Thread: resaw king bandsaw blades

An interesting thread. I use a Lenox Tri Master 3/4" and the finish is IMO simply stunning. There is a lot of fairly good evidence from some well credentialled users that 1" CT is beyond any hobby user saw because they simply cannot tension the blade sufficiently. I know my 18" Minimax saw will not do it and as pointed out above neither will the N4400, both of which are highly rated bandsaws. The general feeling in other places is it is marketing hype saying that anything under 21" will tension a 1" carbide tipped blade. I was going to buy a 3/4" RK but when I rang Gregory's they were less than helpful telling me they did not have it in stock but had longer blades. I suggested they might cut a longer blade down to suit my saw and the person I was speaking to admitted they had never thought of that! In the end I bought the Lenox from Henry Bros and I have been very happy with the cut finish & apparently Lenox will re-sharpen the blade.

Originally Posted by marcoolabob

Not the set up I am sure I am taking the blade to Gregorys tomorrow to see what they say I dont have confidence in them. I buy my blades from Combined saw and knife now they are the experts and guarantee everything they supply . Thanks for your replies Derek

I also buy my bandsaw blades from CSK. My resaw blade is one of theirs, bimetal 2TPI and it works a treat.

Originally Posted by derekcohen

I use a 1" resaw blade on my N4400 without any problems. I think that the 20mm restriction was made with early versions only.

Derek

My N4400 also quotes 25mm blade. I run 1" blades with no problem.

Originally Posted by Pearo

I also buy my bandsaw blades from CSK. My resaw blade is one of theirs, bimetal 2TPI and it works a treat.



My N4400 also quotes 25mm blade. I run 1" blades with no problem.

I run a 1 1/4" resaw king on my laguna LT18 3000 and it tensions it no problem. The blade is a lot thinner than typical carbon steel and particularly bi-metal blades. I wouldn't try any larger than 3/4" bimetal on this saw.

Cheers,

Dom

My 4400 actually states on it that one can use up to a 1 3/8" wide blade

The issue here is that there is a difference in blade stiffness when blades get wider as generally the steel gets thicker as well. It may well be the case that a 3/4" blades (as used by Chris) will tension better than a 1" wide blade, and then perform better. Wider is better, but what is wide enough? Has anyone put them side-by-side? I need a new resaw blade, and so I am very interested.

There seems to be a choice between a faster cutting blade, such as the Lenox Woodmaster CT, and a slower but smoother cutting blade, such as the Trimaster. If I understand it correctly, the Resaw King is smooth cutter. It is also a thinner blade, which improves ease/speed of cutting that way.

Personally, I want smoother than the Woodmaster CT, hence my search, and questions. A 3/4" Trimaster?

A second issue is resharpening. The Lenox carbide blades need to be sent out to be sharpened, if they can be sharpened at all. Some question about their being sharpenable at all. The Resaw King can be done 5 times, but this must be done by the factory in the USA. For general use I have 1/2" bimetal blades, and sharpen these myself (Dremal and diamond disk). If cost is a factor (when is it not!), then carbide may not be the way to go. Thoughts on bimetal alternatives?

Incidentally, for 4400 owners, I made a slight modification to my bandsaw that really aids in setting up a resaw thickness - I added a scale to the side to position the fence. The scale is a stainless steel blade that is attached with tapped bolts. the scale has slots for adjustment. I also use a resaw fence, and this does not affect using the scale ...





Regards from Perth

Derek

I doubt if any of the common hobby saws can tension a 1" blade adequately, has anyone tested the applied maximum tension on a 1" blade against the blade maker's recommendation? It is after all a beam stiffness problem when it is all said and done. I would be very interested in seeing the numbers as they may prove me wrong. If a blade is sharp and not giving the finish that is expected then I think it would be deflecting under load.

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

I doubt if any of the common hobby saws can tension a 1" blade adequately, has anyone tested the applied maximum tension on a 1" blade against the blade maker's recommendation? It is after all a beam stiffness problem when it is all said and done. I would be very interested in seeing the numbers as they may prove me wrong. If a blade is sharp and not giving the finish that is expected then I think it would be deflecting under load.

The Resaw King blade is only 0.6mm thick vs about 0.9mm for a typical bi-metal blade so a 1 1/4" blade requires about the same force to tension as a 3/4" bi-metal blade like a Lennox.

Originally Posted by DomAU

The Resaw King blade is only 0.6mm thick vs about 0.9mm for a typical bi-metal blade so a 1 1/4" blade requires about the same force to tension as a 3/4" bi-metal blade like a Lennox.

will a Laguna LT14 SUV bandsaw properly tention a 1" Resaw King blade

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

will a Laguna LT14 SUV bandsaw properly tention a 1" Resaw King blade

Hi Chris, I don't get it. I read the thread but not sure what point if any it is supposed to make? It's just another discussion on saw blade tension.

I was in the workshop today preparing the last of the panels for the kitchen makeover, and took a few photos.

The timber is USA (Fiddleback) Hard Maple. The bandsaw is a Hammer N4400. Blade is a 1" Lenox Woodmaster CT. I have sharpened this carbide blade twice using a diamond wheel on a Dremel. According to the manufactures (which I discovered just yesterday!) the blades are not to be re-sharpened or, if one must, then only by Lenox. As the carbide insert is really tiny, I assumed that I had destroyed the blade. But is still cutting, and much the same as when I first purchased it about 9 months ago. It has re-sawn a lot of Hard Maple since then.

I had a close look at the blade today. Frankly, the teeth look OK to my eye. In fact, not too shabby for a freehand touch-up with a Dremel ...



The boards I was resawing were 9" high. This is the set up ...



There were four boards completed, re-sawn to 6mm. Here are two at 1200mm ...





Close up: to left is a resaw, and to the right is a planed surface for comparison ...



Glued up ..



Regards from Perth

Derek

I get similar results to Derek with the CSK bimetal blade. I dont even know how to use a bandsaw properly, but I have resawn timber maybe 200mm high with the same result. Even resawn some merbou to about 1mm thick as a test with no drift.

Mind you, even with my little experience, I think the factory guides supplied with the n4400 leave a lot to be desired.

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

will a Laguna LT14 SUV bandsaw properly tention a 1" Resaw King blade

Out of curiosity I checked the tension of the 1.25" resaw king blade on my saw in a fairly rudimentary manner with a dial indicator and got 0.111mm/140mm strain which, if we assume the blade is a typical steel with a youngs modulus around 200 GPa, gives a stress of approximately 158.5MPa which is equivalent to 23,000 PSI. This is not the max tension the saw can provide, it was just what I had it set to that gave me a good cut.

Cheers,

Dom