source for bandsaw blades

[Zahid Naqvi]

Well, since I finally have a bandsaw now I have to deal with the subsequent headaches. What is a good source for BS blades? In case it matters I have the Jet 12" saw.

[Mark Engel]

Grizzly has a pretty good selection. Also, Amazon.com.

McFeelys is another source.

[Michael McCoy]

I tried some of the BladeRunners from Iturra Design based on a good recommendation and was very pleased with them.

[Ryan Lee]

try highland hardware.com .... they have the woodslicer blades. I use these in my 18" jet and absolutely love them. Good luck!

[James Carmichael]

WoodCraft Bands has some good deals on Lennox carbon steel blades.

I've also used Starrett blades from BCSaw and they're excellent, but the shipping from Canada has become a deal-killer.

[Doug Shepard]

try highland hardware.com .... they have the woodslicer blades. I use these in my 18" jet and absolutely love them. Good luck!

I haven't used the Woodslicer since getting my Minimax (been using mostly the Lenox TriMaster on that) but used to use them on my Jet 14" and really like them. I think I've read somewhere that Iturra also sells them but under a different name and a little cheaper.

[Charley Preston]

Suffolk's Timberwolf blades have been great for me!

[Jim Becker]

http://www.Suffolkmachinery.com is where I buy my non-carbide blades...Timberwolf.

[Steve Prill]

Definitely don't use Grizzly bandsaw blades. My neighbor and I both have Grizzly bandsaws which are good, but the blades are crap. Very slow and rough cuts. The blades we got from BC Saw have been very good and made it fun to use the bandsaw instead of a chore. Hope this helps, Steve

[Tom Hamilton]

Another vote for Suffolk Machinery. I''ve got sizes from 1/8" to 1"+ and find they work great. Suffolk also promotes the "flutter" method of tensioning the blade which works well on my Griz 513X.

Best regards, Tom, in Houston

[Zahid Naqvi]

Thanks guys, looks like suffolk machinery has a lot of satisfied customers. So I will investigate that route.

[Zahid Naqvi]

Man! what did I step into, I just looked at the suffolk machinery site and the choice of blades is mind boggling. I think I should get "The bandsaw book" first and do some reading. Handtools are so much easier :rolleyes:

[Paul Simmel]

Ryan,

>>> try highland hardware.com .... they have the woodslicer blades. I use these in my 18" jet and absolutely love them. Good luck!

How wide? Also, do you have the 133” or the 137”.



Thanks.

[Wilbur Pan]

Zahid,

Figuring out which bandsaw blade to get is kind of like asking, "Which hand plane should I get?" The choice of what bandsaw blade you need depends on what you intend to do with the blade. In order to get the best performance from your bandsaw, you'll have to match the blade to the task at hand. This is a bit of a pain in the tuckus, but then again, you wouldn't use a ripsaw to crosscut, would you?

There are a lot of factors to consider, but I've found that the two most important aspects of a bandsaw blade are the width of the blade and the TPI of the blade.

The width of the blade will determine how tight a curve you can cut with that particular blade. In a nutshell, the thinner the blade, the tighter the radius of the curve you can cut. This is one reason why resaw blades are typically wider. The extra width will help keep the cut going straight.

One issue with the width of the blade is that the wheel size of your bandsaw places a limit on how wide a blade you can put on your bandsaw. Wider bandsaw blades tend to be thicker, and there is a limit on how small a bandsaw wheel diameter a blade of a given thickness can negotiate. For example, if a typical 3/4" blade, which usually has a 0.032" thickness, is put on an 18" bandsaw, there will be no problems. Put the same blade on your 12" bandsaw, and now that blade has to make a tighter turn around the wheels, which will lead to a shortened life of the blade as metal fatigue will set in more quickly. Whichever manufacturer you go with, they should be able to recommend a maximum size for your bandsaw.

As for TPI, you're balancing efficiency of cut with smoothness of cut, much like with handsaws. A general rule of thumb is to keep 6-8 teeth in the cut for the smoothest cut. Therefore, resaw blades, which are intended for cutting thick stock, will have fewer TPI. Cutting thinner stock means having a higher TPI. If you have a TPI that's too high for the stock, you'll overheat the blade and shorten the life of the blade, and probably have burn marks on the wood as well.

There are other factors, such as the geometry of the tooth, and the set of the teeth, but the blade width and the TPI are the two most important factors.

Suffolk Machinery has a really nice chart on their website (http://www.suffolkmachinery.com/silicon_steel_slection.asp) that lists the various types of blades and their recommended uses.

I have an old 16" Walker Turner bandsaw, which can handle 3/4" blades, and this is what I have in terms of blades (all Timberwolf blades from Suffolk Machinery):

3/4" 2-3 variable TPI for resawing
1/2" 6 TPI for cutting 1" stock or less
1/4" 6 TPI for cutting curves in 1" stock or less
3/4" 10 TPI for straight cuts in plywood (I don't have a tablesaw, and I do get cuts in plywood that are as smooth as a tablesaw cut with this blade.)

If you could mention what kind of cutting you plan on doing, I could help with which type of bandsaw blade would be best.

[Zahid Naqvi]

Wilbur, thanks for the detailed reply and I did read all of it. This being the first bandsaw I have ever owned I don't even know the extent of what I can do with it. For starters I do know that I will use it for cutting curves and resawing, it does have a 6" resaw capacity. The current blade is 1/4" wide and 6 TPI. It works well for curves and general purpose use, but highly inadequate for resawing. So I guess the first thing I need is a good resaw blades for a 12" BS.

[Chris Jenkins]

Zahid,

I'm not a BS expert, but I find myself leaving the 1/4" blade on the BS most of the time. I used to use a 3/8" blade, but after watching the Mark Duginske "Mastering your bandsaw" video he reccommended a 1/4" (Defiently worth renting from the local library). I prefer it too over the 3/8". I've even resaw successfully with a 1/4" blade, but I don't recomend it. It is faster to change the blades out then to cut the boards with a 1/4" blade.

Right now I have a 12" saw and I use a 1/4" Suffolk blade. As to the set on I am not sure, that stuff tends to get a bit mysterious. Hook vs Rake vs Suffolk standards (they are a bit different). I also have a 3/4" 3 TPI Hook for resaw and a 1/8" 14? or 10? TPI for scrolly work, but haven't needed it yet (as the 1/4" has handeled it). Oh and I have the stock "junk" blade. I actually saved this for just that - Junk cutting. I cut anything mysterious with that blade. Not to long ago I put a broken garbage can through it cause the garbage man kept leaving it behind thinking I was using it...

Hope that helps.

[Wilbur Pan]

Zahid,

For resawing you'll want the widest blade with the least amount of TPI that will go on your bandsaw. Conventional wisdom states that you'll want a 3/4" blade, but due to the blade thickness/wheel size issue, wrapping a blade that thick around a 12" wheel may be problematic.

My suggestion for resawing 2" - 6" boards with your bandsaw would be to get a 1/2" 4 TPI blade with hook teeth. If you find you are resawing boards more on the narrow side, you might want to go up to a 6 TPI blade.

The quick and easy way to get a recommendation is to call Suffolk Machinery up, tell them you have a 12" Jet and want a blade for resawing 6" boards, and see what they tell you. If they suggest a 3/4" blade, tell them again that you only have a 12" bandsaw and go with what they suggest.

Between a resaw blade and your 1/4" 6 TPI blade for general cuts and curves, that's probably all you'll need for the time being. These are the only "what if" scenarios I can think of:


If you are unhappy with the finish of the cut of your 1/4" 6 TPI blade, get a new blade if it's the one that came with the machine. If this is a new blade, get one with more TPI.

If you need to to do cut of less than a 5/8" radius, you'll be looking into 1/8" blades.

If you are cutting a lot of thin stock (1/2" or less), you'll need a 10 TPI blade.
But otherwise, you'll be set.

[Jim Becker]

Wilbur, I suspect that the 12" saw has a max blade width of 1/2". Even a 14" saw, while "rated" for 3/4", often works better with the 1/2" blade.

[Andrew Williams]

I resaw with a timberwolf/viking/swedish/whatever 1/2" 3tpi blade. I have found the best way to do it is like Frank Klausz, freehand. Just scribe a line on the edge and follow it. Use a small board in one hand to stabilize the cut. this may not work well for veneer resawing, for that you need a fence and a lot of patience. Usually I just have the 3/16 8tpi swedish blade on the BS, it does fine for most applications.

[Roger Fitzsimonds]

Zahid,
I was intimated by the suffolk web site when I got my 12 inch bandsaw. So I called them. they were very helpful. Ask what I wanted to do with the saw and then recommended several blades to me. They have all worked quite well., and I will buy more wehn these get dull. So call them they will help you.

Normal disclaimer. I am only a happy customer,


Roger

[Zahid Naqvi]

Like most of you suspect the widest blade recommended is 1/2". I think I'll do what you guys recommend call Suffolk and discuss options.

[Ryan Lee]

Paul,

I have the 133" and I use the 1/2" blade.

[Lou Morrissette]

Another Suffolk Timberwolf fan.

Lou

[Paul Simmel]

Thanks, Ryan. I have the same BS as you, and I didn’t see 133” over on Highland. I will look again.

Paul

[Joel Goodman]

I have a small Inca (10 1/2" with 3/4 hp) which I imagine is comparable to your Jet. I have had good results with the "woodslicer" from Highland Hardware. Iturra claims to sell a similar blade. For resaw few TPI is what you need. They are also quite thin (in band thickness) which is helpful with the small wheels. Also you might want to try an 1/8 inch blade as well for tight curves -- just to explore your saw.

Joel

[Ken Werner]

I'm thinking of the BCSaw blades. Haven't tried them, but have heard good things. If you get one, please post your opinion.
Ken

[Tim Malyszko]

Zahid,

I have the newer Sears model 12" bandsaw and called Suffolk a few months ago to order some Timberwolf blades. They asked me what I was going to do with them and spec'd a 1/4" and a 1/2" blade (I cannot remember the tooth configuration). I then received the custom made blades in the mail about 5 days later at a total cost with shipping around $37.

Suffolk is great to work with and really takes the intimidation factor out of looking for BS blades. Their customer service earned them a new customer for life. I will never again buy a BS blade off the shelf, but instead order everything through them.

As far as performance goes, I've had the 1/4" blade on since receiving them until last night. I use it rather frequently and can make all sorts of cuts with it with no issues. It is a great improvement over the stock blade.

I put the 1/2" blade on for the first time last night to resaw some maple for drawer stock. This was the first time I've resawn anything successfully on a BS. The Timberwolf blades are amazing. Now that I have confidence in resawing, I look forward to a book-matched panel project.