What bandsaw blade sizes to get?

[Erik C. Hammarlund]

OK, i know.. this is a really stupid newbie question.

I have a hitachi bandsaw which i got for a steal ($300) at a yard sale.

I have an (unopened) 3" blade which I plan to use to resaw some stock.

I need smaller blades for more general bandsaw working: cutting curves and the like. But it has been so darn long since I owned a bandsaw that honestly, I'm not sure what I need. 1/4? 3/8? Both?

I'm not above buying a pair of blades. But what do i buy, and which blades to I get, for general use? I will probably never use the small blades for resawing since I have the big one.

If you were just putting a bandsaw in some random shop and had to choose a blade size, what would you put on?
(edited: It's a hitachi cb75f, which is the resaw one.)

[Jim Becker]

I typically leave a 1/2" blade on my band saw for general cutting, but will use a 3/8" for curves. Since band saw blades are "disposables" I also tend to keep extras of the size I use the most so I can switch quickly when performance degrades beyond my personal tolerance. I use Timberwolf blades from Suffolk Machinery (http://www.suffolkmachinery.com)...buying direct saves money and they often have a "buy x get one free" deal which is also economical. Note that you do need to call them to order; their site is for information only.

[Bill White]

A 3" blade? Man, that's a monster.
Bill

[John Bailey]

I always keep a 1/4" blade on mine. I have a 1/2" for resawing and for when I'm going to make a lot of straight cuts. I know I should change the blade more often for different cuts, but, I'm lazy.

John

[Ben Martin]

A 3" blade? Man, that's a monster.
Bill

Agreed, do you have the Hitachi re-saw badsaw???

[Erik C. Hammarlund]

A 3" blade? Man, that's a monster.
Bill
That's sort of the whole point of the hitachi... It's the only saw its size with a frame strong enough to tension a blade that big. I figure that if I was going to own a hitachi, I might as well have a 3" blade. So I bought one!

Truth be told, I don't really need the Hitachi in particular, since I am not really going to do much resawing and I'm not an especially good woodworker. I'd happily trade it for a few other lower end tools, like a "normal" 14 or 16 inch bandsaw plus a planer. But nobody in my area is looking to trade :)

[Charlie Plesums]

If you start using the resaw power of that big bandsaw, you may get hooked on a kind of work most shops can't do.

The really wide blades do much straighter cuts, especially critical when resawing thin wood (even veneers). The only disadvantage of the really wide blades is that they are often thicker, leading to a thicker kerf (more waste). My saw will take a 1 1/2 inch wide blade, but I only use the 1 inch to get the thinner kerf. But now that I have a 1 inch blade, I wouldn't think of using narrower blades for straight cuts.

My small bandsaw normally has a 1/4 inch blade on it, but I occasionally put on a 1/2 inch blade designed for wet wood when I am cutting bowl blanks.

I also recommend Suffolk machinery. The telephone operators know more about bandsaw blades than I will ever learn, and will help you choose the best blades based on wood thickness, radius of curves cut, wet or dry, soft or hard, fast cut or smooth, and more options than I can think of. I consider their Timberwolf blades the best short of a Lenox carbide blade.

[Chris Padilla]

I dunno how many of you watch Woodworks, but David Marks often uses a "very thin" blade on his large bandsaw when cutting veneers. I always wondered about this and so after piecing together various clues from his shows and what I've heard and read, I picked up a 1/2" 6 tpi bimetal Lenox blade (hook style) called a Diemaster2. I think it closely resembles what David might use.

It cost me a little under $60 for a 14' blade and I was pleasently surprised at the quality of the cut and very pleased with the ~1/32" kerf.

Using wide blades on large bandsaws has me thinking twice in regards to resawing veneers. I have a MM20 (20" BS) and mostly have 1" wide blades including a Trimaster that I love but it eats up 1/16" for its kerf.