Best Bandsaw Blades for tall resaw

[John Halsted]

I recently bought a Rikon 10-347 which is an 18" bandsaw with 19" of resaw height. This is my first bandsaw and I bought this specific model because I'm very attracted to the idea of sawing down logs from tree cutting projects (lots of very old growth trees in my area).

The stock 3/4" blade doesn't seem so great. I had no problem sawing a ~10" log into boards in terms of power and speed, but keeping a straight cut was difficult and it seems like the stock blade is pretty cheap since I can already see the teeth bending back. I figure I need to get something wider that I can crank tighter, and that won't drift as much.

Anyways, I'm looking for advice on what blade(s) to buy to saw green logs, and also dry wood as needed. I imagine at some point in the future I may try to setup the saw on wheels so I can push the whole saw along a log and take off boards.

I'll also need some finer general purpose blades for random bandsaw work.

Saw take 162" blades.

Thanks for your help!

[John Kee]

If your saw will tension it properly I use the Lenox 1" Woodmaster CT 1.3 T for dry wood resawing. I have had no issues with tall resaws and I get extremely longlife. Can't comment on cutting wet wood because I don't use it.

http://www.lenoxtools.com/pages/wood...aw-blades.aspx

[Mike Cutler]

John

I have the "original" Rikon 18" bandsaw. 10-340. I've had it since 2005. It has no problems tensioning a 1" Lennox TriMaster, 2/3 Varipitch, blade. Mine has never done anything except resew, so I can;t really help you out on the smaller blades
I like the spec's on that 10-347. It might finally be time for an upgrade. At 4HP, that'll rip through some material.

[Jim Becker]

Sawing logs with a machine like that is going to be an ambitious task unless they are only short sections. And you need to move the wood, not the machine, unlike with a milling machine like a Woodmizer. There was a video posted awhile back that showed a fellow's shop setup with a special sled and a way of winching logs up to the sled. There were dubious safety moments in that video, however. Please be sure that whatever you decide to do is safe...wet logs are extremely heavy as I'm sure you know.

Blades for wet wood are indeed different. Suffolk Machinery carries Timberwolf for both wet and dry cutting.

[Jeff Ramsey]

I've cut green logs with my Felder FB510, and a 3/4" 2/3 Vara Timberwolf blade. Cutting isn't a problem. Feeding logs consistently without binding the blade is a problem. I could build a sled but I don't cut enough logs; my resawing is almost exclusively dry slabs. If I had enough harvestable hardwood I "might" consider a Woodmizer.

[Ira Matheny]

I have a 36" Yates/American bandsaw. I special order 250" x 1" blade that is identical to the one used in Woodmiser machines. www.BandSawBladesDirect.com

[Mike Cutler]

John

I can echo some of the comments about green logs. I ran a big green hickory log through mine once. Never again! The amount of moisture coming out of that log was incredible. It gummed up everything.
It was a mess to clean up, and wasn't worth it in the end.

[John Halsted]

John

I can echo some of the comments about green logs. I ran a big green hickory log through mine once. Never again! The amount of moisture coming out of that log was incredible. It gummed up everything.
It was a mess to clean up, and wasn't worth it in the end.

My first pile of logs is walnut and oak. When the walnut was first cut, it was dripping water out the ends. I let it all sit for a few days, then painted the ends of all the logs with wax and let it all sit outside. It's been a few months now and the walnut just cut nicely on my test log. Certainly not dry, but not soaking either. I ran some kiln dried pine through the blade after and left the bandsaw doors open and didn't seem to have any moisture or blade/rust issues.

[John Halsted]

I thought I would follow up on this post.

I did try to cut some logs with the 3/4" blade that came with my Rikon 10-347, but didn't feel it was working very well. I ordered some blades from Timberwolf, including a 1" x2PC blade, which I've cut to cut up a bunch of logs, and it is working fairly well. Though I've mostly been sawing things in the ~12" range, I've used it to saw logs as tall as 19", which is the maximum resaw height on my saw. It seems to still have a lot of life left in it even after running a nail through it.

I did get a lot of gumming up on the blade and wheels after my first big session. I think it was the oak, but the bigger problem was that I wasn't using any dust collection (working outside) so a lot of dust ended up inside the machine. The stuff stuck to the blade was basically impossible to remove mechanically. Maybe I need to lube the blade with something. On my 2nd session I cut a lot of maple and it actually seemed to clean off the blade!

I already have some logs that are too big to lift onto the saw, and I'm planning to design a set of supports with casters that will let me run the saw horizontally over my driveway. If I remove the table and trunnion I instantly gain another 6" of resaw height, so I could slab logs as wide as 25". I think the saw will be powerful enough to do this if I go slow. The only times I really had trouble with bogging down the motor was when I had some blade binding, and that was mostly because it is hard to hold and push a really heavy log straight with no twisting.

I plan to order some blades from Wood Mizer to try out. I didn't realize how cheap they are - around $25/blade. Seems Timberwolf also makes sawmill blades but they have their selection setup in an annoying way where, instead of just selecting band type and size, you have to select your sawmill make and model.

[Van Huskey]

Pam cooking spray or better yet the generic version is the best/cheapest blade lube for wet wood, use it liberally and often If you are going to be doing this a lot and have gotten the feeding down so you aren't kinking blades look at the Woodmaster CT. Also if this is the main function for your saw see if Space Age Ceramic has a ceramic retrofit kit for that saw now (it is rather new) and consider that. You can run them SLIGHTLY against the blade to help scrape off the resins before they get a chance to cook on. I really like ceramic guides for wet and highly pitched wood.

This is a picture on an older Rikon 18 so you can understand what I mean by scraping the pitch.

Rikon-18-guides1-225x300.jpg

[Bob Bouis]

I'll second the ceramic guides for cutting green wood. They are spectacular for that purpose. But I'd caution against applying too much oil to the blade as it can cause it to slip off the wheels. Ask me how I know.

Also, if you're cutting logs you should remove the bark or pressure wash it prior to cutting. A clump of dirt can dull your blade instantly.

[Van Huskey]

But I'd caution against applying too much oil to the blade as it can cause it to slip off the wheels. Ask me how I know.

That's a VERY good point. I was trying to combat those that try to get away with a little squirt at the start of a pile of blanks and think it is good enough not really considering there is an upper limit depending on the blade, tire compound and tension. I have never used enough to cause slippage but it is only logical that it can happen.

[Jim Andrew]

I tried cutting some logs with my MM16 before getting a Cooks MP 32 bandsaw mill. Was not able to control turning of the logs completely, and wound up with some uneven boards, decided to look at lower cost bandsaw mills. The MP32 is a manual mill, which requires a lot of work to cut up logs, but not so much as trying to cut lumber on a bandsaw, and with much better results. Have had the mill for about 12 years, and have several piles of lumber that I will probably not live long enough to use up. The mill is still in good condition, so has probably not lost a lot of value.

[John TenEyck]

Waiting for logs to dry enough not to gum up your bandsaw can easily result in defects in the lumber you mill. Logs are best cut immediately after felling. If you look at any bandsaw used for milling green logs you'll see lubricant or water is being added to the blade to keep it cool and free of pitch. That's not something you'd want to do on a vertical bandsaw.

If you have a bunch of green logs to mill find someone with a bandsaw lumber mill to do it for you. Woodmizer's website has a link to local folks who do that.

John

[John Halsted]

I'll try small applications of oil next time.

This is my first bandsaw, so I don't have anything to compare to, but I don't care much for the fancy new bearing guides on the 10-347. They just don't seem ... "tight" ? Wow, $109 for a ceramic set though. I should probably go find a saw with ceramic guides and play with it.

If I go through with my plan to make a horizontal milling jig for this saw, I could see possibly buying a second bandsaw. Maybe keeping one in mill mode during the summer, then having two standard upright bandsaws during the winter. I was able to get the 10-347 for $1700 which I though was pretty decent for the size and power.

Jim, I've also been looking at real sawmills, and I think it is safe to say that I've caught the urban logging bug. I hadn't noticed the Cooks electric model but that seems like a good option. I did notice their extra wide mill, which is the kind of milling I really want to do. I live in a historic area and we have a lot of very old growth trees. When something has to come down it usually just gets chipped. I wish I could find a sawmill that is super wide, not so long, and maybe 10hp electric. I don't care about cutting super fast.

John, I'm sure I can pay someone to do the work for me. Not interested