[OP]
Contributor
Highland Woodworking's house brand resaw blade "Wood Slicer" for band saws: They've been around for a while and the press is pretty good on these. "Sharper, harder, stronger, thinner", and they come in baby size (70 1/2") for my little 10" saw. 1/2" of course. I'm tempted. Do they live up to the hype?
Contributor
I imagine there are other blades that are as good, but I've come to rely on the wood slicers for critical cuts. I always keep a newish one around for cutting veneer from exotic boards. I find that they track very consistently and produce a nice surface that requires only a little sanding. I'm using it on a 14" delta saw with a riser block, so nothing remotely exotic in the way of a saw. I've frequently resawn 10" boards with that setup, I also regularly make 1/16" thick veneers.
In my hands, yes they live up to the hype. Not the blade I choose for roughing logs into shape for the lathe, nor for cutting curves, but for resawing on a small saw, absolutely. There may be a cheaper source for a similar blade, but at my usage level it's not worth the time or effort to chase it down.
Contributor
They are pretty good, and for resawing are about as good as you can get for smaller saws that can't use carbide blades. They have a thinner kerf than just about anything else, and when new they are very sharp and cut with little feed pressure. They are only spring steel, however, and will dull relatively fast compared to bi-metal or carbide.
Due to the minimal set they are no good for cutting curves or for green wood- strictly for ripping and resawing.
You can get the same blade stock from Spectrum Supply, called Kerfmaster, made in any size. They will sell the blade cheaper than Highland, but their shipping is pretty high and from what I remember it ended up being kind of a wash.
Contributor
Same setup here. Are you using a 1/2" blade or a 3/4" blade? I don't know if the 14" Delta w/ riser can handle a 3/4" blade.Originally Posted by roger wiegand
Jon Endres
Killing Trees Since 1983
Contributor
They cut great in stable wood and leave a very smooth finish but dull VERY quickly. And if the wood you are cutting pinches so much as a nanometer it will bind up the blade because it has so little set. One and done for me.
John
Member
Give Louis Iturra a call, he has the identical thing for less than Highland: 904-642-2802. Can weld up any length, excellent service.
I like these blades a lot and yes, they dull faster than others but I’ve gotten pretty fast at sharpening them.
Contributor
I went through one or two of them and found them to dull too quickly, same goes for Highland's woodturning blades. I'm currently on a Timberwolf kick and have been happy so far.
[OP]
Contributor
Thanks, all. So, to recap:
- 1/16” veneers in 10” boards
- dulls quickly
- my baby saw has no carbide option.
OK, I’m sold. This and the 3 tpi Timber Wolf will be my two 1/2” blades — one for special cuts and the other for everyday 1/2” use.
Contributor
I've been tempted to try one. I got a reasonable life out of their woodturner's blade but found Lenox bimetal blades seem to last a lot longer and really don't cost much more. But I got rid of my 14" cast iron saw so I can run thicker blades without a problem.
Contributor
I use the 1/2" blades. I wouldn't want to try and fully tension a 3/4" blade on my saw. I just got done replacing several bent and stripped parts as it is. When I'm re-sawing a piece of wood I've paid several hundred dollars for I don't begrudge the $35 for a blade that lets me do it right the first time.
That said I'm very much in the market for a 20-24" Italian saw that can handle bigger blades and cuts more easily. Watching Craigslist every day.
Contributor
I would make your everyday, go-to blade a 3/8 x 4 tpi one.
John
Member
I use 3/8 4 tpi blades as my everyday blade on my delta 14'' saw. This has more to do with the fact that I bought a coil of this blade stock (538') on the bay. just pure luck on my part that it works real well for me. So yeah John I agree with you.
Contributor
i use the 3 TPI 1/2" Timberwolf to resaw as well as for everything else on my 18" saw. It is not a super smooth cut, but the kerf is fairly thin. I tried a Diemaster 2 bimetal blade but it took a huge kerf compared to the Timberwolf and was therefore much slower cutting, and the one I had broke at the weld before it got dull, the only bandsaw blade I've had do that.
[OP]
Contributor
John, I agree. When I said "everyday 1/2" blade" I meant the one I'd use for ripping stock 2 – 3" thick, such as the bloodwood 3x3x12 for the Krenov plane I keep saying I'm going to make (although that species may be tough on the blade?).
My kit includes three evenly spaces widths: 2, 5, and 8 sixteenths, so I figure that covers the range my 10" saw can handle:
1/8" for small circles and curvy stuff in thinner stock, 3/4" and less
5/16" –– my true "everyday" blade
1/2" for straight cuts. For this width I'll have two.
I'm going to need to resaw 4" cherry soon; hence the interest in how the Wood Slicer performs.
My Wood Slicer arrives next week, and the Timber Wolf is new in the package. I broke the last Timber Wolf trying to rip 5" hard maple. Band saws require experience, and I'm only about a year into mine.
Last edited by Bob Jones 5443; 01-27-2021 at 3:52 AM.
Contributor
FWIW, both Timberwolf blades I tried on my 14" Delta broke, but not at the weld, one after not all that much use. That soured me on them, too. My experience with the Diemaster II sounds similar to yours, durable but slow cutting and only OK cut quality. I got some Starrett coil stock (not sure if it's bimetal or carbon steel) from a friend and have been very impressed with the longevity of those blades with decent speed and cut quality. I have enough that I'll probably never need to look for a new blade type for that saw.
John
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