FB510 Need a resaw blade

[Jeff Monson]

Taking delivery in the next few days of a FB510, pretty stoked as its been on my bucket list for a few years. Looking for advice on what resaw blade to get? Have looked at the Tri-master and resaw king, wonder what is the best bang for the buck, and also I'd assume a 3/4" blade in the 3 tpi range??

[Erik Loza]

For general purpose resawing, I actually prefer a 1" steel skip-tooth blade. Timberwolf as always good for me. If you need a carbide, I would go for a Lenox Woodmaster CT. Hope this helps,

Erik

[Jeff Monson]

For general purpose resawing, I actually prefer a 1" steel skip-tooth blade. Timberwolf as always good for me. If you need a carbide, I would go for a Lenox Woodmaster CT. Hope this helps,

Erik

Thanks Erik, no I dont think I "need" a carbide blade, for general ripping and resaw would you think a Timberwolf would suffice? I dont really want to spend $300 on a blade. I looked at their site is this the blade?https://timberwolfblades.com/proddetail.php?prod=123VPC ?

[Richard Coers]

With your only parameter being bang for the buck, call a company that makes sawmill bandsaw blades. I bought Lenox Woodmaster C 1" blades with a 3/4 pitch for around $15 before I started making my own. They cut domestic wood like butter with a little feed effort. You get a real sawmill surface finish though. But if you buy several, you can send some back in for sharpening while still having some in the shop.

[Tom M King]

The Lenox 1" Woodmaster CT 1.3 TPI should be less than $200 for that saw. It makes a bandsaw that can tension that blade seem like a different type of machine than what we get used to, to start with, in bandsaws. The speed, and ease can't be believed by someone used to running a 14" saw. It leaves a surprisingly good finish for those big teeth, and lasts many times longer than a RK.

[Derek Cohen]

Another vote for the Lenox 1" Woodmaster CT 1.3. This is a good deal when you take a long term view. It will keep going several times longer than anything else.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Mick Simon]

And another for the 1" Woodmaster CT 1.3.

[John TenEyck]

The Woodmaster CT is an awesome blade; never seen another cut as fast and smooth. But I would recommend the 3/4" 2 tpi version for the FB510 because it cannot put 25 ksi on a 1" blade. If you feel that's unimportant then by all means, get the 1" version.

John

[Jeff Monson]

But I would recommend the 3/4" 2 tpi version for the FB510 because it cannot put 25 ksi on a 1" blade. If you feel that's unimportant then by all means, get the 1" version.

John

Well I dont own a gauge to test the tension of my blade, but I would sure hope a Felder bandsaw can put enough tension on it to work propely.

[Erik Loza]

Thanks Erik, no I dont think I "need" a carbide blade, for general ripping and resaw would you think a Timberwolf would suffice? I dont really want to spend $300 on a blade. I looked at their site is this the blade?https://timberwolfblades.com/proddetail.php?prod=123VPC ?

Yes, that's the correct link, Jeff. Getting back to the Timberwolf, I like them because they cut fast (faster than a carbide) and tolerate all sorts of abuse/variety of woods without any issues, and are cheap. So, get a Woodmaster CT by all means. But get some Timberwolves too. Don't use the fancy kitchen knife to open amazon boxes, if you know what I mean. :D

Erik

[Mark e Kessler]

I can confirm this is a very good blade for the money I just bought one, also not to start a debate but 25k is an awful lot of tension for everything but the tallest of resaw, no doubt it might be the optimal but not 100% necessary to get a decent cut.

mark


Yes, that's the correct link, Jeff. Getting back to the Timberwolf, I like them because they cut fast (faster than a carbide) and tolerate all sorts of abuse/variety of woods without any issues, and are cheap. So, get a Woodmaster CT by all means. But get some Timberwolves too. Don't use the fancy kitchen knife to open amazon boxes, if you know what I mean. :D

Erik

[John TenEyck]

Well I dont own a gauge to test the tension of my blade, but I would sure hope a Felder bandsaw can put enough tension on it to work propely.

I guess it depends upon what you mean by "enough". Lennox considers 25 K psi to be "enough" for their carbide blades. I know you have seen reviews here, with measured data, that show the FB510 cannot manage that tension. Some folks here are happy with that saw and a 1" Woodmaster CT. I'm not saying that it won't work properly, only that it won't be as good as it could be if you put 25K psi or more on it.

You can make a tension meter for cheap in an hour so there's no reason not to, and then you will know. https://sites.google.com/site/jteneyckwoodworker/current-projects/bandsaw-blade-tension-meter

John

[Jeff Monson]

I guess it depends upon what you mean by "enough". Lennox considers 25 K psi to be "enough" for their carbide blades. I know you have seen reviews here, with measured data, that show the FB510 cannot manage that tension. Some folks here are happy with that saw and a 1" Woodmaster CT. I'm not saying that it won't work properly, only that it won't be as good as it could be if you put 25K psi or more on it.

You can make a tension meter for cheap in an hour so there's no reason not to, and then you will know. https://sites.google.com/site/jteneyckwoodworker/current-projects/bandsaw-blade-tension-meter

John

thanks for that info John, I may have to make a gauge and test out what my saw can tension. It looks pretty simple besides finding "zero" on the gauge as a place to start.

[John TenEyck]

Yes, that's the correct link, Jeff. Getting back to the Timberwolf, I like them because they cut fast (faster than a carbide) and tolerate all sorts of abuse/variety of woods without any issues, and are cheap. So, get a Woodmaster CT by all means. But get some Timberwolves too. Don't use the fancy kitchen knife to open amazon boxes, if you know what I mean. :D

Erik

Erik, I've never seen any blade cut faster than the Woodmaster CT 1" x 1.3 tpi on the size saw we are talking about, or at least on my 5 hp saw with 25k psi on the blade. Amazingly smooth, too. I couldn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. But it makes perfect sense; it has a smaller kerf than non carbide blades of the same size.

The Timberwolf or other less costly blades like the Woodmaster C I often use make perfect sense for many applications, but they don't cut nearly as fast, or as smooth, or last as long. But I'm in full agreement. Have both available and use the one that makes sense for the task.


John

[Edwin Santos]

Hi,

I notice that the Woodmaster CT being discussed comes in both a 1.3 tpi pitch and a 2tpi. I could see wanting the 1.3 if I were resawing very tall material i.e. more than 8 or 10 inches. But for other tasks, intuitively I find myself more drawn to the 2tpi.

I have used the 2tpi once in someone else's shop where we were sawing veneer. It performed superbly in terms of cut speed and finish. In that instance our workpieces were 6-7" in height.

Any thoughts on choosing between the two, or are we splitting hairs?

Thanks

[David Kumm]

I think for the saw in question, tooth count is less important than tension. A 1/2 or 3/4" Trimaster is available in 3T count and they would be my choice over a 1" blade for the FB510. I run a 3T Trimaster on my Oliver 217 ( got a bunch at half price ) and while I would prefer the 1.3 or 2-3 varitooth, the 3T gives excellent results. I've cut veneer to .04 with less than .005 variation with both sides cut. Dave

[John Lanciani]

I think for the saw in question, tooth count is less important than tension. A 1/2 or 3/4" Trimaster is available in 3T count and they would be my choice over a 1" blade for the FB510. I run a 3T Trimaster on my Oliver 217 ( got a bunch at half price ) and while I would prefer the 1.3 or 2-3 varitooth, the 3T gives excellent results. I've cut veneer to .04 with less than .005 variation with both sides cut. Dave

I’ll jump in here too. A 2-3 tpi Trimaster has been my resaw blade of choice on my MM20 for years. Smoother cut than the Woodmaster CT (or any other blade than I have ever used) and way longer life than a Resaw king. I go directly from the saw to glue up when I cut veneer, it’s that good.