I’m thinking of upgrading my resawing bandsaw. Laguna are on sale for the first time in years. I’d be getting the 18BX. It can take up to a 1-1/4″ blade. The largest I have resawed with is a 3/4″.
For those of you who have used them, is there much difference, in practical use, between a 3/4″, 1″, and 1-1/4″?
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While it goes without saying, the wider the blade the straighter the cut, but there's more to it. The saw your looking at is 3hp, so power should be enough but the thicker blades also require more tension. It's often been said that when a manufacturer says there saw will take X sized blades, the truth is usually one size down, in your case 1".
A 1" blade is great for resawing but unless you're resawing all day long, you probably wont notice too much difference from a 3/4" blade.
If all you do is resaw, a 1" blade is great.
JMHO
That was in the back of my mind, so I took a closer look at both the Woodslicer and the Resaw King, which are the two blades I'd most likely be resawing with. The Woodslicer comes in 1/2" and 3/4", and the carbide tipped Resaw King in 1/2", 3/4", 1", and 1-1/4".
They both use the same band thickness for all widths and lengths. The Woodslicer I once tried to use on my 1/2 HP 93-1/2" Delta clone is the exact same band stock as it would be on a 145" 3HP machine. Same for the Resaw King. All blade stock, on all widths and lengths, are .6mm for the backer, 1.1 mm kerf.
I was really surprised by that. I'm sure it saves them money in manufacturing. I'm not sure what it means in real world cutting.
The Woodslicers leave a .031 kerf, the carbide tipped Lagunas are .043" I can run a 3/4" carbide blade ok on my 1.75HP saw.
When I first got the SUV I bought the 1/2" woodslicer. Because I could run the wider blade I switched to the 3/4". I saw no diff from the 1/2" and that's all I use now, resawing to 12" without issue. Never maxed out the 14"+ capacity. The 16" maw of the larger saw might benefit from the added stiffness.
At the end of the day it's still 3TPI and feed rate goes down as height piles up. Never tried the carbide blades... how many steel blades do you reckon you'd burn to get to refresh time on the carbide?
The Laguna Resaw King is a fantastic blade.
I resaw with a 3/4" Laguna Resaw King blade on a 14|12 bandsaw. The carbide tipped blade cuts through hard maple like I upgraded the 1-3/4 hp motor. Saw marks are minimal with good technique and can be cleaned up with several passes of a hand plane or a light pass through the thickness planer.
If I had the 18BX I'd probably opt for the 1" blade just because I could, but I agree with Edward that it is probably not necessary.
Cheers, Gary
Video that popped up in my YouTube feed.
The Best Resawing Blade for Bandsaws | Laguna Resaw King Blades
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F9VODILfxg