5/8'' Blade

[Jerry Thompson]

I have read of a manufacture's 5/8'' blade doing excellent on re-sawing. Would a 14'' Delta BS be able to tension it? So far I have only used 1/2'' of one brand with mixed results. I have the saw set up Alex's video on Youtube.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I have a 3/4 on my delta 14. The tension indicator max is 3/4. I really have to crank to get it there. It does a decent job re-sawing and micro saw milling. I work very slowly for heavy cuts and get just a little waviness.

[John TenEyck]

I have read of a manufacture's 5/8'' blade doing excellent on re-sawing. Would a 14'' Delta BS be able to tension it? So far I have only used 1/2'' of one brand with mixed results. I have the saw set up Alex's video on Youtube.

The short answer is no. The slightly longer answer is that the 14" Delta, assuming we're talking about the cast iron 14" Delta, can only apply about 12 ksi on a 1/2" blade before the upper blade guides start significantly deflecting to the right. That's barely adequate but it works. On a 5/8" blade you'll be down to 9.6 ksi, and on a 3/4" blade it'll be 9 ksi. 20 ksi, or higher, is a good place to run the tension, so judge accordingly.

John

[Mike Cutler]

My personal experience is, no. 1/2” blades are about the max, and that assumes that the OEM spring can handle it.
The easiest check is to tension the blade, and the make sure there are gaps between the tension spring coils. No gaps and you risk breaking the upper yoke assembly, and without the spring in effect, you no longer really have a bandsaw.
My 14” Jet cannot tension a 1/2” blade properly with the OEM spring. I needed to replace it with an Carter Cobra coil spring.

[Lee Schierer]

Once I aligned my 14" Delta band saw following this process (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNdrkmx6ehI). I have been able to resaw 6+" wide dried and wet treated lumber, dried maple, Dried black walnut and dried red oak with no problem using a timber wolf 1/2" blade. I can hold the piece tight to my fence and cleanly cut from one end to the other staying right on the desired cut line. I can also switch blades without fussing around with any adjustment other than upper wheel tilt to center the blade on the upper wheel and tweaking the guides to the new blade. Even blade tension seems to be much less critical. I can also use my miter gauge to make 90 degree cross cuts.

I also have a 5/8" extra thin blade that I have use that worked pretty well before I did the alignment, but I had to swivel the cut piece a little to stay on the desired cut line.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

It has been over a year since I sawed this batch on the 14 inch Delta with a 3/4 inch blade. I am about to break it down further. I will give an update on how it goes.
https://sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=468799&d=1637973678
https://sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=468799&d=1637973678

[Richard Coers]

I have a 3/4 on my delta 14. The tension indicator max is 3/4. I really have to crank to get it there. It does a decent job re-sawing and micro saw milling. I work very slowly for heavy cuts and get just a little waviness.
Really cranking hard on a Delta 14" tensioner will bend and then break the pivot hinge tracking assembly. The most common failure point on that saw!

[John K Jordan]

Really cranking hard on a Delta 14" tensioner will bend and then break the pivot hinge tracking assembly. The most common failure point on that saw!

If one damages the part, as I did on my Delta 14" by trying to tension a 3/4" blade (measured with a Starrett tension gauge), Iturra Design carries stronger replacements.

I also replaced the tension spring with a stronger spring. The biggest blade my saw could tension properly was 1/2" with which I resawed successfully to 12" thick. Need a wider blade? Maybe get a bigger saw - I now use an 18" Rikon which I think is far superior.

JKJ

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Here is more evidence for yes. I am careful about never going past the 3/4 tension mark. I will take a look at Dads Delta 14. It is older than me. It may not have 3/4 on the tension gauge.
Photo 1 of 21 from Music Projects (https://sawmillcreek.org/album.php?albumid=988&attachmentid=491646)


https://youtu.be/LP8zfTxZato