Which Resaw Bandsaw Blade and Where to Get

[David Weaver]

I picked up a bandsaw unexpectedly over the weekend, and am looking for a good resaw blade that leaves nice smooth results. Are there resaw blades with less set?

It's one of the new design Jet 18 inch saws, uses the same 137" blade that the 18 inch Steel City Saw uses. I think the stock 3/4" blade has more set than I would generally need.

I would like to keep the blade at 3/4" even though the saw claims to be able to handle 1 1/2 inch blades.

What should I get and where should I get it? I noticed a lot of places will make any length you want, but you have to wait for it, and I'm not a huge fan of waiting 8 weeks to get the saw set up like I want it to be.

[Greg Cole]

David,
I just re-aquired a new BS this week past. Anyway, I've had good luck in the past with woodslicers from Highland Hardware. The customs lengths don't take the 6-8 weeks as listed on the website.
FWIW, I ordered a new one on Friday the 2nd, and it shipped out last Thursday.
Also looked at the Timber Wolf resaw 1" at Woodcraft this weekend, but decided I didn't need a 1" at this point.

Greg

[Dewayne Reding]

David

I have purchased hard toi find length blades from both Suffolk Machine and Highland Woodworking. In both instances I had the blades in just a few days. The 3/4 Timberwolf from Suffolk is probably all the blade size you would ever need. I find the little 1/2 Woodslicer resaw blade from Highland probaby does just as nice a job resawing as the bigger blade. I suppose it depends on what you are doing with it though.

[John Thompson]

Morning David..

The blade that comes stock with most BS's is usually junk. IMO I would sit it aside and use it for just that, "junk". And... one blade does not do it all on a BS. You will need various blades for various jobs.

I use the Wood-slicer from Highland also. I used the 1/2" WS for years, but about a year ago they added a 3/4". On an 18" BS, the 3/4" is as wide as you need for re-saw in my opinion. Anything larger becomes a stress the blade issue with your wheel size and can your springs handle the beam strengh required for the larger blade.

Highland stocks the 137" WS and it is not custom cut. I hear that Jesse at Itturi has a re-saw blade that is "said" to be the same and about $10 less.. but I could not confirm that without actual comparison?

The WS is a re-saw blade and that is what I use it for. I also do a lot of 16/4 ripping on my Steel City 18" but use a 1/2" Lennox bi-metal for that task. I have several thinner carbon blades to do curves. But a carbon blade is not the ticket for re-saw as they heat up and dis-temper quickly when subjected to the friction which causes heating.

And the WS is not made for cutting wet logs. The tooth set is not agressive enough and you need more gullet space for that. Highland carries a 3/8" Wood-turner blade for the wet stock task.

Hope that helps and enjoy the saw. Learn the basics and especially how to tune. The BS is probably the most "finicky" tool in your shop... but probably the most "versatile" when you master it.

Sarge..

[Jamie Buxton]

Carbide-tipped blades give a very smooth cut face because the teeth have no set. Like your tablesaw blade, the teeth are wider than the blade's band, so they don't need set. Laguna Tool's Resaw King is available in a 3/4" width. Lennox has a new carbide blade intended for woodworking (WM?) which may be available in 3/4".

[Chiz Eisenhuth]

Give Lou Iturra a call (I have the # at home - sorry!. He was very helpful with my beginners questions and he didn't try to rush me to placing the order either. His shop makes their blades to custom dimensions from spools of blade stocks. His catalog is fantastic and should be sold as a text book. It ships from a third party ad takes waaaay too long to get to you. Giving the benefit of the doubt, it may have been out of stock or ready for a new edition.
Have a blast and be safe with your new wundersaw!!
Chiz

[Justin Bukoski]

The woodslicer from Highland Hardware is also available in 3/4". It hardly ever comes off my saw.

[Doug Shepard]

The one is NEVER coming off my saw:D
http://www.lenoxsaw.com/trimast.htm

[David Weaver]

Ok - I went against the grain here a little, though I'm sure I will try everything in time.

Timberwolf blades are local to me (within 10 miles) and I didn't know it until today.

I ordered a thin kerf 3/4th inch 3 tip and a thin kerf 1/2 inch 10 tpi blade to try out.

I like the Lenox blade mentioned above, but it's a little out of my price range at this point, and I'll probably resaw something about once a month or two.

[Doug Shepard]

Ok - I went against the grain here a little, ...

Oh - for against the grain cutting, make sure to install the blade backwards:D

Just a bit of food for thought. You're right the Trimaster price hurts a bit. But in the length of time I've had mine, I probably would have already had to buy roughly 4-5 of the Woodslicers that I kept on my previous saw. I think the WS cost to fit my MM16 is around $40. So at $160-$200, the Trimaster cost starts to look a lot more reasonable. Especially considering mine's still got a lot of life in it.

[David Weaver]

I would imagine the cut quality of it is fantastic if they've done a good job of making the blade, too. I'll probably eventually go in the direction you've gone, but I'm fighting it for now - if for nothing else, just to appease the wife.

[David Weaver]

I wonder why Lou doesn't have a web page - I suppose if he has good rates, he probably does a lot of dealing with furniture factories and such? They probably don't care if he has a website.

[Kevin Groenke]

Our bandsaw blades are abused with materials and methods that bandsaw blades really shouldn't be subjected to (resawing mdf & homasote, aluminum, lots of plastics, plaster, wetglue, freehand cutting, etc) so I really can't afford bi-metals or carbides.

I've been buying various Timberwolf BS blades from Suffolk saw for years with good results.

I tried the HH Woodslicer a few years back but thought that it didn't hold an edge as long as the Timberwolfs. The thin kerf was fantastic, but IMO the blades had trouble cutting straight after too few feet of stock. This may have changed or it may have been my problem, it was quite a while ago and I've learned a lot since then.

At a demo at the Furniture Society in June, Michael Fortune recommended BC Saw as a supplier. They use Starrett blade stock, which has a good reputation amongst machinists and the like.

I've only tried 1/4"x6 and 1/4"x4 blades for general use on 14" saws to this point, but they compare favorably to the Suffolks. They seem to fail at the welds less frequently than the Suffolks, and they MAY have a slightly longer life-span.

I think I got 20 for $8 ea, so they were a bit less expensive than Suffolk. I only ordered once and knew what I wanted, but BC Saw has a reputation similar to Suffolk's for knowledge and customer service.

G'luck
kevin

[Greg Cole]

STOP IT DOUG! I've teetered on the fence about that blade... reading more real user reviews doesn't make it any easier to look the other way!:rolleyes:

Greg

[Stan Smith]

I've had the Iturra carbide tip blade on my minimax for a couple of years and it works great. I always detension it. I've kept it on there mainly for resawing. I also bought a tension gauge but I've only used it once or twice.

[Doug Shepard]

STOP IT DOUG! I've teetered on the fence about that blade... reading more real user reviews doesn't make it any easier to look the other way!:rolleyes:

Greg

I'm good at helping other people spend thier money$$:D

When I Googled earlier to get the Lenox URL I also happened to notice this recent thread by Sam Blasco on a newer Lenox blade that comes in a close 2nd for less $$$
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=66446

[Stan Welborn]

The one is NEVER coming off my saw:D
http://www.lenoxsaw.com/trimast.htm


Yep, I love that blade. I've pretty much decided, due in no small part to this blade, that I no longer need a table saw in my shop. It cuts so sweet I grin almost every time I've used it so far. I like it so much I'm looking at adding another bandsaw, maybe a 14" model if I run across a good used model, for work where I would change blades, and just leave this one on.

[Ken Stevens]

A very experienced woodworker was telling me just today how I could set up my Delta BS to rip boards using a fence, as he does on the same Delta that I have. One of the key aspects (among several) was setting the guides to 0.001 clearance. The standard recommended "dollar bill gap" (0.004) is too large. Thus, his source of blades is a Canadian company (BC Saw and Tool in Toronto), the only one he could find which grinds the welds so carefully that he can set the 0.001. Domestic blades have too wide a weld. He said he learned this technique from one of the instructors at the Mark Adams school.

Any comments on this from anyone?

Ken

[Greg Cole]

Stan... you're not helping either! Can't you guys wait til after Christmas at least??? LOLOL
This is about the only time of year I'll listen to LOML about not spending too much extra $ til we fill the closet with stuff for the kiddies.....:rolleyes:
The tri-master or similar carbide tipped BS blade is for sure a "one of these" days purchase..... once the wood slicer gets worn out.

Greg

[Stan Smith]

Stan... you're not helping either! Can't you guys wait til after Christmas at least??? LOLOL
This is about the only time of year I'll listen to LOML about not spending too much extra $ til we fill the closet with stuff for the kiddies.....:rolleyes:
The tri-master or similar carbide tipped BS blade is for sure a "one of these" days purchase..... once the wood slicer gets worn out.

Greg

Yeah, I know. Sorry, but you asked the question, my friend. Don't feel like the lone ranger. I've got another hobby, too, which is music and I'm just about to order a new flugelhorn to try. Right before Christmas, too. Merry Chirstmas to Me.:rolleyes:

[John Bush]

Hi David,
I have been using Lenox Bimetals with great success as long as I've had my 18" BS. I have been helping a for real North Bennet Street School grad mill some 120 year old oak and decided to upgrade to a Lenox trimaster to enhance my position as "Merlin's Assistant".(I am a hobbiest trying to learn from a pro clasically trained funiture maker.) The resaw cuts with the carbide are so much better I wish I had bought one long ago. I also bought one of the newer style of carbides but haven't used it yet. I recommend having some bimetals as your daily blades and invest in the trimaster if you have "special" needs:i.e., expensive wood you want accurate resawing. I have the feeling that I will use the trimaster as my primary blade in the near future and consider the extra cost a good investment. FWIW I did buy a Woodslicer and felt it performed about the same as the Bimetals.

[John Kendall]

I bought a Lenox Tri-Master blade through Kaufman Co. I have the 24" Jet BS and they made it to the length I needed. The price was reasonable and a liitle less expensive than I was able to find anywhere else. (So far).

I've used it resawing tigerwood, white and red oak, black walnut and it's not stopped yet.

This is the link to where I found the BS blade. :)

http://www.kci2.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/st_main.html?p_catid=10027