Resawing Blade Question

[harold brock]

I have a Grizzly Ultimate 14" bandsaw and about 800 bf of walnut that needs resawn. What is going to be the best blade I can use for this other than a carbide. I have a 3/4" timberwolf silicon steel blade on it right now, but it dulled rather quickly and with the larger widths it seems to have a problem getting thru them (5 to 6 inch widths). What are you fellow Creekers using and where can I get something that will get thru this walnut with ease and still not damage my wallet.

Also, the Grizzly Ultimate is a 2 speed saw, is it best to resaw on the faster of slower speed?

[alex grams]

A couple of questions:

-Is the wood wet or dry? This will make a difference on what kind of blade/gullet you need.
-Are you wanting to just resaw a rough dimension to plane up later? Or do you want a much more refined finish from the bandsaw?

[harold brock]

The wood is dry, reading a 10 to 11 on a moisture mete and I am just trying to get a rough dimension, I am trying to resaw to roughly 1" so I can finish them down to 3/4".

[alex grams]

Hmm. Would be toughfor me to say because i haven't run that much through a blade to see how dull it gets. I typically run a 1/2" or 3/4" woodslicer for my resawing, though I think for a rough cut you could get away with 1/2 for your needs. As for duration of sharpness, i will defer to others with more experience.

[Greg Cole]

For 800 BF, I'd say buck up for a carbide blade.... the bimetal ones supposedly do well, but I've been using Woodslicers for a couple years now.
As you noted, they don't live "that" long & with 800 BF to saw up... you'd be changing quite a few of them not too mention having to spend more time dimensioning the resawn stock as the cut quality deteriorates. 4 Woodslicers will getcha a trimaster for the same coin and should live alot longer than the 4 Woodslicers.
Someone who uses bimetal blades might chip in their $0.02. I have no clue there.
Using the slower speed take forever to get through that stack of lumber too....
Cheers.
Greg

[Phil Thien]

Well, if your average board is 2" x 8" x 8', then you have 74 boards to cut. So I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you may even need to sharpen a carbide blade halfway through the job.

[Walt Caza]

Hi Harold,
Myself, I would send to Highland for a couple of 1/2" Woodslicers to start.
Are you sure you want to resaw all of it?
Seems to me you could hold back some thicker stuff for future needs.

You do not mention what you are up to...
but I am unsure about resawing a whole pile of semi-dry walnut.
I aim to build furniture with more like 6-8%mc, at least to start.

If it is not going directly to a project...
I would prefer to keep it on the large side, leaving plenty to dress away
when it is actually being used.
Just my 2 cents,
Good luck with your walnut,
Walt

ps a well powered and properly set-up bandsaw should have no trouble
resawing 6" boards. Perhaps a bandsaw book is in order?
I find Mark Duginske's latest complete guide to be comprehensive!

[Larry Fox]

I agree completely with Greg Cole's math here. Multiple blades combined with value of time for setup and everything and you are into TriMaster territory easily. I have used both Woodslicer and TriMaster on my MM-16 and there just aint no comparison.

[Greg Cole]

I thought the same as Walt, leave some of the stock at whatever thickness it is now be it 8/4, 12/4. It's usualy easier to cut it up versus uncutting it...LOL

Greg

[Walt Caza]

It's usualy easier to cut it up versus uncutting it...LOL

Greg

Hehehe,
I got a great chuckle out of this...good one!
be well,
Walt