Band saw blade for rough cutting logs into boards
mmdurocher
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
I’ve been thrilled with the amazing boards I’m able to get from tree limbs and truck sections when my arborist friend has a good tree that he is trimming or taking down. I’m having a harder time cutting my current batch of thick oak logs, so I think it’s time to replace my band saw blade. I’ve been using a 3/4″ Timberwolf 3TPI hook angle blade on my 14″ saw, but I didn’t think it lasted that long. Granted, it is a tough job to cut such thick hardwood, but do others have a recommendation for a better blade for this kind of cutting? Given that I’m mostly cutting straight-line cuts, should I go down to 1/2″ or 3/8″ to reduce friction while cutting?
Replies
I find the Timberwolf blades dull very fast. Consider the highland woodworking 3/8” greenwood blade.
Do NOT, use the Woodslicer resaw blades from Highland Woodworking for green wood. I tried and snapped a blade quickly, then when I went online to order a new one, saw in big bold print, not to use it on green wood. My stupidity. Yes, they do have the Woodturners bandsaw blade that is meant for green wood.
Note: Other than my stupid attempt, I love the Woodslicer resew blades! They work great for resawing work.
Funny, I cut some 13" thick green red oak a few weeks ago with a 1/2" woodslicer and it worked great. The magical combo of luck and ignorance I suppose.
I use Laguna's 1/2" carbide tipped blade. They also make a 3/4", but I found it was hard to center (and therefore track) on my 14" bandsaw. The 1/2" works great, gets through woods like maple no problem. You will, of course, need to plane the surface afterwards.
The Laguna resaw king works flawlessly in any condition but it has a high price tag. It pretty much never dulls.
The problem you are having mschlak tracking with the 3/4 inch blade has to do with the alignment of the blade to the guide. I have the one inch blade and the parralelism has to be perfect, this is due to the very thin kerf and the wider the blade, the lesser the tolerance to misalignment.
I agree, gulfstar. But I was unable to get past it. I tried all sorts of things but there was significant drift. I tried centering the blade on the tire, that didn't work. I tried moving it back so that the bottom of the kerf was closer to the center (it couldn't be completely centered because the back of the blade would rub against the body of the saw) and that didn't work. If you have any suggestions, I still have the larger blade. But so far, the 1/2" is doing what I need it to.