Timberwolf bimetal blades for resaw?

[Rob Price]

As I’m shopping for a new 18” bandsaw I’m also looking at blades. So far I’m seeing carbide as the best at cutting and staying sharp, but super expensive. For my uses I’m not sure I can justify the cost but not completely ruled out.

I see the Highland woodslicer which gets rav reviews but dulls quickly because it’s really a meat cutting blade. Other blades like Carter and Timberwolf may hold an edge a little better. I’ve used mostly Carter blades on my 14” saw because I can get them super cheap through a friend but they don’t make a true 1” resaw blade.

I see the Lenox classic bimetallic mentioned a bunch- but the tooth profile really isn’t for wood. 4/6 tpi, shallow gullets, but several folks like them for resaw.

Then I found the Timberwolf bimetal resaw blade. 2/3 tpi, deep gullets, rake teeth, etc but I can’t find any third party reviews. It’s cost is similar to the Lenox. I’m thinking it may be a good compromise between the carbide and carbon blades.

Anyone used one?

[Van Huskey]

The Diemaster is great but it isn't a resawing blade. The best resawing bi-metal blade (IMO) is the Lenox Woodmaster B. The problem is the smallest cross section is 1" x .035 which needs a serious saw to tension correctly. IIRC you are looking at Asian 18" saws, if so you need to be considering 3/4" blades (if bi-metal or carbide) and not 1" blades. Even a thin backed 1" carbide blade like the Resaw King is pushing those saw's tensioning ability.

Not a fan of TW blades but a lot of people are.


Edit: I should have added a lot of the decision in choosing a resaw blade depends on what quality of surface you want iff the saw. The best surface is going to be from either the Laguna Resaw King or Lenox Trimaster followed closely by the blades like the Woodslicer and Kerf Master. The high set, big gullet, aggressive tooth pattern blades will require more cleanup which equals time and wasted wood, those may be of concern and they may not.

[Art Tripp]

I have the Laguna 18BX in my shop and after a lot of research went with the carbide 1" Laguna Resaw King for resaw work and the bimetal Lenox Diemaster 2 (1/2" 4tpi & 1/4" 6tpi) blades for other duties. I bought the blades for the overall quality and service life. I would highly recommend each and have been quite satisfied in each regard. In addition, I recommend taking a look at the 18BX if you haven't done so and truly love mine.

[John TenEyck]

I had two Timberwolf blades break on my 14" Delta, very prematurely, so I moved on. On that saw I settled on a 1/2 x 3 tpi Lennox Diemaster, which I found to work fine for resaw and veneer slicing. I also used an Olson MVP for the same purpose. The MVP blade stayed sharp longer, but didn't cut as smoothly as the Diemaster. On my 17" Grizzly I used a Lennox 1" x 1.3 tpi Woodmaster CT (carbide) and that blade cut amazingly smooth and fast, like a Woodslicer on steroids. But it broke at the weld and I got no joy from the company that sold it to me, so I went to the other extreme of the price range; I'm now using a 1" x 2tpi Woodmaster C and it cuts surprisingly smooth and plenty fast enough. I also bought a Woodmaster C 1.3 tpi as well as both tpi versions of the GT. None of these blades cost more than $30 so if one breaks it's no great loss. Plus I can resharpen all of them myself. I thought about trying the Woodmaster B but for 3X the price I couldn't justify it. If you cut a lot of abrasive woods, or don't want to resharpen them yourself, then the B might be a good choice. Otherwise, the C blades offer good performance at a great price.


John

[Rob Price]

I was hoping those 18” saws could handle the 1” blades.

Most of my big bandsaw needs/wants are actually big green bandsaw blanks, I cut more bowl blanks than resaw these days- but I do the occasional resaw on my 14” Jet currently.

Just looking for a good balance between cost/performance for occasional resawing. If I was doing any kind of volume I’d go straight to a carbide blade.

I’m not looking for glue up ready veneer. anything I do will be 1/8 or more and any thing thicker will probably going back through the planer anyways.

[John K Jordan]

I was hoping those 18” saws could handle the 1” blades.
Most of my big bandsaw needs/wants are actually big green bandsaw blanks, I cut more bowl blanks than resaw these days- but I do the occasional resaw on my 14” Jet currently.
Just looking for a good balance between cost/performance for occasional resawing. If I was doing any kind of volume I’d go straight to a carbide blade.
I’m not looking for glue up ready veneer. anything I do will be 1/8 or more and any thing thicker will probably going back through the planer anyways.

Rob,

I also mostly use the saw for green turning blanks and occasionally resaw up to 12" dry boards for thick veneer (1/8-1/4") to glue between layers of wood. I use a 1/2" x 3tpi blade made from Lennox stock for almost everything, going to a 1/2"x4tpi on occasion. The 3tpi is perfect for even 12" thick green or dry wood of any species. The cut is not exactly baby cheek smooth but it doesn't matter for the turning stock. I run all my thick veneer through a Performax drum sander with 80 grit paper. This gives a surface I find perfect for gluing up for woodturning:

386929 386930

JKJ

[John TenEyck]

I was hoping those 18” saws could handle the 1” blades.

Most of my big bandsaw needs/wants are actually big green bandsaw blanks, I cut more bowl blanks than resaw these days- but I do the occasional resaw on my 14” Jet currently.

Just looking for a good balance between cost/performance for occasional resawing. If I was doing any kind of volume I’d go straight to a carbide blade.

I’m not looking for glue up ready veneer. anything I do will be 1/8 or more and any thing thicker will probably going back through the planer anyways.

If you are looking for a smaller saw that can tension pretty much any blade you'd want to use, look at the 17" Grizzly G0636X. I've had one for a couple of years and it is, IMO, equivalent/better than a MM16, for far less money. I get 26K psi on a 1" x 2 tpi x 0.035" Lennox blade at the 1" tension mark. It could easily put 30K on that blade w/o much frame deflection.

For occasional resawing there's no need to spend much money. Any of the carbon steel blades will work fine. I use a 3/8" x 4 tpi Starrett carbon steel blade on my 14" Delta and it cuts just fine in anything up to about 6" thick. The Woodmaster C blades I mentioned earlier offer a great value in larger widths.

John

[Van Huskey]

I was hoping those 18” saws could handle the 1” blades.

Most of my big bandsaw needs/wants are actually big green bandsaw blanks, I cut more bowl blanks than resaw these days- but I do the occasional resaw on my 14” Jet currently.

Just looking for a good balance between cost/performance for occasional resawing. If I was doing any kind of volume I’d go straight to a carbide blade.

I’m not looking for glue up ready veneer. anything I do will be 1/8 or more and any thing thicker will probably going back through the planer anyways.


It takes more saw than the 18" saws I think you are looking at to fully tension a 1" x .035" bi-metal or carbide blade, the strain gauge doesn't lie. If you aren't mainly doing resawing on the saw it is a non-issue though. For occasional resawing I would just get a Kerfmaster, sure they dull relatively quick but they give a beautiful finish off the saw and have a very thin kerf. If you want more longevity and less concerned about the finish off the saw and kerf get a 1" Woodmaster C, it will last longer than the Kerfmaster, cost less and chew through tall resaws with the quickness and being carbon steel needs much less tension than a bi-metal or carbide blade so the saws you are looking at can handle it.

If you step back and think about the fact you are only planning on occasional resawing there is no real reason to get hung up on how long the blade will last since even the Woodslicer/Kerfmaster blades are likely to last you several years.

[Art Tripp]

My Laguna 18BX is rated for up to a 1-1/4" blade but I didn't need a blade that full width, and additionally I generally prefer not to work in the upper-limits of my equipment (though admittedly my tractor has more than pulled it's share of work and weight), and chose to go with the 1" Laguna Resaw King. The saw has no difficulty tensioning the blade and has additional capability if I needed to go higher. With the longer life and cut quality of the carbide, I feel the $175 cost (shipping included from laguna.com) is quite reasonable, particularly considering it can be resharpened multiple times at a cost of $45 (return shipping included). I spent much time researching prior to going this route and have been quite happy with the results.

[Van Huskey]

My Laguna 18BX is rated for up to a 1-1/4" blade but I didn't need a blade that full width, and additionally I generally prefer not to work in the upper-limits of my equipment (though admittedly my tractor has more than pulled it's share of work and weight), and chose to go with the 1" Laguna Resaw King. The saw has no difficulty tensioning the blade and has additional capability if I needed to go higher.

A couple of things. First, bandsaws blade width ratings are almost universally based on the size of blade that can be physically fitted to the saw. Even if they weren't saying a particular saw could properly tension a 1 1/4" blade is a useless fact without knowing the thickness of the hypothetical blade and the particular blades tension requirements to function optimally. A carbide 1 1/4" Lenox Trimaster will need nearly twice the absolute pressure compared to a 1 1/4" Resaw King and about 3 times the pressure as a .035" Woodmaster C in 1 1/4". This is the same reason bandsaw tension scales listed by bandwidth can only be accurate for one band type/thickness/width.

Second, what is the actual tension you are running the 1 " Resaw King at?

[Patrick Walsh]

Man so much to know about proper bandsaw blade selection and tension.

I have to admit I have always struggled with proper bandsaw setup and blade selection. I recently traded a Laguna 14/12 with a myriad of blades including a 3tpi skip tooth 3\4 resaw king for a 83 Inca three wheel machine in perfect condition.

I loathed that Laguna saw for use with anything over 1/2” blade. Resaw work in anything harder than say cherry or walnut was a deal breaker. Every time I tried to resaw hard maple the blade would quickly dull and my resaw results would go to hell before I could get through even one board. I destroyed more than one wonderful piece of lumber on acou t of that machine or my own negligence. Hopefully both ;)

I set the Inca up with a 3/8-5/8” 3tpi blade the machine came with and no lower guides and it whizzes through hard maple like a dream with the accuracy I would expect.

Ok so I’m not trying to hijack this thread I’m trying to add to it and further obtain an education with regard to proper bandsaw blade selection for resaw work on larger machines.

Last week I took delivery of a Minimax s500p. I ordered a Lennox Woodmaster 1.3t .015 kerf and am curious what the proper tension is for this blade.

I assume it’s the perfect blade for a dedicated resaw machine....?

[Rob Price]

If you step back and think about the fact you are only planning on occasional resawing there is no real reason to get hung up on how long the blade will last since even the Woodslicer/Kerfmaster blades are likely to last you several years.

Good point

[John TenEyck]

Man so much to know about proper bandsaw blade selection and tension.

I have to admit I have always struggled with proper bandsaw setup and blade selection. I recently traded a Laguna 14/12 with a myriad of blades including a 3tpi skip tooth 3\4 resaw king for a 83 Inca three wheel machine in perfect condition.

I loathed that Laguna saw for use with anything over 1/2” blade. Resaw work in anything harder than say cherry or walnut was a deal breaker. Every time I tried to resaw hard maple the blade would quickly dull and my resaw results would go to hell before I could get through even one board. I destroyed more than one wonderful piece of lumber on acou t of that machine or my own negligence. Hopefully both ;)

I set the Inca up with a 3/8-5/8” 3tpi blade the machine came with and no lower guides and it whizzes through hard maple like a dream with the accuracy I would expect.

Ok so I’m not trying to hijack this thread I’m trying to add to it and further obtain an education with regard to proper bandsaw blade selection for resaw work on larger machines.

Last week I took delivery of a Minimax s500p. I ordered a Lennox Woodmaster 1.3t .015 kerf and am curious what the proper tension is for this blade.

I assume it’s the perfect blade for a dedicated resaw machine....?

Which Woodmaster? And are you sure about the kerf; even the Woodslicer has a kerf about 2X what you wrote. Anyway, most non-carbide blades are happy running at around 20 - 25K psi. Up to 30K psi for carbide. Of course you can run lower tension, but performance and life go down. Do you have a tension gauge? It's the only way to know what
you have.

John

[Tom M King]

Patrick, I think you meant .035. You don't have to worry about putting too much tension on that blade with your saw. Crank it up to where you think you need it, and try it. If it needs some more, the blade can take it. You probably won't need as much as you can get for it to cut smoothly. If you have never used this blade before, welcome to a new world in resawing.

[Van Huskey]

Which Woodmaster? And are you sure about the kerf; even the Woodslicer has a kerf about 2X what you wrote.

John

He switched the numbers, while off the top of my head I don't know the kerf of the C or B Woodmasters the Woodmaster CT (in the sizes we here use for vertical saws) is .051 vs .015.

To Patrick, I of a member of the church of tension and have found MANY of peoples resawing issues are from low tension (though it can be many other things as well). If the Lenox blade is a Woodmaster CT (carbide) blade it is probably the best general resaw blade for the MM20 class of saw for speed, there are better blades for finish.

One really needs a strain gauge to know what tension they are running at but most hobbyists balk at the $200+ for a commercial one and don't bother building one. However, I do have extensive notes on many blades I have run on the 400/500/600 Centauro (Minimax) saws and while my 400 and 600 are in storage I have the 500 set up in my temporary shop and have 40 or so different blades for it including the whole Woodmaster family (I think I only have 1" widths but would have to check). If you let me know the exact blade I can either refer to my notes or string up one and give you the PSI vs the gauge on the saw for the correct tension range for the particular blade.

[Patrick Walsh]

Lennox Woodmaster C.T.

1x.035 1.3T .051 kerf

No tension gauge...

Well one on th e saw buy]t...

Googled a bit about bs tg’s and it seems most say they re not accurate for reliable. Maybe those are just the cheap people talking?’’

[Patrick Walsh]

I had a resaw king and was not impressed as mentioned on the 14/12.

I must have been misguided when I purchased the saw and the sales person suggested it for resaw work.

From what I could tell the machine could not tension it properly.

If have such a problem with this saw I might loose my bleep..


Patrick, I think you meant .035. You don't have to worry about putting too much tension on that blade with your saw. Crank it up to where you think you need it, and try it. If it needs some more, the blade can take it. You probably won't need as much as you can get for it to cut smoothly. If you have never used this blade before, welcome to a new world in resawing.

[Patrick Walsh]

Van that is a very generous offer and if I get a strain gauge I just might take you up on it at some point.

I have been reading a bit about strain gauges and it seems many feel they are a waste, inaccurate or not able to produce repeated results.

I love myself a reason to buy another tool along with 100% the dedicated to being well prepared but I would want to know that unanimously a tension gauge works. If so it seems like small money imop. Of course I’d have to have that $500 Sterrett one lol...






He switched the numbers, while off the top of my head I don't know the kerf of the C or B Woodmasters the Woodmaster CT (in the sizes we here use for vertical saws) is .051 vs .015.

To Patrick, I of a member of the church of tension and have found MANY of peoples resawing issues are from low tension (though it can be many other things as well). If the Lenox blade is a Woodmaster CT (carbide) blade it is probably the best general resaw blade for the MM20 class of saw for speed, there are better blades for finish.

One really needs a strain gauge to know what tension they are running at but most hobbyists balk at the $200+ for a commercial one and don't bother building one. However, I do have extensive notes on many blades I have run on the 400/500/600 Centauro (Minimax) saws and while my 400 and 600 are in storage I have the 500 set up in my temporary shop and have 40 or so different blades for it including the whole Woodmaster family (I think I only have 1" widths but would have to check). If you let me know the exact blade I can either refer to my notes or string up one and give you the PSI vs the gauge on the saw for the correct tension range for the particular blade.

[Andrew Hughes]

I've never used one to tension my WoodMaster ct blades. I did crank up the tension once to see if my cut would improve I didn't see any difference in the surface but the blade did stop spinning the rear bearing.
I lean toward the sharp blade fixes most problems with a bandsaw.
My saw is a Aggazani b20/20. Probably not as heavy built as the mini max.
I don't think you need one.

[Patrick Walsh]

That’s good cuz I’m kinda broke for a while..

Well need to stop spending so I’m not broke but.....


I've never used one to tension my WoodMaster ct blades. I did crank up the tension once to see if my cut would improve I didn't see any difference in the surface but the blade did stop spinning the rear bearing.
I lean toward the sharp blade fixes most problems with a bandsaw.
My saw is a Aggazani b20/20. Probably not as heavy built as the mini max.
I don't think you need one.

[Tom M King]

I think my saw has a built in tension gauge, but I don't ever remember looking at it.

[Andrew Hughes]

That's a sure sign of old age tom :) I can't remember half of what I did yesterday .
I do remember when I tension my saw I turn it till the pointer hits the one inch mark and give it a 1/4 turn more.
I also use the blade length Jesse first gave me.

[Van Huskey]

Lennox Woodmaster C.T.

1x.035 1.3T .051 kerf

No tension gauge...

Well one on th e saw buy]t...

Googled a bit about bs tg’s and it seems most say they re not accurate for reliable. Maybe those are just the cheap people talking?’’

That is an easy one for me because I have used it a lot on the 500, I used it when I had the feeder on the 500, I have a Trimaster on it now. Look at the tension gauge on the saw frame see the sliding white "cursor"? Tighten until the that cursor is 2 widths of that white line ABOVE the 1.5" mark that is between 28k and 30k PSI for that blade. There is a lot of tension to be had above the top of the scale on the 500 (the cursor keeps moving well above the 1.5" mark) BUT when if someone reads this and bottoms out their spring and mucks up the works you did NOT hear it from me. Going into that realm requires some mechanical sympathy and a touch and ear that can sense when the spring bottoms out. EDIT: I did not mean to imply that going the 2 cursor widths (maybe I should have said thickness instead) was even near the danger zone, that is still a long way from bottoming the spring but if you go over 10 or so cursor thicknesses above the 1.5" mark you are on your own! Also even right before the spring bottoms out there is still almost zero deflection in the frame.

I have a lot to say about strain gauges/tension meters in regards to them being useless but I will save that for a day (maybe tomorrow) when I feel more like pontificating.

Just one note, for anyone looking for a bandsaw tension/strain gauge Zoro carries the Lenox for ~250, if you sign up with them you get emails with great sales consistently the last one I bought was in one of their 25% off sales and paid less than $200. Most of the time the more you spend the bigger the discount. There are TONS of useful things in the Zoro catalog (which are priced well when the sales hit) and I keep a running list of things in my cart there so when the coupons hit I am ready to go. Some of their stuff is overpriced even on sale, you just have to shop.

(ZORO #: G4929583)

[Tom M King]

I plead guilty to being old, as charged, but I just use pluck, feel, sound, and test cut, regardless of saw, or blade size.

[John TenEyck]

That’s good cuz I’m kinda broke for a while..

Well need to stop spending so I’m not broke but.....

I'm sure I've posted this several times, but the Search function fails me, so I'll post it again.

You can make your own tension meter for the price of a set of Vernier calipers and two little C-clamps.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/vU15DoPQkANvp4Xau9znAkdnMM1bOKxgYuVDJ-WRHahs9COf08buRjr3xR4f9J1CE5P44_qB0shNWBXBjDtqK-2d0tzwnMEybMFwRvaJqYX-TZO1Svr5ZjgMOrTWr7nGbkN6Cmq2SAyOPsWcOQaVn9sLxKnS9Q BQLQOiYTC4-x2zVOvgOOOxMm5rCd1UMfoWceqFdC2Vd5JGr9pOvJSEWnYWEJh XbheUbgz82a9hGpgGrMhRdCaGrUMRW8xOGXJegQsL-NqhJYGacEbXkhslag-35TUaAO5tIbEIwbdY6FhcApp52EnyoKuIqAyMDjic0jQw_yo8f Hl0KQWxrP0hhccdIDtDRSgWT80Wv7TaBP34-D--g4sHt1wXXo5O5UqTEZymq82gZnwT3_pebN9d1YrcMPcVfhuD3S BgSnNK7Lf-mart21n7rdrwdbLN0Pk-9yGzaDPBlbYLi1jK-1rHgm3HRxj17nzIGWWvk60Ta1KwWvRVKpVaujogFn9WH3UNM2K OSc20Y6E65DGJrRjwRqfLif7sQMQ7yyXXcPKOOUkCKaXutTksp nj6jJryQC3Htv7zrzDvXzVbNqmMMy29nFnkkzfcX_lcgnOpx6U cRsO34icGYFiQcc8jimMxoN2dXwoA9YRpVvQw1P5e7He_Axwre KMIA2QqgQ=w470-h626-no

Set the Verniers at around 5" between the jaws and clamp it the blade, with zero/minimal tension on it, making sure to stay away from the teeth. On a big blade it's really easy, but works fine on the 1/2" x 3 tpi blade shown in the photo. Write down the exact reading on the Verniers, then reset them to zero. Now crank up the tension to whatever you want. The Verniers will register the stain in the blade, and with just a little math you can calculate the stress (tension).

Young's Modulus (E) = Stress/Strain, or

Stress = E x Strain, and Strain = Vernier reading / Gage Length (Initial reading)

The Young's Modulus of steel is about 30 x 10^6 psi. Let's say the Gage Length was 5.010" before I zeroed the Verniers on my little Delta above, and then I cranked up the tension and measured 0.002" where I normally tension it. The tension would be:

Stress = 30x10^6 x (0.002"/5.010") = 11,976 psi, which is pretty typical for that saw. On my Grizzly G0636X I easily get 0.004" of blade elongation when I tension a 1" x 0.035" blade. If the gage length was the same as in the example above, the tension would be exactly twice, or about 24,000 psi.

This works on any blade you can clamp the Verniers to. It costs almost nothing, takes but a minute or two, and is very reproducible. Save your money for something you can't make.

John

[Mike Cutler]

John

It's funny that you posted your method. I remember reading it a decade or so back, if that was you then.
I did a bunch of testing for Mark Duginske on bandsaw blades, and tension, and I used that setup once or twice. It worked as well as the others.

To the OP
Finding the ideal blades takes some trial and error unfortunately, and it can be an expensive learning process. The proof though is in the cut. Whether the saw can properly tension, or not, isn't relevant if the cut quality is bad. As long as you don't bottom out the spring on your saw of course.
I have an 18" Rikon ,10-340. The first year Rikon sold bandsaws in the US. It's had a 1" Lennox 2/3 varipitch TriMaster on it since 2005. That blade is probably running a little bit under tensioned, but the quality of the cut is excellent.

[Van Huskey]

John

It's funny that you posted your method. I remember reading it a decade or so back, if that was you then.
I did a bunch of testing for Mark Duginske on bandsaw blades, and tension, and I used that setup once or twice. It worked as well as the others.

To the OP
Finding the ideal blades takes some trial and error unfortunately, and it can be an expensive learning process. The proof though is in the cut. Whether the saw can properly tension, or not, isn't relevant if the cut quality is bad. As long as you don't bottom out the spring on your saw of course.
I have an 18" Rikon ,10-340. The first year Rikon sold bandsaws in the US. It's had a 1" Lennox 2/3 varipitch TriMaster on it since 2005. That blade is probably running a little bit under tensioned, but the quality of the cut is excellent.

Mike, I have been thinking about you since I read this post yesterday regarding the testing you did for Mark. Not sure the first one to think of the vernier caliper method (it could have been John) but Kurt Loupe <sp? is the one that started the thread that sucked Mark D in. That was back when I only read and didn't have an account here maybe 2004 or 2005, then Kurt got it published in FWW after that and the thread reappeared about 2 years later which is when Mark got involved. Matthias Wandel went a step further and built a dial indicator based version which I am sure you could point out the weaknesses in as you did with the 3 commercial gauges.

I am planning to start a discussion on bandsaw tension and its measurement. I hope you will participate as you have what may be in a wholly unique position to comment on the actual measuring devices, you are the only one I am aware of that has dug into the guts of the commercial gauges as well as having the knowledge AND equipment available to properly test them.

[Mike Cutler]

Van

I look forward to it. I'll have to find my notes and all of the photos I took back then. I still have access to the mechanical standards lab,a d the Dimensional Technician we have is really knowledgable, so if I need to recreate a test, or come up with a new one, I have the ability. It won't be fast though. I changed the jeans and boots for Brooks Brothers, and loafers, at work a few years back.
I've always liked band saws for some reason. As a kid in Jr. High wood working class, it was the machine I used to gravitate towards.
I think that other than the shaper, it is the most under utilized machine in the shop. Which is a shame because it can do so much.
Even though I have two band saws already and possibly a third on the way, I still scan Craigslist and Ebay for them just to see what is out there. I found an older Centauro a few days back. Nice machines.

[Phillip Gregory]

I recently got the Timberwolf 3/4" x 0.035" 2/3 tpi variable pitch bimetal blade for my Grizzly G0513. All of the non-sheet-good stock I work with is rough and thick, either old reclaimed stock or rough sawn lumber off of a sawmill, so there is quite a bit of resawing and milling in my workflow. I had previously used a variety of carbon steel bands ranging from longer versions of the classic 1/2" x 0.025" 3 tpi resaw band for the 14" Delta cast iron saws and clones, up to 1" x 0.035" 1.3" pitch bands. I also use the saw for curve cutting with thinner blades as this saw is my only bandsaw, and was purchased to be able to be a jack-of-all-trades saw. I would have gotten a larger bandsaw to use as a resaw if I had a smaller one for curve cutting, and I anticipate one day the G0513 will probably be my small curve-cutting saw while I get a truly large resaw, but that day hasn't happened yet.

The 3/4" x 0.035 2/3 variable pitch Timberwolf is the best resaw blade I have used on the saw by a good margin and is far more effective than the carbon steel blades I've used.

- The carbon steel blades dull quickly in the rock-hard oak I resaw and after about 10-20 board feet, the 2/3 pitch bimetal blade cuts notably faster than even the 1.3" pitch carbon steel blade I have used. Even brand new, the bimetal blade cut about as quickly as the carbon steel blades.
- The inch wide bands are difficult to get on and off of the saw. 3/4" and narrower bands are easy to install and remove.
- The 2/3 pitch bimetal bands leaves at least as good of a surface finish as the 1/2" 3 tpi bands. I was impressed at the quality of the finish of this band.
- One notable observation is that I never got any noticeable drift or barreling with even the 1/2" bands. Put enough tension on the band and quit using it when it is too dull, and it cuts straight.

I highly recommend this band for smaller steel-framed saws for resawing, and it is notably less pricey than carbide tipped bands.

[lowell holmes]

bimetal "bands" . . . . What are you calling bands? I assume you mean the blade.:)

[Bill Space]

bimetal "bands" . . . . What are you calling bands? I assume you mean the blade.:)

Well...first thought that came to my mind was...it is a band saw after all :)