Re-saw woes....

[Gary Cunningham]

I recently bought a Rikon 10-326. I am having problems resawing .062 strips for shaker boxes.
First time worked good. Second time, not so much.

Highland Woodworks 1/2" resaw blade. Table, fence and blade are square and parallel to each other. Fence adjusted for drift. Blade tracks good on the wheels, guides look to be spaced correctly.

The blade wants to suck in towards the fence, to the point of running out of the wood.

I "think" the blade is tight enough.

Thoughts?

TIA

Gary

[Mike King]

https://youtu.be/wGbZqWac0jU

[David Helm]

Definitely watch the Snodgrass video that Mike linked to. Solved all of my resaw woes.

[John Lanciani]

If it's the blade they call the "woodslicer" it is almost certainly dull. Way overhyped blade with a useable lifespan that can be measured in minutes. Seriously, I've used them up in 20 minutes doing exactly what you are doing before I got wiser and got myself educated on bandsaw blades.

[Art Mann]

Suffice it to say that not everyone who has used Woodslicer blades has had the same experience as you. I like mine.


If it's the blade they call the "woodslicer" it is almost certainly dull. Way overhyped blade with a useable lifespan that can be measured in minutes. Seriously, I've used them up in 20 minutes doing exactly what you are doing before I got wiser and got myself educated on bandsaw blades.

[Erik Loza]

If it's the blade they call the "woodslicer" it is almost certainly dull...

I've never used a Woodslicer but lots of my customers have and it's not one I hear much negative feedback on. One comment, though: On blades like the the WS (or the Lenox Die-master II), which have tiny teeth and not much gullet or kerf, they are very sensitive to feed rate. Pushing too hard or trying to feed too fast WILL dull a blade like that in a hurry. One of the things I notice a lot from new bandsaw users is the thinking that there is such thing as a do-all blade, that will give you awesome finish quality, fast feed rate, the same finish on any species of wood, stay sharp forever, etc., when in reality, you really need an assortment of blades. Just my 2-cents.

Erik

[Gary Cunningham]

Suffice it to say that not everyone who has used Woodslicer blades has had the same experience as you. I like mine.


Since it has been used for less than 35 lineal feet of 3 inch cherry I would rather cheesed off if it has lost sharpness.

[Jeff Duncan]

I have to agree with John, if your using it in hardwoods the Woodslicer blades dull amazingly quickly. And if nothing else on your saw/setup has changed except that it's not cutting right, well that's the 1st and most obvious thing to look at. I've used more than a couple over the years as they do cut beautifully when new....they just don't last long. I've now gone to Lenox bi-metal which don't cut anywhere near as cleanly, but last a whole lot longer.

good luck,
JeffD

[Jim Finn]

I have used woodslicer blades re-sawing cedar, oak, walnut and soft maple and found them to dull remarkably quickly. I re-saw quite a bit, and now use "Supercut" blades. I use their 1/2" carbide "gold" blade for re-sawing and they last about ten times as long as the woodslicer blades do and are a bit cheaper. ($25 for a 105" blade). "Drift" is caused by a dull blade. I use a non adjustable re-saw fence on my 14" saw and when I get drift, I replace the blade to fix that.

[glenn bradley]

I don't have the problem of the Woodslicers dulling unusually fast. I use a feed rate of around an inch per second if the going is really easy and slower as required. Are you re-jointing the cut surface before going in for the second cut? If not, that is your problem.

Trying to cut 1/16" slice when using an already sawn surface as your reference is a no-go for me. I also slice from the outside edge but, since you say you are adjusting for drift, I wouldn't go there. I think if you joint the face and edge, slice off a cut between fence and blade, re-joint the face, slice off a cut, etc. you may find greater success.

[Charles Taylor]

Interesting discussion with experiences on both ends of the spectrum. I ordered a Woodslicer blade just hours before this thread appeared. This will be the first one I've tried, so I'm looking forward to seeing what results I get. The blade I've used for resawing previously was a Timberwolf 3/4" 3TPI blade that is long overdue for retirement. I'm pretty sure my technique is as much to blame as anything else for what seemed to be a pretty short useful life. Several bits of good advice here.

[lowell holmes]

You should sharpen your bandsaw blade with a dremel. You just touch the tooth with the tool.

[Mike Wilkins]

There are specialty blades for scroll cuts, general purpose cutting and re-saw work. There is an article in one of the recent past issues of Fine Woodworking magazine talking about blades. If you do a lot of re-saw work, it may be worth the cost of investing in one of the blades with carbide teeth on them. No more than 3 teeth in the wood at a time is the general rule of thumb. Stay safe and watch those thumbs.

[Paul Saffold]

That rule of thumb sounds nice but not practical in the real world. Think about resawing a 6" or 12" board. You would need a 0.5 tpi or a 0.25 tpi blade to only have 3 teeth in the wood. Try finding one in the 1/2" to 3/4" wide range that is the max width for most 14" bandsaws. It's another of those guides put out by bandsaw experts and authors who don't think about what they are saying.

[Cody Colston]

I have had two 3/4" Woodslice blades that I use for resawing. One dulled fairly quickly but the other is still sharp and cuts well, even after cutting more linear feet than the first blade which I discarded. Just last night I was looking at some 1/16" shop-sawn veneer that I cut a couple of years ago with the woodslicer...both hardwood and softwood. It is very smooth on the cut side and the thickness is really consistent.

For me, the Woodslicer is a good blade but if I did a lot of resawing I would invest in a carbide-tipped blade.

[Robert Engel]

I "think" the blade is tight enough.

Thoughts?
GaryIMO this may be onto the problem. You may also need to check tracking if blade tension has decreased this can change. When resawing, I usually retension before each session.

I do agree re: short lifespans of WS blades, it really depends on density of wood.

I will on trying another brand next time. Can't justify a carbide blade but that's the way to go.

[lowell holmes]

I responded with my tip on sharpening band saw blades because I needed a sharp blade to complete a re-saw task. There was a string at the time that addressed re-saw. I found that I could touch up the blade teeth in about 5 minutes and was able to successfully complete the task. I see no need for carbide tip blades unless you just want one.

[Gary Cunningham]

I found the problem. My resaw fence needs to be shimmed in order to be square the blade.

The shims moved, and the top of the fence made contact with the blade. :-(

Should the fence have a better fit, or is that the way things go?

I have a new Kreg b-saw fence. Maybe it has better tolerances.

[Kevin Groenke]

1/2 x .025 3S Lenox Tri-Master (https://www.bandsawbladesdirect.com/lenox-tri-master-carbide-band-saw-blades#.V70Da1EXUG4.google).

$150 is 5X the cost of a Woodslicer but the blade will last 20? times longer.

[Jeff Duncan]

I found the problem. My resaw fence needs to be shimmed in order to be square the blade.

The shims moved, and the top of the fence made contact with the blade. :-(

Should the fence have a better fit, or is that the way things go?

I have a new Kreg b-saw fence. Maybe it has better tolerances.

Hmmm, if your saw fence is not parallel to the blade you need to check to make sure it is perpendicular to the table top. If this is on, then you need to adjust your table to square it and the fence to the blade. Should not really need shims anywhere in there.

good luck,
JeffD