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Thread: Brand name bandsaw bade advice needed for Laguna 14BX

  1. #1

    Brand name bandsaw bade advice needed for Laguna 14BX

    Hi I am probably asking a loaded question that will ignite a which product is better debate but I am getting a Laguna 14BX bandsaw and I did a very cursory search for bandsaw blades. I know Laguna sells the resew king for $140 but then the Highland woodslicer is selling for $40 or so - an incredible $100 dollar difference. I am not finding much recent information on which is better or more cost effective. I am looking for a resew blade and I see people recommend no more than a 3/4" blade for this saw - is that correct? A 3 TPI 34 inch blade? And then I need a general purpose blade. I have an older jet bandsaw that I will use for the real skinny 1/8 inch blades so what is a good all purpose blade size and brand for this bandsaw and what is a good brand resaw blade? Thanks as always - Tom.

    Sorry about the title - Blade not bade.
    Last edited by Tom Hassad; 10-08-2019 at 8:44 PM. Reason: I should proofread more often

  2. #2
    Contact John over at Woodcraftbands. He will steer you correctly, IMHO.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    So Cal
    Posts
    3,737
    I say both are very good Resaw blades.
    The RK blade will last about 100x longer.
    If your plans are to cut expensive wood that’s just darn right precious. Wood from “ The Tree” then get the Resaw king.
    Anything ordinary common wood try the Wood slicer. It’s a pretty good blade but only on dry wood.

    Good Luck
    Aj

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    WNY
    Posts
    9,647
    Most manufacturers are a little optomistic in how wide a blade their saws can tension well enough to cut well, particularly in their offerings targetted at hobbiests. The only way to know for sure is to put a tension meter on a blade and see how much tension your BS can put on it. Carbide blades in particular need to be tensioned pretty high in order to achieve their best performance, in the range of 25K psi. So I would start by measuring the tension on one of the blades you already have. It's not hard to do with a shop built tension meter that will cost you less than $25 to make in about an hour of your time. That will tell you whether your saw can handle a 3/4" blade, no guessing required.

    Woodslicer blades cut beautifully but dull very quickly in hard wood. I dulled one in less than 50 ft of 6" hard maple. While they don't cut as smoothly, I've had much better life with Lennox Diemaster II and Olson MVP bi-metal blades, at minimally higher cost. I'm talking 1/2" x 3 tpi blades here, which your saw should have no trouble tensioning. FWIW, a 3/8 x 4 tpi is a great alround blade. I have a Starrett blade of that size on my 14" Delta most of the time and use it for ripping, gentle curved work, and even resawing up to 4 or 5".

    John

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Stone Mountain, GA
    Posts
    751
    I have that saw and have used both of those blades. Actually, instead of the woodslicer I ordered a 3/4" "Kerfmaster" from Spectrum Supply which is supposed to be the same thing- very thin spring steel resaw blade. They are priced much lower than Highland prices the woodslicer...but Spectrum's shipping costs are high enough that its kind of a wash.

    These blades work very well. When brand new they are the sharpest-feeling blades to use and require minimal feed pressure, and leave a great surface. They do dull but I feel like their short lifespan is a bit exaggerated on the internet. For intermittent use mine would last 6-8 months. I only considered a blade to be dull enough to change if it was requiring noticeably high feed pressure or wasn't tracking properly.

    I recently got a resaw king. The surface finish is almost as good as a fresh woodslicer, and cuts almost as easily (sharpness). I'm expecting this carbide blade to last at least 10x as long as a woodslicer. If it does then it is more economical. The woodslicer can also be resharpened several times- the cost for sharpening is similar to the cost of a new woodslicer.

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