Bandsaw blade length for old 10" 768 Delta bandsaw

[Randall J Cox]

I have what I'm pretty sure is an old Delta 768 10" 1/2hp bandsaw. I have totally rebuilt it, new bearings in both wheels, guides and motor. From all the pics on OWWM mothership board, it looks identical. There are no numbers or plates on it and it looks just like a shrunk old Delta 14" like I used to have (kick myself for ever selling it!!). Anyway, the original paper on the old Delta, found on the internet, calls for a 74" blade. When I got it in good working condition it had a 72.5" blade on it. Seemed to work ok and tensioned with the flutter method. As 74" blades are hard to find, and 72+" blades are fairly common, was thinking about putting a new 72+ on it. Anybody have any experience with the 768 and blades or blade lengths they would like to share? Randy

[glenn bradley]

Easy to put the wheels in a nominal position and measure with a piece of string. Blade suppliers will make you a blade any size you want. This doesn't cost extra as far as I have ever seen. My old Delta 10" PM-1886 ran a 71-3/4", my current 10" runs a 70-1/2". I use Timberwold, Woodslicer, Olsen PGT, etc. If you want pre-made, the Olsen page has a wide variety of types and sizes: https://www.olsonsaw.net/cat/band-saw-blades/wood-band-blades/ (https://www.olsonsaw.net/cat/band-saw-blades/wood-band-blades/)

[Zachary Hoyt]

My 18" bandsaw is officially supposed to use 133" blades as I recall, but I have found that 132 and 133 both work just fine on it, so I will buy whichever is cheaper if I'm buying on eBay. From a dealer I don't think an inch or two either way would affect the price. I don't even know how exactly they measure them, somehow they always seem to be made with the teeth evenly spaced so I assume there must be a fudge factor in the length to account for that.
Zach

[Jim Becker]

Most bandsaws will accept a short range of band lengths based on the amount of adjustability there is in the tensioning system which moves the upper wheel. That's helpful when shopping for "off the shelf" bands, but as someone mentioned, many suppliers will make up the bands you want/need to the exact length you specify. Pricing is often "it's this price if the band is between x and y inches long". My particular MiniMax MM16 (older, 12" resaw height) takes a 145" blade but I know I can move that wheel quite a bit if I need to use a shorter or longer band (within reason) in a pinch.