List of Bandsaws and blades that give "glue joint" quality cuts

[jim oakes]

I want to buy a saw, but rather than start out with " what brand is best" I thought I would spell out the performance I was looking for.

I want to cut my own veneers from teak,maple,walnut and slice up a 4' log once in a while. I would like to spend as little as possible on the saw and blades, but CONSISTANT cut quality comes first . I'd also like to easily throw on a 3/16" blade once in a while, so the Quick release on the Grizzly saws looks good.

The main goal is to be able to get up to 12'' wide x 1/8" thick veneers I can bookmatch and glue down right from the bandsaw. The claim that Highland hardware says about the woodslicer is "we've produced 9" wide veneers no thicker than 1/32", clean enough for glue-up and ready to begin sanding at 100 grit."

Please list your saw specs (h.p.,maximum resaw and wheel dia.) and blade specs. Also list any details of your set-up that gives you best cuts.

Thanks, this list may become a good reference for all of us.

[Jim Becker]

The only blade I've gotten a good enough surface to go right to glue-up is a carbide tipped blade from Lennox. And even then you'll need a "perfect" setup to avoid face jointing or drum sanding the veneer to insure constant thickness...hard to do, IMHO. For the saw, you'll want a very heavy Euro style machine with a stiff enough back to support the kind of tension you need to do a quality job resawing at that height. The more power, the better.

My BS has 12.5" resaw and 3.8hp (MiniMax MM16 circa 2003).

[Greg Peterson]

I would like to spend as little as possible on the saw and blades, but CONSISTANT cut quality comes first .

Can't help you with any specifics, but you may want to re-calibrate your expectations as low cost and high quality are mutually exclusive.

[Lance Norris]

I would like to spend as little as possible on the saw and blades, but CONSISTANT cut quality comes first .
Please list your saw specs (h.p.,maximum resaw and wheel dia.) and blade specs. Also list any details of your set-up that gives you best cuts.

Jim... right away, your comment on spending as little as possible. With what you want, You are going to have to spend at least $1000 or more. You need a steel frame saw, not a cast saw with riser. 2hp is decent, 3hp is better. As far as cutting veneers, I have had good luck with just a simple 1/2" - 3 tooth/inch blades. I dont need anything fancy. If you are face glueing these veneers, I dont even sand the back side. The slight ridges gives the glue something to bite on, and if this is your face, you dont need much sanding to clean them up. You should be able to get nice consistant thicknesses with good setup and technique.

I have the Grizzly G0457, and althought it wont give you the 12" resaw you want, it gives me excellent performance with resawing up to its capacity(10"). If you are looking for a recommendation, Grizzly G0513, G0513x2, G0514X, G0514X2.

[Randy Klein]

One important aspect for cut quality is the ability to tension a blade. Wider blades need more tension. More tensioning ability generally comes with bigger saw.

For the ubiquitous 14", properly tensioning any blade greater than 1/2" will be difficult, even though the saw will be rated for blades up to 5/8" or 3/4".

On my 14" (Rikon Deluxe) I've been using a 1/2" woodslicer but I have recently switched to a Lenox bimetal 1/4" blade. This is the blade recommended in the article "The Little Blade That Could". With enough googling, you can find the article at GoogleBooks (http://books.google.com/books?id=l_8xoBC2LSoC&pg=PA11&dq=lenox+%28bimetal+OR+%22bi+metal%22+OR+%22b-metal%22%29+%28bandsaw+OR+%22band+saw%22%29+blade&ei=5PPSR_-qD5O0yQSm18HnBg&sig=eB7sKwvkyACx6V3m7p71vRmfgHs).

Using my built in tensioning scale, I tension this 1/4" blade to the 5/8" mark. This provides greater beam strength to the blade and my cuts have improved.

I may be able to go to a 3/8" blade and tension it to the 3/4" gauge, but I would be close to bottoming out the spring at that point. And since I like what I get with my 1/4" and I can cut much narrow curves, I've no need to try.

Now my blade does not provide glue joint ready cuts, but I have no desire/need for that. A handplane touches everything before glueing and this is no different.

But realize this is not a universal consensus (overtensioning of a narrower blade).

[Pete Bradley]

I want to buy a saw, but rather than start out with " what brand is best" I thought I would spell out the performance I was looking for.

Most of what you're looking for depends at least as much on the guy running the machine as it does on the machine itself. I can get pretty good veneers out of 13" logs with my 1949 Delta 20" band saw and a 1/2X4TPI "Timberwolf". I can't guarantee no sanding, and if I had a really expensive piece I'd probably have my hardwood supplier use his 36" Ollie with a power feeder.

My recommendation is buy a good quality machine in whatever size you can afford and get a lot of experience with it. You may find your requirements list will change as you discover what's most important to you. Depending on the result, you can upgrade and sell yours or just keep using it.

Pete

[John Lanciani]

MM20, 4.8hp. 15+" capacity, upgraded to carter guides and a custom wound tension spring made by Louis Iturra. I use a Lenox 1" 2-3 TPI carbide blade, and I cut my veneers at 3/32" and vacuum press them without any sanding. I spent about $3200 to get where I'm at, but I can reliably cut veneer as fast as I can shove the wood through the saw and I never have to fuss with anything. My next upgrade will be a feeder for the saw.

John

[Kevin Proaper]

I have a Laguna 16HD with a woodslicer that is doing a very good job, but I would not be satisfied to do a glue up without some sanding. I just ordered a carbide Laguna blade, we will see what that can do soon as I get it. I do a fair amount of bookmatching and the woodslicer for the money is very good.

[Peter Quinn]

FYI your not going to get far in teak with a cheap saw and a cheap blade. Your going to need carbide, and thats not cheap. Your going to need power, and thats not cheap either.

[jim oakes]

Thanks so much for the responses.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg Peterson http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=798052#post798052)
Can't help you with any specifics, but you may want to re-calibrate your expectations as low cost and high quality are mutually exclusive.



Hi Greg,
Sometimes that's right,but not a hard and fast rule for me.

I've gotten perfect glue joint rip cuts on a 3 hp Powermatic 66 with a $100 blade and on a Taiwan built cabinet saw with a $30 blade. So equal quality cuts can have a range of costs.

[Michael Faurot]

I'd also like to easily throw on a 3/16" blade once in a while, so the Quick release on the Grizzly saws looks good.


From the way you've phrased the above I'm going to guess you may not have a lot of experience with a band saw. If my guess is wrong, my apologies and you can ignore the rest of this message.

Two things to be aware of:

1) It's not been my experience, with either of the two band saws I own, that I can just "easily throw on" a different blade. It's not a difficult process, but it is time consuming. I always go through and check the guide bearings, thrust bearings, tracking and tension settings--especially when changing from one blade size to another.

2) The quick release feature on a band saw is not really an aid for changing blades. It's main purpose is to release the tension on the blade when the saw will not be used. In this way it helps prevent flat spots on the tires, stretching the blade, stress to the bearings, etc. If the saw does not have a quick release, then the tension needs to be released by cranking back the the tension knob when the saw will not be in use for awhile.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Jim... right away, your comment on spending as little as possible. With what you want, You are going to have to spend at least $1000 or more. You need a steel frame saw, not a cast saw with riser. 2hp is decent, 3hp is better. As far as cutting veneers, I have had good luck with just a simple 1/2" - 3 tooth/inch blades. I dont need anything fancy. If you are face glueing these veneers, I dont even sand the back side. The slight ridges gives the glue something to bite on, and if this is your face, you dont need much sanding to clean them up. You should be able to get nice consistant thicknesses with good setup and technique.

I have the Grizzly G0457, and althought it wont give you the 12" resaw you want, it gives me excellent performance with resawing up to its capacity(10"). If you are looking for a recommendation, Grizzly G0513, G0513x2, G0514X, G0514X2.

Lance, I have to disagree with you about the steel frame. Old cast industrial saws will do well too. I agree with you about forgetting about a 14" Delta, or clone, and riser though.

[John Browne]

Welcome to the forum! Your question is a little confusing to me, so forgive me if I mis-understood what you were looking for.

Normally a "glue joint" refers to an edge-to-edge gluing of several narrow boards into a wider panel, as, for example, a table top. Bandsaws don't do that. A band saw will work well for resawing or ripping. Both cuts leave saw marks on the workpiece, regardless of the blade you use. A table saw with a good fence and blade can cut a perfectly smooth edge good enough for gluing (or even finishing sometimes) but not a bandsaw.

If you are resawing for veneer, some people will joint a face of the board, put the jointed face against the resaw fence on the band saw, then slice off a thin piece, then rinse and repeat. That means every slice that comes off the band saw has a smooth face (from the jointer) and a rough face (from the band saw blade). You could glue them down RS side down and jointed side up and have a pretty good start, assuming they were exactly the same thickness at all four corners--possible but hard to achieve.

A more common scenario is to slice some veneer thicker than what you want for final dimension then run it through a drum or wide-belt sander down to final thickness. IMHO that's where those stationary sanders really earn their price.

Resawing really wide boards requires a lot of rigidity in the blade from the upper bearing assembly to the lower, and that means a wide blade with plenty of tension. The only way you get that is with a BIG saw, not a dinky one. I can resaw pretty consistently thin slices with my Griz 0513 17" saw, but if I wanted to cut, say, 12" wide slices I'd probably set the fence up pretty oversize so I had room for the blade to deflect and wander a bit.

[Lance Norris]

Lance, I have to disagree with you about the steel frame. Old cast industrial saws will do well too. I agree with you about forgetting about a 14" Delta, or clone, and riser though.

Steve, you are right, I wasnt thinking about older bandsaws, I was just thinking new bandsaws.

[jim oakes]

From the way you've phrased the above I'm going to guess you may not have a lot of experience with a band saw. If my guess is wrong, my apologies and you can ignore the rest of this message.

Two things to be aware of:

1) It's not been my experience, with either of the two band saws I own, that I can just "easily throw on" a different blade. It's not a difficult process, but it is time consuming. I always go through and check the guide bearings, thrust bearings, tracking and tension settings--especially when changing from one blade size to another.

2) The quick release feature on a band saw is not really an aid for changing blades. It's main purpose is to release the tension on the blade when the saw will not be used. In this way it helps prevent flat spots on the tires, stretching the blade, stress to the bearings, etc. If the saw does not have a quick release, then the tension needs to be released by cranking back the the tension knob when the saw will not be in use for awhile.

Thanks for your response Michael,
I had a 1950's Delta 14" from 1974 till 1991. I made my living as a woodworker from 1973 to 1991. I retired in 1992, and lost interest in wood working totally.

Then in 2000 I picked up a Grizzly catalog! That catalog got me longing to have a shop again, so I built my dream house and a shop.

I had a Rikon 18" 2 years ago but returned it. The blades wobbled and the cut was below average . I replaced the 2 parts that Rikon sent me , tried a timberwolf blade and it still wobbled. Rikon wanted to send me a new upper wheel and bearing, but I wanted to resaw nice veneers not rebuild new saws! It may have been a lemon or I may be to much of a perfectionist.

[Michael Faurot]

Then in 2000 I picked up a Grizzly catalog! That catalog got me longing to have a shop again, so I built my dream house and a shop.


From what I have seen of Grizzly equipment--I like it. One of my band saws is Grizzly's 14" G0555. I have the riser block for it, but have never installed it. So I can't speak to its resaw abilities in that configuration. But with a good 1/2" 3TPI blade and with everything tuned correctly--it'll resaw 6" stock and do it straight. Overall, it seems to be a decent saw that has only needed minor maintenance to correct some issues (see below).



I had a Rikon 18" 2 years ago but returned it. The blades wobbled and the cut was below average . I replaced the 2 parts that Rikon sent me , tried a timberwolf blade and it still wobbled. Rikon wanted to send me a new upper wheel and bearing, but I wanted to resaw nice veneers not rebuild new saws! It may have been a lemon or I may be to much of a perfectionist.That certainly doesn't sound right. I recently had a similar issue with my Grizzly. I noticed that the upper guide assembly would throb. I traced this down to tires and replaced both with the 14" urethane tires from Carter. The removal of the old stock tires and installation of the new Carter tires was very easy and solved the problem. The only other issue I've had, was needing to replace the lower guide bearings after about a year as they had become too gummed up to spin.

While the 14" G0555 might not be the right sized saw to do what you're looking for--just passing along my experience with one of Grizzly's band saws.

[James Hart]

Jim,

Forgive me, but the combination of a few things in your posts scare me.

A perfectionist who wants consistent quality while spending as little as possible.

Any 2 of those traits together could be frustrating, all three together makes my head spin.

Jim

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I have a Laguna 16HD with a woodslicer that is doing a very good job, but I would not be satisfied to do a glue up without some sanding. I just ordered a carbide Laguna blade, we will see what that can do soon as I get it. I do a fair amount of bookmatching and the woodslicer for the money is very good.

Kevin, I nearly ordered one of those blades last week, than chickened out. Let us know how it works for you please?

[jim oakes]

Welcome to the forum! Your question is a little confusing to me, so forgive me if I mis-understood what you were looking for.

Normally a "glue joint" refers to an edge-to-edge gluing of several narrow boards into a wider panel, as, for example, a table top. Bandsaws don't do that. A band saw will work well for resawing or ripping. Both cuts leave saw marks on the workpiece, regardless of the blade you use. A table saw with a good fence and blade can cut a perfectly smooth edge good enough for gluing (or even finishing sometimes) but not a bandsaw.

.



.

Hi John, I'm from the Rainy part of OR

Yes, I do mean the full 12" width of the face. I would like the face of the resawn board to be as smooth as the edges of 2" thick lumber I rip with a decent 12'' blade on the table saw. Actually I resaw to 8" high on my table saw by flipping the stock and glue down that 8"face with out jointing or planing.

I want to see if "in the real world"
The claim that Highland hardware says about the woodslicer is true "we've produced 9" wide veneers no thicker than 1/32", clean enough for glue-up and ready to begin sanding at 100 grit."
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1293

Highland does not say they use a 14" bandsaw to get this quality but that's what they show. So according to Highland and all the testimonials they get you can get " glue -up results and begin at 100 grit "

[jim oakes]

MM20, 4.8hp. 15+" capacity, upgraded to carter guides and a custom wound tension spring made by Louis Iturra. I use a Lenox 1" 2-3 TPI carbide blade, and I cut my veneers at 3/32" and vacuum press them without any sanding. I spent about $3200 to get where I'm at, but I can reliably cut veneer as fast as I can shove the wood through the saw and I never have to fuss with anything. My next upgrade will be a feeder for the saw.

John

THank you John,

This is exactly the information I'm looking for.

[Martin King]

To do what you want, you need a saw capable of tensioning
that blade properly. I'd be looking for an older Oliver, Tannewitz,
Northfield etc. These saws are far from cheap, btw. Here's a recent article
authored by a famous craftsman that you might find applicable.HTH.

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/articledisplay?id=17603

[jim oakes]

Jim,

Forgive me, but the combination of a few things in your posts scare me.

A perfectionist who wants consistent quality while spending as little as possible.

Any 2 of those traits together could be frustrating, all three together makes my head spin.

Jim

Thanks Jim,
Your forgiven! Actually many of the woodworkers I've met over the years could be described as :

A perfectionist who wants consistent quality while spending as little as possible.

But to give you an example in this case I am looking for an above average "glue down cut",it doesn't have to be perfect " smooth as glass cut"
I can easily afford a new cast iron Tannewitz or Northfield, but if only $5000 to $1000 in saw and blades can do it why not? The Tannewitz is & $19,000 so I could have 14k to 18k to buy curly exotic slabs with, right?

[John Bush]

Hi Jim,
Seems that most of the folks on this forum have had the same questions. For me, this has been a matter of maturation or coming of age issue. I tend to lean to the conservative side(cheap) and I started with a Rikon 18. It worked very well for me and I ultimately stepped up to a Lenox Tri-master and their newer Woodmaster CT. Incredible difference in performance. I stepped up to a Grizz 0531 primarily for the foot brake and weight of the machine. It can handle ~ 16" resaw but I can't forsee the need for that dimension at this point. Again, this is a "growing" hobby, and as you learn more "stuff" you tend to know more specifically what you need(want?). There are a lot of great choices for saws. I live close to Griz showroom and all their BSs look good, and seem to be a good value. The Euro BSs are fabulous machines with pricepoint likely quiding your decisions between the two levels of machines. If you can create the opportunity, try to actually use any of the machines you are considering to buy. That will help with your final choice. I would recommend getting a good carbide tipped blade as well. Pratice a bit with non CT blades then try a CTed blade. You'll never look back. Good luck. John.

[jim oakes]

To do what you want, you need a saw capable of tensioning
that blade properly. I'd be looking for an older Oliver, Tannewitz,
Northfield etc. These saws are far from cheap, btw. Here's a recent article
authored by a famous craftsman that you might find applicable.HTH.

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/articledisplay?id=17603

Thanks Martin, Great article! Here's another article by a famous craftsman who says kinda the opposite. His tips are different from most experts on bandsaws:
http://www.grainsurf.com/forum/Bandsaw.pdf

He only resaws 7'' high but claims to get "perfect" veneers. From the photo it looks like "perfect" in this case would not be a "ready to glue cut"

[David DeCristoforo]

May I "chime in" here? The question it seems to me is more one of what would constitute a "ready to glue" surface. The thing is, you don't need a "sandpaper smooth" surface. As long as your cut faces are not too rough with deep saw marks, you can glue a sawn face without issue. The more important consideration is how evenly and accurately your machine can resaw. And that, as pointed out repeatedly, is going to have much more to do with the machine itself than the blade. If your machine is not rigid enough or powerful enough or your guides are not of top quality or your blade tension is not sufficient, it's really not going to matter what blade you use. I have an "older" 18" "steel frame" Griggio machine with a 3hp motor and Carter guides and I consistently get surfaces "good enough to glue" with a "standard" 3/8" 4 TPI blade.

YM

[Rob Will]

Thanks Jim,
I can easily afford a new cast iron Tannewitz or Northfield, but if only $5000 to $1000 in saw and blades can do it why not? The Tannewitz is & $19,000 so I could have 14k to 18k to buy curly exotic slabs with, right?

If you have the room, the right electric power, and the cash, go ahead and get that big old cast iron bandsaw. You should be able to find a really nice 36" Moak, Tannewitz or Northfield for less than $3000 or so.

Also remember that a good cast iron bandsaw weighs about 2500 lbs.

Rob

[jim oakes]

Hi Jim,
Seems that most of the folks on this forum have had the same questions. For me, this has been a matter of maturation or coming of age issue. I tend to lean to the conservative side(cheap) and I started with a Rikon 18. It worked very well for me and I ultimately stepped up to a Lenox Tri-master and their newer Woodmaster CT. Incredible difference in performance. I stepped up to a Grizz 0531 primarily for the foot brake and weight of the machine. It can handle ~ 16" resaw but I can't forsee the need for that dimension at this point. Again, this is a "growing" hobby, and as you learn more "stuff" you tend to know more specifically what you need(want?). There are a lot of great choices for saws. I live close to Griz showroom and all their BSs look good, and seem to be a good value. The Euro BSs are fabulous machines with pricepoint likely quiding your decisions between the two levels of machines. If you can create the opportunity, try to actually use any of the machines you are considering to buy. That will help with your final choice. I would recommend getting a good carbide tipped blade as well. Pratice a bit with non CT blades then try a CTed blade. You'll never look back. Good luck. John.

Hi John, Thanks, sounds like your a step ahead of me. The G0531 and G0568 are on my list. I live by Portland so I may PM you when I buy.

Anything you really don't like about the 0531? Can you change a carbide blade without nicking it? Do you drop the fence bar to change?
I hate the thought of scraping a $240 blade on metal.

[jim oakes]

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Home_built_bandsaw_mill.html

Would this setup(with a TON of spray lube) give perfect slices?

Just kidding.

[Bart Leetch]

The only blade I've gotten a good enough surface to go right to glue-up is a carbide tipped blade from Lennox. And even then you'll need a "perfect" setup to avoid face jointing or drum sanding the veneer to insure constant thickness...hard to do, IMHO. For the saw, you'll want a very heavy Euro style machine with a stiff enough back to support the kind of tension you need to do a quality job resawing at that height. The more power, the better.

My BS has 12.5" resaw and 3.8hp (MiniMax MM16 circa 2003).


WOW Jim your band-saw is getting old I think you need to let me take it off your hands & you should get a new one.:D:D:D

[jim oakes]

I would like add this after getting some great replies:

1- Here is what I mean by a "ready to glue down surface". Look at the rip cut edge produced by a new $40 to $60 carbide table saw blade. A glue joint rip cut that you can edge glue without running thru a jointer. This is the cut I want across the 12" face of the resawn slices.

2-I'm looking for ALL saws,blades and set ups that resaw close to this . Don't worry about the cost. When I said I want to spend as little as possible,it could be $1000 or $5000. I'm mostly concerned with cut surface quality.



Thanks

[Ron Dunn]

Jim, I don't think that smoothness is possible with a bandsaw.

I'd love to see pictures from someone to contradict me, but I've never seen a cut that smooth from a bandsaw.

[Jim Becker]

I would like add this after getting some great replies:

1- Here is what I mean by a "ready to glue down surface". Look at the rip cut edge produced by a new $40 to $60 carbide table saw blade. A glue joint rip cut that you can edge glue without running thru a jointer. This is the cut I want across the 12" face of the resawn slices.

Honestly, Jim, I think that's unrealistic for a band saw outside of a very large and heavy saw running a very wide carbide tipped blade with a power feeder and bulletproof material support. The "kerf expense" would be substantial, however. Even on a table saw, it's tough to get a true glue-line cut without it being a sliding saw with the material clamped down, no matter what blade you are using. (I do that regularly now with my slider, but wouldn't have avoided my jointer when I had the cabinet saw)

I have gotten some very good slices off my MM16 with a 1" carbide tipped blade (probably about 9" wide) and they marginally would be ready to glue, but there is enough variation from feed irregularities that I tend to hit the jointer. Between the kerf of the blade and the 1/32" pass over the jointer, a lot of stock is wasted.

[jim oakes]

Honestly, Jim, I think that's unrealistic for a band saw outside of a very large and heavy saw running a very wide carbide tipped blade with a power feeder and bulletproof material support. The "kerf expense" would be substantial, however. Even on a table saw, it's tough to get a true glue-line cut without it being a sliding saw with the material clamped down, no matter what blade you are using. (I do that regularly now with my slider, but wouldn't have avoided my jointer when I had the cabinet saw)

I have gotten some very good slices off my MM16 with a 1" carbide tipped blade (probably about 9" wide) and they marginally would be ready to glue, but there is enough variation from feed irregularities that I tend to hit the jointer. Between the kerf of the blade and the 1/32" pass over the jointer, a lot of stock is wasted.

Thanks Jim, Yes, wasted stock, knife's can chip out and waste more,and the bookmatch has "pages missing" . This setup comes close. I think he uses WoodSaver Carbide Resaw Blades:
http://www.borsonresaw.com/pages/maximum.html


once I get this super heavy miracle saw and blade set to cut perfect slices, I WILL put this sign on it!

http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/2/2.670/projects/equipment/image5.html

[jim oakes]

Thanks Martin, Great article! Here's another article by a famous craftsman who says kinda the opposite. His tips are different from most experts on bandsaws:
http://www.grainsurf.com/forum/Bandsaw.pdf

He only resaws 7'' high but claims to get "perfect" veneers. From the photo it looks like "perfect" in this case would not be a "ready to glue cut"

This story on Michael Fortune is telling. I saw his story in the link above in Fine woodworking and thought cool he seems to get great results with 1 simple saw and blade. I just looked at all his work and thought all this on a 15" general? then I saw this story and I was brought back to reality:
http://www.leevalley.com/newsletters/Woodworking/2/2/article3-2.htm
You Can Never Have Too Many Bandsaws
There were six bandsaws in Michael's shop, ranging in size from 10"–36". The lowly 15" General bandsaw was his favorite, and of all the machines in his shop, it received the most use. A dedicated 14" bandsaw was used to cut fabricated wood, since it contains glue that's notoriously hard on saw blades. He used a smaller 12" bandsaw for tight curves or small-scale work that couldn't be cut on the other 1/2", 3 or 4 tpi blades. If one bandsaw is good, then two or more dedicated machines greatly increase efficiency.

[Mike Spanbauer]

I think most of the important points have been covered. One that I didn't see (forgive me if I missed it) is the set to the teeth.

Carbide tipped bandsaw blades have no set which means... a perfectly tuned saw + a CT blade will leave no blade marks. Any of the "bent' teeth blades (HCS or BiM) leave a scraped surface as a result of the set in the teeth.

I've got an MM16 (16" resaw), 4.8h motor, Lenox 2/3 1" CT blade and get veneer glueup quality cuts from it. For GLUE-UP that is, the finish face will see the drum sander though before getting finished as the cut quality is very good, but not perfect.

I do not get glue line rip joints on my BS and I'd argue that it is tuned danged near as well as can be achieved for working wood.

The operator error on the other hand... :P Feed rate will screw up a surface easier than any saw and a bandsaw powerfeeder (different configuration than std) will yield superior results to a human feeder in 99% of the cases.

mike

[Wayne Cannon]

I attended a half-day bandsaw seminar by Michael Fortune at "The Woodworking Shows". While he definitely makes non-traditional arguments regarding drift compensation and blade tensioning, he does not get ready-to-glue surfaces from his bandsaw. His focus is on a well-tuned saw, a coarse pitched blade, only moderate blade tension, and a steady feed rate (within the gullets' ability to efficiently remove the swarf) to get the smoothest cut.

He uses a planer before every cut for one surface. For narrow veneers (i.e., under about 3"), he demonstrated a scraper mounted in a jig through which he pulls the veneer to get a uniform thickness. I don't know what he personally uses for wider veneers -- possibly a wide belt/drum sander.

He deals with drift via blade alignment on the wheel. From his discussion, I suspect that he uses only milled/ground blades (as opposed to stamped blades) which have more uniform cutting on both sides and minimal drift.