Thread: Resaw Blades

Originally Posted by Jeff Leslie

Talk of $20-12 blades is absolute crap, even for a bandsaw. The last lot of 10 blades 3/8th skip tooth were around $25 each and they only get me within the ballpark.

Last time I stocked up on blades for my 14 inch bandsaw they were around the $12 mark at the most and they were plenty good enough for anything I need. McDivens only sell the good stuff.

The resaw blade for my 21 inch bandsaw won't leave change out of $200 but it has resawn 10 inches of gidgee.

Cheers

Doug

Originally Posted by Kuffy

The damn thing pulls the timber into the blade with no help from the operator due to the rake of the teeth and burred sharpness. Add that issue to a 3/4hp motor and now you have a grossly underpowered motor being asked to chomp through timber as if it was a 5hp beast. Wishful thinking! Only after the blade has been dulled slightly does it settle down a bit and stop pulling the timber into itself, which is why I passed on "some actual experience" suggesting to dull the bandsaw blade slightly with a bit of MDF before attempting any resawing.

Kuffy, if you are having trouble with the blade pulling the timber into the cut can I suggest that you may be using the wrong blade for the job. Try something with less positive rake or even neutral rake. I think that might be better than deliberately bluntening the blades.

Cheers

Doug

Doug, it's only for the first 12" or so of cutting that the blade acts aggresively. But if I started with only 3/4hp, I won't make it past the first 2". When I blunten a blade deliberately, I just cut a piece of mdf about 10" long and the blade is good to go. There may be some major confusion between my blunting the blade to be not so agressive and blunting a blade past the point of needing replacement.

Kuffy, you can hide behind your call sign as long as you want.

Google me and my address. It's not a secret.

Now let us not get into any viewpoint about 3/4hp bandsaws. I don't own one. Mine are all 2hp. All I know is that sharp blades do as required - CUT.

As for shooting on a jointer/thicknesser.... well others might do some homework on what shooting boards (with a donkey's ear) is all about.

Post some better pics of what you do. I have the next week booked but can take some pics the week after of SPS cuts on figured redgum that deserved only a sharp blade.

I cannot believe that you are telling people to use less than sharp blades. And you do not appear to own a decent hand plane to shoot the boards!!!!! Enough said.

You don't shoot boards on a jointer or thicknesser. Novices take note.

One of the hand-tool guys might back me up on this but I suspect not. Post some pics of your donkey's ear and straight shooting boards and you will gain some kudos. Unlike mouthing off about using dull blades of any kind to cut wood.

And do not suspect that I have no experience with machines, Kuffy, I don't know what you have but am more than prepared to get into a ******* contest.

Isn't the web a pleasant place to be?

When it comes to Bandsaw blades there are as many blade variations as there are for circular saw blades. There is also a plethora of conflicting information on the web.

Choosing the correct SHARP blade for the job at hand is very beneficial on ALL bandsaws.

When people think about a new bandsaw blade, the first things that come to mind are blade width and TPI. But tooth shape and gullet shape are just as important particularly for ripping with the grain ( I will come back to this).

Starting with blade material, in increasing cost an durabiliy, there are Carbon steel blades ( teeth are sometimes induction hardened), bimetal blades and tungsten tipped. These latter blades can cost hundreds of $ but are cost-effective particularly in abrasive woods as they can be sharpened many times. The carbon steel blades are cheap but don't stay sharp as long particularly if the wood is abrasive.

When people think of a Resawing blade the first choice is usually a wide blade. But wide blades are not really suitable to small saws, 18" and less. Every time the blade passes over small diameter bandsaw wheels, the blade flexes and straightens, which eventually fatigues the blade steel. Also most small bandsaw tension springs cannot exert sufficient tension required for wide blades. To compound the problem as the blades get wider, the blade thickness also increases, which exacerbates the problem. Putting too wide a blade on a small saw can really stress the saw causing wear and possible twist in the frame. A saw with twist or flexibility in the frame will not cut straight. Also don't try to use hard back saw blades on small saws (They are designed for large commercial saws). Fortunately most narrow bandsaw blades sold are flexback.

When choosing a blade for resawing I suggest that one buys a blade slightly narrower than the maximum recommended by the saw manufacturer so that sufficient tension can be achieved for efficient STRAIGHT sawing. Blade manufacturers have recommendations for correct blade tension, and this often much higher than people realise. Achieving such blade tension for wider blades is not achievable on smaller saws because of the softer tension springs and lack of saw body rigidity and strength. If you purchase a blade tension meter ( good ones are expensive) you might be surprised the learn how difficult it is to achieve recommended blade tension.

With a resawing blade, choose one with positive tooth rake ( Hook tooth) and large gullets ( Sometimes called Skip tooth). Variable pitch blades are also available and are said to reduce vibration and improve cut quality. I haven't yet tried them but someone else may be able to comment. Hook tooth Blades with sufficient set clear the saw dust, but produce a rougher cut.

Resawing 200mm plus wide boards causes the gullets to quickly fill with sawdust, which causes friction in the cut, and overheats the blade. When crosscutting a neutral rake tooth shape and more smaller teeth often gives a higher quality cut.

Another contributor has suggested dulling a new blade to reduce grab and kickback. This is confusing because they are opposite effects. Unlike circular saws Hobby sized bandsaws with smaller teeth are less susceptible to these problems than table saws.

My advice is to use a very sharp blade on band saw and DONT FORCE THE CUT. Sharp blades cut freely but can use a lot of power if you force the cut. Feed slower and let the saw do the work. Ironically the smaller the saw and the smaller the motor power, the more a sharp blade is required.

Happy sawing
Ron

Thanks Ron, this info deserves it's own sticky somewhere on the forum for future reference.

Alan...