Bandsaw Blade Width

[Mitchell Ristine]

All, I have "new to me" Delta 28-275 (Older 3/4 horse, 14" saw). I would to start resawing on it. Can that machine accept a 3/4 inch blade (the manual seems to say yes)? If so, is there any advantage of a 3/4 over a 1/2?

Also, what is a good brand of blades?

Thanks and happy cutting.

Oh and just for fun, I was making A LOT of cutting boards for this last Christmas. When I finished the last I was all tuckered out and just left the shop. The other day when I got around to finally cleaning, I opened the cabinet to my saw and got the following wonderful surprise:
Dust2.jpgDust.jpg

Pretty neat, eh?

[Brian Nguyen]

I looked up the manual for your Delta saw and it does say that it can go up to 3/4": https://www.manualslib.com/manual/37...page=12#manual

Btw I think you need to hook up your dust port to a dust collector

[Nick Decker]

I would recommend you have a look at a 1/2" Woodslicer blade from Highland Woodworking.

And, as Brian said, a dust collector. That's some very destructive artwork you posted.

[Mike Cary]

A 3/4 inch blade will "fit" so a lot of manuals say you can use one. What they don't say is that you cannot properly tension it. The best width for a 14 inch bandsaw is 3/8". I would never go wider than 1/2".

[Bryan Lisowski]

Although it says you can use a 3/4" blade, I believe it will be hard getting it properly tensioned. I have a 14" grizzly and use 1/2" blade for resawing. The Woodslicer is a good blade to start with.

[glenn bradley]

I’ve landed on a 1/2” for resawing even on my 17” saw.

[Brian Nguyen]

Although it says you can use a 3/4" blade, I believe it will be hard getting it properly tensioned. I have a 14" grizzly and use 1/2" blade for resawing. The Woodslicer is a good blade to start with.

Yep, I agreed. What you can do (according to the manual) versus what you should do to use the bandsaw optimally is usually different. I think for most 14" saw, the sweet spot for resaw blade is 1/2". I use Timberwolf blades on mine.

Also, it's a pain to wrestle the wider blades on and off bandsaws. Tossing a 3/4" blade onto the ground and running for my life as it "SPRRRROING" to life gets old, fast.

[John K Jordan]

All, I have "new to me" Delta 28-275 (Older 3/4 horse, 14" saw). I would to start resawing on it. Can that machine accept a 3/4 inch blade (the manual seems to say yes)? If so, is there any advantage of a 3/4 over a 1/2?

The saw will certainly accept a 3/4" blade. However, based on my own experience I wouldn't do it. The tension mechanism and perhaps even the frame in that saw is not up to tensioning it properly. Years ago I tried on my 14" Delta , even using an upgraded tension spring and a Starrett tension gauge to be sure I had it right. The result was a bent tension bracket. Some people have broken the bracket and otherwise stressed the saw. Others do run 3/4" blades but sometimes run into other problems related to insufficient tension. If you do it, I suggest you get a tension gauge or jig up a free one like this:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...33#post2640833
bandsaw_tensioning_TenEyck.jpg

I still have my 14" Delta but mostly use a much beefier 18" bandsaw. Even with that I don't like to run 3/4" blades although the manufacturer "rates" it for 1-3/8". I think the saw makers sometimes overstate the useful blade widths for marketing reasons.

My favorite blade for nearly everything including 12" thick green wood is a properly tensioned 1/2" 3tpi. If I want a finer cut I use a 1/2" blade with more teeth per inch. I often resaw 8-10" wide boards to make thin layers for woodturning glueups.

Some people do prefer a wider blade for resawing. I find a good fence tall and proper alignment do the job with a narrower blade. I once used my 14" saw to resaw a 12' long 2x12 douglas fir plank into four thin boards. I made a tall fence and went slow (with a properly tensioned blade). Some people love carbide blades for resawing but they are too expensive for me.

As for the dust build up inside the cabinet, my own sawdust landscape art went away when I connected good dust collection. My larger saw has a 4" port in the bottom cabinet towards the right and a second pickup just under the lower guides. I rarely have more than a tablespoon of dust in the cabinet.

JKJ

[Edwin Santos]

Hi,
IMO, the issue is not blade width, but blade body thickness. With a saw like yours I would stay with a blade that is .025 or thinner. The thinner bands require less demand on the saw to achieve a given tension. Generally speaking the narrower widths mean thinner bands, but there are exceptions. For example Timberwolf makes a thin body 3/4" blade they call AS-S which I would not hesitate to use on your machine. I think .032 bands would be a little too demanding on your particular saw.

For all practical purposes I see little reason to go beyond 1/2" width.
Edwin

[Edwin Santos]

Tossing a 3/4" blade onto the ground and running for my life as it "SPRRRROING" to life gets old, fast.

Learning how to safely coil and uncoil bandsaw blades in your hands with total control is not difficult. Once you know how, it's a life skill that you'll always know and you will never throw a bandsaw blade again. There are YouTube videos that demonstrate it very well.
Throwing a blade is not good for the user or the blade. Walking out to a grass lawn and back to do it is a total waste of time. I hope this suggestion doesn't offend you.
Edwin,

[Zachary Hoyt]

I used to use a 14" Rockwell and now have an 18" Jet. I always use 1/2" 3 TPI blades for resawing, and for almost everything else. I have resawn cherry 9" wide to make the back for an archtop guitar, and the 1/2" blade did it just fine. Most of my resawing is a bit smaller. I got a 3/4" blade for the saw but only used it a few times, it is thicker and takes a bigger kerf, cuts slower and is harder to tension. I am used to working with 1-1/4" wide band blades for our little sawmill, and even they are not hard to fold up and unfold once you get used to it, though they were scary at first. I wear gloves to work with the bigger blades, but the 1/2" blades are much easier to handle.
Zach

[Mitchell Ristine]

That's some very destructive artwork you posted.

Yep, sure is. I was embarrassed when I opened the cabinet.

[Brian Nguyen]

Learning how to safely coil and uncoil bandsaw blades in your hands with total control is not difficult. Once you know how, it's a life skill that you'll always know and you will never throw a bandsaw blade again. There are YouTube videos that demonstrate it very well.
Throwing a blade is not good for the user or the blade. Walking out to a grass lawn and back to do it is a total waste of time. I hope this suggestion doesn't offend you.
Edwin,

No worries, no offense taken Yes, I know the technique to coil and uncoil BS blades--I can do it with my 1/4" and 3/8" blades. But the bigger ones are just a nuisance that I've long decided that the energy and efforts were not close enough to the benefits, so I threw and ran and eventually just decided to get a second bandsaw and left a 1/2" blade permanently on there for good

[Lee Schierer]

Hi,
IMO, the issue is not blade width, but blade body thickness. With a saw like yours I would stay with a blade that is .025 or thinner. The thinner bands require less demand on the saw to achieve a given tension.

Edwin

I concur that you can use a 3/4" blade on your 14" saw if the band is thinner. I have a 3/4" blade I use for resawing that is 0.023" thick and it works very well on my 14" Delta BS for resawing. I like the 3/4" blade because it runs straighter than 1/2" blades.

[Edwin Santos]

No worries, no offense taken Yes, I know the technique to coil and uncoil BS blades--I can do it with my 1/4" and 3/8" blades. But the bigger ones are just a nuisance that I've long decided that the energy and efforts were not close enough to the benefits, so I threw and ran and eventually just decided to get a second bandsaw and left a 1/2" blade permanently on there for good

Well any solution that involves getting another bandsaw is a good solution in my book!