Hello John
I have watched your short video on tension and the bandsaw blade, tried the method after making the tool and now I want to get another blade or two for my bandsaw.
I have an old Rockwell that takes a 142″ blade and she’s a good saw with good tires and very little vibration. No problems to mention.
I have been using the resaw blades(1/2″ 3tpi hook and the 3/4 3tpi hook) from Highland Hardware with good results after installation but they don’t last that long. After complaining about it to friends, they say they have had better luck with the Lenox line of blades. After looking at the Lenox site, I don’t know what to try. Carbon blade, bi-metal, carbide ….. I want something that will stay sharp and work for a good while.
Can you share some of your thoughts on what you might recommend to someone doing a bunch of resaw cutting in maple and walnut?
Thank you
Dan
Replies
Dan,
Your experience with the Highland blades isn't uncommon, a number of woodworkers have noted their relatively short life, but they do cut well.
Bi-metal blades have a carbon steel band with high speed steel teeth. The advantage to high speed steel is that the teeth will stay sharp even if the blade becomes quite hot, which it can do if you are doing resawing, so the extra expense of buying a bi-metal blade is probably justified.
Carbide, in addition to being heat resistant, is also much more wear resistant than steel, but a carbide blade costs so much more than steel blades it isn't clear that carbide is cost effective. This is especially true on smaller band saws where carbide blades have a dismaying tendency to break from fatigue before they wear out, although I believe that Lenox claims to have solved the problem of blade breakage on smaller wheeled machines. Given the size of your machine's blades blade, fatigue probably wouldn't be a problem since the wheels are larger.
Carbide is almost a necessity if you are cutting highly abrasive tropical woods but I wouldn't rush off to buy one for sawing maple and walnut. In general a carbide blade needs more horsepower, or lacking that, a slower feed to prevent bogging down than a steel blade. Laguna Tools has a carbide blade developed especially for resawing that cut quickly and very smoothly in tests I ran a few years ago, but it wasn't cheap.
Another excellent source for high quality band saw blades, with excellent customer service, is Suffolk Machinery, I use them regularly. Their Timberwolf blades have an excellent reputation for resawing with good blade life.
John W.
John,
Does the width of the bandsaw blade matter when resawing? I've used 3/4" and 3/8" blades when resawing and I really couldn't notice any difference between the two cuts in quality nor speed.
Thanks Mike
Mike,A wider blade is less likely to develop a sideways bow when there is pressure against the blade from the stock being fed, so a wider blade is best for resawing. Small bandsaws that are designed for resawing only typically have wheels capable of handling a 2 inch wide blade. A wide blade is also used because it allows for deeper gullets which are needed to carry the sawdust out of a tall resaw cut. For resawing, I would use a blade that is just a bit narrower than the tires on your saw.John White
alright. Thanks for the help.
Hi John, I got another quick question,
My bandsaw has the original 1/3 hp motor on it. Would it be beneficial to upgrade it to a 1 hp motor for resawing?
Thanks Mike
Mike,Are you sure your saw has only 1/3 horsepower? It could have any size motor, but even small machines normally are supplied with 1/2 horsepower motors. Tell me more about your saw, make, model, and wheel diameter would be very useful.John W.
Edited 10/3/2007 3:44 pm ET by JohnWW
Yeah you're right. It's a 14" Delta with a 1/2 hp motor. I'd like to upgrade to a 1 Hp but not sure exactly which 1 hp motor to buy.
Further to John's comments, we have been running a Lennox Tri-Master carbide, 1" wide, 2-3 variable pitch, resaw blade in a larger bandsaw with great success. Our blade is 19'-6" long (800 mm saw) and it has been on the saw, doing a lot of work including a ton of resaw work, for over 18 months and is still going strong. It has never been taken off of the saw, in fact, as we have a couple of smaller saws, for scrolling work. I think the cost, shipped, was about $230, but given the longevity, it has been a very good buy. It has even been abused a couple of times by resawing wet wood, which I would not recommend. For example, I let a guitar maker resaw a half a cord of wet Sitka spruce, but a saw blade with a wider kerf is recommended for wet wood, such as might be used by a turner.
Your saw has a 142" blade, and so it could be a 20" saw. Used to be that Lennox did not recommend running this blade on a saw with wheels under 20" in diameter, but I have seen comments that they are now using a steel for the band that will tolerate a tighter curve.
The Lennox carbide cuts well, clears the dust well, cuts fast, and gives a very smooth finish, although that will also be dependent upon the quality of the saw, of course. Ours is a Zimmerman, which is a bit rare (no longer made).
Alan Turner
http://www.philadelphiafurnitureworkshop.com
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