Bandsaw blade width vs resaw capacity

[William Batdorf]

Hello Creekers,
Please share your collective wisdom on the topic of band saw blades and their capacity for re-sawing. This evening I was working to re-saw a 5/4 x 10" black walnut plank into two book matched boards. About halfway though re-sawing the piece my relatively new (less than 3 weeks old) 3/8-inch Timberwolf saw blade broke. I'm not sure if I'm over working the blade or what the issue is. I humbly defer to the more experienced wood workers here to help analyze my problem. Is there a critical relationship between blade width and re-saw capacity? Thanks in advance for your help.

[lowell holmes]

I prefer a 1/2" 4 or 5 tooth blade for resawing.

[Andrew Hughes]

Yes wider blades can have less tpi and bigger gullets.
If you go up to a 1/2 inch blade you can get 3 tpi.

[Doug Hepler]

William,

I don't think the break would have occurred because of the width of the band, but it might have occurred because of the pitch of the teeth. I can see that a blade with too many teeth per inch could clog when resawing a 10" board. That would overheat and stress the blade. Like Lowell, I think most people would prefer a 1/2" or 3/4" blade but the tpi is probably what matters. Go for 3 tpi. It might have broken for a variety of "random" reasons, such as a defective weld or previous damage.

Doug

[Brian Holcombe]

I would expect that if you feel any resistance than it is too few TPI or a dull blade. I have been using woodmaster CT blades since I purchased my saw and I'm very happy with them. It's a 1.3 tooth blade and I have resawn up to 19" white oak. They last a long time, enough that I feel it's actually a cost savings over conventional blades. My last blade was on the saw for 7 mo and I do a lot of resawing.

[Mike Cutler]

William

I think that, for that blade, you're kind of at the outside of it's abilities. 10" is a lot of material to remove.
I'm also a big fan of carbide teeth for resew. It's just easier in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I think Timberwolf makes excellent blades, but when re-sawing for figure, I think carbide teeth are the better solution. Me personally, I'd try a 1/2", 2-3 tooth carbide tipped blade for the task you were doing.

I'm with Andrew. It's the ability to clear the waste, for a given worth of blade, that is important.
I have a 1", 2/3 varipitch, Lennox Tri-Master on my saw. The gullets are pretty deep and have the ability to remove a lot of waste. I have no issues with re-sawing with that blade.

[John K Jordan]

... woodmaster CT blades ...
Brian,

Is that the 1" blade? Do you know what tension it requires? I use an 18" Rikon and typically run 1/2" 3 tpi blades.

I read that a carbide blade "can take" up to 30,000 psi as compared to the 15,000 - 20,000 psi for other blades. I wondered what your experience is with tensioning these blades and and if you use a gauge. I do have a gauge.

Also, how is it for cutting green wood?

One more question for you: your favorite place to buy the Woodmaster blades?

JKJ

[Jim Becker]

I generally use a 1/2" 3TPI Timberwolf blade for both general cutting and re-saw work.

[lowell holmes]

My Jet band saw does not handle 3/4" blades well. !/2" is the largest I can use, but I run a 3/8" blade and am happy with the results.

Blade drift is an issue with re-sawing.

[Brian Holcombe]

Brian,

Is that the 1" blade? Do you know what tension it requires? I use an 18" Rikon and typically run 1/2" 3 tpi blades.

I read that a carbide blade "can take" up to 30,000 psi as compared to the 15,000 - 20,000 psi for other blades. I wondered what your experience is with tensioning these blades and and if you use a gauge. I do have a gauge.

Also, how is it for cutting green wood?

One more question for you: your favorite place to buy the Woodmaster blades?

JKJ

Hi John, It is the 1" blade, takes a good bit of tension but I have never measured. I typically tension it up to the 1-1/2" measurement on my saw and it responds well (never drifts) until it gets pretty dull. I basically use that as a determination for when to replace the blade. If it drifts I put on a new one.

I have bought from Spectrum and BandSawBladesDirect. Spectrum is fast, I needed a replacement in a hurry recently and they had two blades to me in 3 days.

I haven't cut anything green with this saw.

I cut all of these veneers recently, starting with 18.5" wide material. As long as my jointing job is good, everything goes smoothly.

https://brianholcombewoodworkerblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/img_7399.jpg

[daryl moses]

I generally use a 1/2" 3TPI Timberwolf blade for both general cutting and re-saw work.
X2, that's what I use for the same purpose on my Rikon. On the other hand I have a [made in the USA] Delta 14" saw that is my dedicated saw for scroll type cuts using a 1/4" blade or smaller.

[John TenEyck]

My experience with Timberwolf blades on my 14" Delta was poor. They cut OK, but both I had broke, one after only a few weeks, and not at the welds. Never went back to waste more money on them after that. I moved on the Olson MVP bi-metal blades and never had another break. They aren't the smoothest cutting blade out there, but they cut well and last a long time before getting dull. I regularly cut 10"+ hardwood veneer with a 1/2", 3 tpi one. If you take out some of the set by squeezing them between hardwood jaws in the vice they cut smoother.

John