ones that I used to use. They are silicon steel from Sweeden, but they do not hold up nearly as long as the Woodturners blades from Highland Hardware. They dull quite a bit more quickly on bowl blanks, and are a good bit more expensive. They cut great when brand new, but in my opinion they fall off pretty quickly in resawing applications and especially in bowl blanks when cutting bark and such.

[Reed Gray]

I have had more than one friend who tried my Lennox blades, and they were Timberwolf users. They all switched to the Lennox.

robo hippy