3/4" 3TPI Bandsaw Blade on a 14" BS?

[Tim Dorcas]

Has anyone used a 3/4" 3tpi Blade on their 14" Bandsaw? (My BS also has a riser.) I thought I read somewhere that 1/2" was the widest blade recommended for a 14" BS. My main concern is getting the best resawing ability that I can. Thanks!

Tim

PS - I bought an aftermarket tensioning coil that is suppose to have more tensioning capacity (but who really knows).

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Tt's unlikely you will be able to achieve the Factory correct tension for a big blade on a small saw.

That doesn't mean you can't run it but, don't try to get it as tight as it's supposed to be

[Lance Norris]

You should be able to resaw with a 1/2" blade with no problems. Just remember... is the saw up to it? Are you trying to resaw something hard or oily like Bloodwood? What horsepower is your saw? You will have difficulty resawing if your saw is 3/4 horse.
I have a 14" 2 hp steel frame Grizzly that I resaw with a 1/2 blade all the time with excellent results.
I guess to awnser your question, yes I have used a 3/4" 3 tooth blade and didnt feel the need to go with that big of a blade. I decided to use the 1/2" blade because the 3/4" blade was hard to install.

[Aaron Beaver]

I have the type of bandsaw you have and used a 1/2" blade for resawing and it came out fine, better than I had hoped actually.

[Pete Bradley]

The best resawing ability doesn't necessarily mean the widest band. What's most important is that the band is good quality, sharp, properly tensioned, not excessively fine (3-4 TPI is a good choice), and runs stable on your machine. If I see one more internet post babbling on about "beam strength" I'm gonna flip.

Your 1/2" band should work well, and I would expect a 3/4" to be a downgrade in performance on this machine.

Pete

[Art Mann]

I will throw out a different opinion based my my limited experience. I bought the Craftsman 22401 steel frame 14" bandsaw on a whim because the price was $320 without knowing anything about bandsaws. I called customer service at Suffolk Machinery, which sells Timberwolf blades, and explained all the different things I wanted to do with it, including resawing 6" - 8" 6/4 cherry and walnut. They sold me 3 different blades for different uses, including a 3/4", 3 TPI thin metal resaw blade. I tried the blade on several different hardwoods up to 8" wide and it works beautifully. The 1 hp motor has plenty of power. The saw has no problem tensioning the blade because it is 0.025" thick and flexes nicely around the 14" wheel. It is made specifically for smaller bandsaws. I like the wider blade because it cuts straighter than narrower blades and exhibits less drift. I recommend this particular Timberwolf blade. I am also sold on Suffolk Machinery customer service as all three blades they recommended worked exactly as I hoped they would.

[Jason Beam]

My jet 14" + the yellow carter spring has done well with both 1/2 and 3/4" timberwolf blades. The tension isn't really as important as the cut you get. Using "the flutter method", I can usually run my 3/4" blade at somewhere near the 5/8 mark on my tension guage. It's not very tight, though, because I can deflect the blade pretty easily with my finger when the saw's off. The cut's decent, and to me that's all that really matters.

[Jack Briggs]

I use a Woodsaver 3/4" resaw blade from Highland Hardware on my 14" import with 10" of riser block. It's a variable-pitch 3-4 TPI design with a kerf of .025". A 3/4HP motor powers it. It can be done.

You don't need 3/4" - when I replaced it I went back to 1/2". I have resawn an 8" wide x 3' long half log of African Blackwood - about the hardest thing I'll ever encounter! A bit of smoking from the burning resins (made the shop smell like dark chocolate for 2 days!), but that blade made it with little trauma.

[Mike Duffy]

I agree with Art and Jason. I have a 14" Griz 555 and recently installed the riser block kit and a 3/4" Timberwolf blade. Works great.
I've used Timberwolf blades in the past and can't say enough good things about them or the great customer service from Suffolk.

[Pete Bradley]

Good point. The Suffolk resaw band is extra-thin, so it will require less tension and horsepower to work well.

I get fine results on max height (13" for my machine) resaws with the 1/2" band, less so with the standard 3/4" band. I haven't tried the thin band yet. Your mileage may vary.

Pete

[Tim Dorcas]

As always, thanks for all of the responses.

I am currently using a Timberwolf 1/2" 3tpi blade for resawing. I have had mixed results but I think this is more a factor of the BS not being tuned correctly than the blade itself. I only throw out the question because the technician that fixed my BS made it a point to say I should be using 3/4" blades for resawing and I wanted to see if it was possible. Hopefully the BS being tuned correctly will eliminate the need.

Fingers Crossed!

Tim

[Mike Cutler]

1/2" Woodslicer from Highland Hardware gave me the best results on my 14" Jet with a riser block. There really is no reason to go to 3/4", 1/2" will work just as well and the wheel load is much less.

[Curt Harms]

I will throw out a different opinion based my my limited experience. I bought the Craftsman 22401 steel frame 14" bandsaw on a whim because the price was $320 without knowing anything about bandsaws. I called customer service at Suffolk Machinery, which sells Timberwolf blades, and explained all the different things I wanted to do with it, including resawing 6" - 8" 6/4 cherry and walnut. They sold me 3 different blades for different uses, including a 3/4", 3 TPI thin metal resaw blade. I tried the blade on several different hardwoods up to 8" wide and it works beautifully. The 1 hp motor has plenty of power. The saw has no problem tensioning the blade because it is 0.025" thick and flexes nicely around the 14" wheel. It is made specifically for smaller bandsaws. I like the wider blade because it cuts straighter than narrower blades and exhibits less drift. I recommend this particular Timberwolf blade. I am also sold on Suffolk Machinery customer service as all three blades they recommended worked exactly as I hoped they would.

I'm running a 3/4" T.W. variable pitch blade on a Rikon 10-325 Deluxe and it works fine. I don't know that a thicker bimetal or carbide blade would work, but the Timber Wolf seems fine. OTOH I've done 7" resawing with a 1/2" blade and it worked fine as well.

Curt

[Al Willits]

Can't say for others, but if the 3/4" isn't suppose to work ya might want to tell TW that, and also my Delta 14" with the 6" ext.
I have been resawing white oak that's over 8" wide and although I wouldn't say hot knife though butter, it does go though quite nicely considering the low hp rating of the motor.

Al