Band Saw Blade Advise

[Old Bob Behling]

Have 5 HP Laguna band saw and cut large green bowl blanks up to 8" thick. Would like advice on what blade to buy and from whom for a reasonable price. Thanks

[Tony De Masi]

Recently, past two years, I've used both the Timberwolf AS blades and the Lennox Die Master II blades. Both 1/2", 3 tpi. I too use them for thick, green blanks. For me they both cut fine but the Lennox stays sharper longer. I've certainly have not done a documented results based report on this, it's just my simple observation. Both of these blades are manufactured just for this application.

[John Keeton]

For the last several years, I have purchased blades from http://www.woodcraftbands.com/
Service and prices are hard to beat. James was the fellow cutting the blades and may still do so. I usually buy the 3/8” X .025 4S (skip tooth.)

[John Beaver]

This is the blade I use for bowl blanks, especially wet ones.

Lenox Wood 32 from Cyber Woodworking Depot / Toolcenter.com

http://www.toolcenter.com/index.php?p=catalog&mode=search&parent=0&mid=0&search_in=all&search_str=32+wood&pg=5

[Reed Gray]

I have the Laguna 16HD. Mostly I use it for cutting slabs. I use a 1 1/4 inch wide with teeth at 3/4 inch apart for ripping slabs, I use a smaller saw (1/2 by 3 tpi) for cutting circles. I use the Lennox blades on both saws. They cut far longer and straighter than any other blades out there, and can be resharpened many times. A bit more money, but well worth it. I have a saw shop sharpen my blades, costs about $9 for the big blades.

robo hippy

[John K Jordan]

Have 5 HP Laguna band saw and cut large green bowl blanks up to 8" thick. Would like advice on what blade to buy and from whom for a reasonable price. Thanks

Bob, I also use Lennox blades. For green wood and turning blanks up to 12" thick I use 1/2"x8-tpi. [Edit: this should be 3-tpi. Sorry!] A local business welds up blades to order at a good price, sometimes while I wait. And I think driving there is cheaper than shipping. Perhaps there is a similar service in your area.

JKJ

[Old Bob Behling]

Bob, I also use Lennox blades. For green wood and turning blanks up to 12" thick I use 1/2"x8-tpi. A local business welds up blades to order at a good price, sometimes while I wait. And I think driving there is cheaper than shipping. Perhaps there is a similar service in your area.

JKJ
Thanks John. Exactly what blade is this. Doesn`t a 8-tpi blade struggle getting through 12" thick wood?

[John K Jordan]

Thanks John. Exactly what blade is this. Doesn`t a 8-tpi blade struggle getting through 12" thick wood?

The 8-tpi was a typo. Yikes, that WOULD be a struggle!

I meant to type 3-tpi. Please forgive for the confusion. I'll try to correct the message.

BTW, this evening I re-read a note from a gentleman named Brian Hahn about how he prepares a new bandsaw blade for cutting thick wood. Starting with a 3-tpi blade he uses a grinder to remove every other tooth. This gives a 1.5-tpi blade. I really need to try this - it makes a lot of sense.

He said he used a 1/4" wide grinding wheel. I suspect this is the type of wheel used for sharpening chain saws or the thicker one made for lowering the depth gauges. The chain saw sharpener I use should be perfect for this anyway.

JKJ

[Bill Blasic]

I like John Keeton use blades from http://www.woodcraftbands.com/. He sells a 1/2" wide, two tooth, hook blades .032 thick for cutting wet rough wood and they do cut very nicely. Priced very well also.

[Steve Nix]

I use Ellis Blades 1800-383-5547. They make their Blades. Great quality and even better pricing. Give them a call

[Curt Harms]

Highland Hardware/Woodworking sells a blade intended for wet wood. I've never had a need for one so no idea how they work.

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/woodturners-bandsawblade.aspx

[Old Bob Behling]

The 8-tpi was a typo. Yikes, that WOULD be a struggle!

I meant to type 3-tpi. Please forgive for the confusion. I'll try to correct the message.

BTW, this evening I re-read a note from a gentleman named Brian Hahn about how he prepares a new bandsaw blade for cutting thick wood. Starting with a 3-tpi blade he uses a grinder to remove every other tooth. This gives a 1.5-tpi blade. I really need to try this - it makes a lot of sense.

He said he used a 1/4" wide grinding wheel. I suspect this is the type of wheel used for sharpening chain saws or the thicker one made for lowering the depth gauges. The chain saw sharpener I use should be perfect for this anyway.

JKJ
Hi John, Regarding the Lenox blade, Which 1/2-3tpi blade are you using? Lenox makes some very expensive to very economical blades. Also on Brian`s blades, they must be alternate toothed with a raker between and he removes the raker? Thanks or your help.

[Roger Chandler]

Highland Hardware/Woodworking sells a blade intended for wet wood. I've never had a need for one so no idea how they work.

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/woodturners-bandsawblade.aspx

I also use the Woodturners blades from Highland Hardware. They are superb! They have a wider teeth set for clearing the kerf, are .032 thickness for strength, have 3 tpi, and are wonderful for turning the curve, as they are 3/8" wide, which will turn a tighter radius than a 1/2" blade. I usually have a blade last for a year or so without sharpening. I highly recommend.

[Reed Gray]

My 96 inch 3 tpi 1/2 inch blades are about $28. I think the 150 inch blades for the big saw are about $70. You can for sure find cheaper blades, but dollar wise, the bimetal blades give you far more for your money. Carbide tipped blades are a waste unless you are cutting fine veneers.

robo hippy

[Bob Bouis]

Personally, I don't see the utility of cutting bowl blanks into perfect circles on the bandsaw. Rounding an octagon or hexagon on the lathe is easier than cutting the circle on the bandsaw. Maybe if your lathe is near capacity or you're cutting the blanks from a precious board and want to save every scrap of wood.

As far as blades go, the best one depends on your saw. But for cutting turning blanks, imo, you want the widest and thickest band your saw can take. The limiting factor is really wheel size more than anything else. A smaller wheel will fatigue wider and thicker bands. On mine I have a 1.25", .40" thick Lenox bimetal blade (and I love it). But my saw has 24" wheels.

The bimetal blades are great, and you absolutely should end up using one. But I would recommend starting with regular blades until you're sure you like that size/thickness/tooth spacing and have had a little bit of practice with it.

[Reed Gray]

Perfect circles, well never, but close. You do spend a bit more time in prep, but you more than make up for that when you put the blank on the lathe. Roughing speeds are way slower on an octagon than on a circle, and a balanced blank is just smoother to start off with. Time saver for production work.

robo hippy

[John K Jordan]

Hi John, Regarding the Lenox blade, Which 1/2-3tpi blade are you using? Lenox makes some very expensive to very economical blades. Also on Brian`s blades, they must be alternate toothed with a raker between and he removes the raker? Thanks or your help.

This is from Brian's message from 2005:

"For re-sawing I use a 5/8” - 3 tpi hook tooth blade (Olson from Woodcraft). I’ve tried other blades, but this is the one that works best for me. The blade has a three-tooth pattern, Left-Right-Center. The first thing I do is remove every other tooth using a mandrel-mounted grinding wheel (1” dia x ¼” thick) on the Dremel. I start with the first tooth above the weld and work my way around the blade until I get back to the weld. If the blade has an odd number of teeth, the two-tooth gap spans the weld, which is convenient when I sharpen the blade. That makes it a 1.5 tpi blade with a L-C-R pattern. The blade cuts at least twice as fast because there is more room to clear the sawdust. It also seems to cut twice as long before it needs sharpening. This also works for a five-tooth pattern , but if you have a two-tooth pattern (no raker/center) you’d want to remove two out of three teeth to maintain the pattern"

I see he uses a 1/4" thick Dremel grinding wheel.

I don't remember the exact blade I'm using but I'll find out the next time I get some.

JKJ