Resaw King, Necessary?

[John Kananis]

Are the Laguna Resaw King Carbide blades necessary for any type of longevity cutting wet wood? I've gone through a few Timberwolf and Proforce (Laguna brand) very quickly on some small cherry logs. The half inch blades last a log or 2 and the 3/4 not much longer. Both widths at 3tpi, 115" length.

[Edward Weber]

Are the Laguna Resaw King Carbide blades necessary for any type of longevity cutting wet wood? I've gone through a few Timberwolf and Proforce (Laguna brand) very quickly on some small cherry logs. The half inch blades last a log or 2 and the 3/4 not much longer. Both widths at 3tpi, 115" length.


How much is a log or two?

[Richard Coers]

From what I read, the Resaw King has very little set in the teeth and takes more effort to push the wood through. NOT what you want for wet wood. I buy 3/4" sawmill blades that have less than 1 tooth per inch. Lots of set and not smooth cutting, but it flies through wet wood. They are very reasonable and can be sent back for a quick sharpening. These are blades designed for what you are doing. You are not resawing.

[John Kananis]

How much is a log or two?

8 inch wide by 10 our 12 inches long


From what I read, the Resaw King has very little set in the teeth and takes more effort to push the wood through. NOT what you want for wet wood. I buy 3/4" sawmill blades that have less than 1 tooth per inch. Lots of set and not smooth cutting, but it flies through wet wood. They are very reasonable and can be sent back for a quick sharpening. These are blades designed for what you are doing. You are not resawing.

That's pretty aggressive. Where do you get those?

[Edward Weber]

8 inch wide by 10 our 12 inches long


So are you saying you can only cut a few linear feet before your blades get dull?
Something doesn't sound right

[Dwight Rutherford]

I use “Lenox” blades, 3TPI from bandsawbladesdirect . They last for a long time!

https://www.bandsawbladesdirect.com/band-saw-blades?gclid=CjwKCAjw2OiaBhBSEiwAh2ZSP9pZSLud32wIj Yn__uDgxd6sL7l37upYPxi4LmG8NJ9ieXP2szmPCxoC6qQQAvD _BwE (https://www.bandsawbladesdirect.com/band-saw-blades?gclid=CjwKCAjw2OiaBhBSEiwAh2ZSP9pZSLud32wIj Yn__uDgxd6sL7l37upYPxi4LmG8NJ9ieXP2szmPCxoC6qQQAvD _BwE)

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Dirty bark?

[Neil Strong]

I use bi-metal blades (I think with with M42 teeth) that I resharpen myself. You can do that many times before replacing them. You need diamond wheels for carbide and the issue there is you are limited in the profiles available that will match your tooth profile, whereas HSS will sharpen with Alox wheels that can be profiled by yourself (with diamond) to suit your tooth profile.


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[Alex Zeller]

I process my blanks a little differently than others here. I use my chainsaw to remove the pith from the log and then my bandsaw to cut the blanks round. I started off with using blades from Highland and they would only last a couple of blanks before I would have to push pretty hard. That, of course, made the blade want to wander. It wasn't until I upgraded bandsaws that I bought Lenox bimetal blades. The difference is night and day. I use a 1/2" DieMaster 2 3 tpi and it cuts right through 10" blanks with almost no pressure. I've probably cut over 100 blanks now (along with plenty of dry hardwood) and it doesn't feel like it's dulled at all. Like the others have said, try a bimetal blade.

[John Kananis]

Thanks everyone, I'll pick up a couple Lenox blades and see how they run.

[Peter Blair]

I resharpen with a dremel and diamond cutter while on the saw. Can do this many times before removing all the set and having to toss the blade out.

[Reed Gray]

When I got my first bandsaw, a friend told me to go to a local place that will make blades for me. They asked me what I do, and I told them about turning and maybe resawing boards. They recommended the Lennox bimetal blades. When I asked about carbide, they told me they are for cutting veneers. I did try one out, also a Lennox blade, and while I could get surfaces that would need almost no sanding, they dulled in about the same amount of cutting time that the bimetal blades did, and the carbide tips on them were so small, they could not be resharpened.

robo hippy

[John Kananis]

Hi Reed, so what do you use?


When I got my first bandsaw, a friend told me to go to a local place that will make blades for me. They asked me what I do, and I told them about turning and maybe resawing boards. They recommended the Lennox bimetal blades. When I asked about carbide, they told me they are for cutting veneers. I did try one out, also a Lennox blade, and while I could get surfaces that would need almost no sanding, they dulled in about the same amount of cutting time that the bimetal blades did, and the carbide tips on them were so small, they could not be resharpened.

robo hippy

[John Kananis]

I'm looking at those Lennox blades. I assume I'm getting the "Classic" bimetal for wood at about 55 bucks for the 3/4 3tpi?

Some of those options are really expensive, more so than the Resaw King blades. I priced a 1/2 inch 3tpi blade at 223 dollars. Wow. Worth it?

[Richard Coers]

8 inch wide by 10 our 12 inches long



That's pretty aggressive. Where do you get those?

I can't find the company that made my blades right now. Here is an option, Lennox Woodmaster C. Around $25. https://bandsawoutlet.com/woodmaster-c/

[Neil Strong]

I resharpen with a dremel and diamond cutter while on the saw. Can do this many times before removing all the set and having to toss the blade out.

In my experience I need to reset the teeth a number of times before a blade is done. Just remember the set pattern for each blade as that won't be so obvious by just looking at it by the time it needs to be reset.

Just touching up the back of the tooth will maintain the gullet profile for a few resharpening...



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But, I expect to regrind the gullets several times during the life of a blade to remove any micro-cracks there and to maintain the rake and gullet profile. After that I return to touching up the back of the tooth for a few more re-sharpenings.

You can do all of that on a standard spring steel blade but, as we know from our turning tools, it isn't going to hold its edge anywhere near as long. Make sure to buy 'wood cutting' bi-metal blades, not metal cutting. I prefer a 3/4" blade with 1.25tpi for most blank cutting, but not all makes have them down to that size in a low tpi count.

If you have only one blade in a particular size then resharpening on the saw makes sense as you can't be using it anyway if it is blunt. As I machine sharpen where I can, because of the greater accuracy and uniformity of tooth height, I need to have at least two blades in each size so I can keep sawing while waiting to do a sharpening session on the blades off the saw. That adds to the cost, but it is worth it for me.

Unless you buckle a bi-metal blade, resharpening it yourself gives you a very economical blade over its full life. Of course, if your time is worth more than what you save by resharpening it yourself you will send blades out to be resharpened. If you live in a logging area there is likely to be local expertise but I have seen some very ordinary results where that is not the case.

[John Kananis]

Richard, thanks for looking. Unfortunately, they don't offer a 3/4" option. I'm using a 14bx.

Neil, great info - thanks for contributing.

[Dick Strauss]

I'd suggest trying a 1/2" 3tpi hook Lennox Diemaster2 bi-metal blade for cutting out log rounds. They cost about 2x but last 5-10X as long versus a carbon steel blade. I assume these are still available but haven't looked or compared pricing in several years.

[John Kananis]

Dick, they're just over 50 bucks a blade so not breaking the bank. Curious though, why half inch over 3/4?

[Reed Gray]

I use the Lennox Diemaster bimetal blades. Little saw uses 1/2 inch blade, the thicker one, can't remember, and 3 tpi. My big saw uses a 150 inch blade, about 1 1/4 with teeth about 3/4 inch apart. That is the one I use to cut slabs with. Bimetal cuts far longer than standard blades, and some have said straighter too. The bimetal blades are what they use for cutting up old pallets. A different tooth set, but they go through nails with no problem, and can be sharpened several times.

robo hippy

[Dick Strauss]

A 1/2" blade will more easily make the 4" radius (8" diameter) or smaller log blanks round. A 3/4" blade is recommended for a 5.5" radius (11" diameter minimum!). Some blades with specially set teeth will do better than the chart below, but this is a good starting point.
BLADE WIDTH (MINMUM RECOMMENDED RADIUS CUT)

1/8" (3/16")
3/16" (5/16")
1/4" (5/8")
3/8" (1-7/16")
1/2" (2-5/8")
5/8" (4")
3/4" (5-1/2")


I haven't used them but I've heard good things about spectrumsupply.com for a better price. "http://www.spectrumsupply.com/diemaster2.aspx" $42.00. There may be other sites with even better pricing and good customer service.

[Robert Hayward]

I haven't used them but I've heard good things about spectrumsupply.com for a better price.
I just gave them a quick check against a couple other suppliers. The blades are cheaper but the shipping is more on the two blades I did the test with. Overall they were about $12 cheaper including shipping for two Diemaster2 blades 153" X .035 3tpi than bandsawbladesdirect.com

[Neil Strong]

I prefer a 3/4" blade with 1.25tpi for most blank cutting, but not all makes have them down to that size in a low tpi count.



I should have mentioned that I stopped cutting my blanks round a long time ago. So I'm just doing straight cuts with the 3/4" blade or larger if I happen to have that on the saw. Most are cut octagonal and I sometimes cut a few more corners off on larger blanks. Smaller diameters I often turn the half log just as it is.



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[Paul Saffold]

I have a 14 inch saw (Laguna 14-12) and found the thicker blades are the ones that have cracked. Someone recommended going with 0.025" thick blades on these smaller diameter saws. I have not had one crack since switching. It does limit your choice of blades. Laguna makes a bimetal blade for my saw that is 0.025" thick.

[Curt Harms]

I just gave them a quick check against a couple other suppliers. The blades are cheaper but the shipping is more on the two blades I did the test with. Overall they were about $12 cheaper including shipping for two Diemaster2 blades 153" X .035 3tpi than bandsawbladesdirect.com

I ordered a couple Lenox blades from toolcenter.com. I was looking for 1/2" .025" 3 TPI Trimaster which were not common at the time. Toolcenter was a little more $$ but shipping was cheaper so total $$ was less. This was a couple years ago before things went nuts, I have no idea about current prices.