How many blades to cover all options ?

[snapper1]

G'day
How many different bandsaw blades do you have or suggest is needed to cover most jobs
Straight cuts in timber both hardwood and softwood from 5 mm to maximum saw capacity ? ( in my case Hafco 14 inch BP-355 )

Curved cuts again both hardwood and softwood but say from 5 mm up to 50 mm , maybe 75 mm ?

I plan to use 1 or 2 quality bi metal blades for the most common work but carbon blades for the occasional / not often used blades
and what blade to leave on the saw for majority / everyday use , ( would a bi metal 12.7 mm wide 4 t.p.i. be suitable ? )

[BobL]

G'day
How many different bandsaw blades do you have or suggest is needed to cover most jobs
Straight cuts in timber both hardwood and softwood from 5 mm to maximum saw capacity ? ( in my case Hafco 14 inch BP-355 )

Using the rule of minimum of 3 teeth in the cut, in a 5 mm cut you would need at least 3/5*25.4 = ~15 TPI or a 14 TPI to cover the small stuff

At the upper width of cut (245 mm) just get the blade with the greatest TPI you can get for that saw, probably something like a 3 TPI.

Curved cuts again both hardwood and softwood but say from 5 mm up to 50 mm , maybe 75 mm ?

It depends on how curvey you are going to cut -

I plan to use 1 or 2 quality bi metal blades for the most common work but carbon blades for the occasional / not often used blades
and what blade to leave on the saw for majority / everyday use , ( would a bi metal 12.7 mm wide 4 t.p.i. be suitable ? )

Well only you know your everyday use, If its thinner stuff I would go for 6 TPI but if its thicker then 4 TPI
I'm using a 6TPI x 1" blade as my stock blade but I cut a lot of Ally and plastic with my saw.

[Kuffy]

i also have to get some blades for my bandsaw. my plan is to get one 3/4" or 5/8" variable pitch bi-metal blade for resawing in any thickness timber (mostly i do 6" and 8" boards), i think it will be about 2-3tpi. and then i will just get a handfull of 3/8" blades somewhere around 4 tpi. thats the plan without knowing the prices, if it turns out that the resaw blade is 200bux or more...i will be resawing with the 3/8" blades

[doug3030]

would a bi metal 12.7 mm wide 4 t.p.i. be suitable ?

Hi Snapper.

That blade would probably manage a lot of what you want to do, but the question is - will it give the best results?

I do not have a "one blade" that I leave on the saw all the time. Once you get used to changing blades it really does not take long and I would rather take a few minutes to put the best blade for the job on the machine rather than compromise on a "jack of all trades" blade. Your half-inch wide blade is too wide for tight curves and too narrow for most resawing. I don't think I have a half-inch blade in my shed at the moment.

I take it you have a 14" or similar bandsaw? If so, you probably would be restricted to a blade no wider than 1/2" in any case as most "hobby" bandsaws are not able to apply enough tension to any blades wider than that.

I soon found that my 14" bandsaw was not able to do the heavy resawing I wanted it to do and got a 21" saw and a 1" 2tpi tungsten carbon tipped blade. that handles all the resawing and straight cutting I need. The only other type of blade I have that fits that saw is 1/2" wide with about 10 tpi and it came with the saw and has never been used.

Consequently I only use the 14" saw now for curves. I usually use 1/4" and 1/8" blades on it depending on the tightness of the curves. I keep 4 and 6 tpi blades for this saw, with usually 2 of each size and tpi on the shelf. They only cost about $12 per blade for good quality ones last time I bought a bunch.

It is a hard question to give a direct and definitive answer to but I hope the info about what I do helps you to understand a bit more about it. Don't be afraid to change blades, Don't be afraid to experiment to find out what different blades do to different timbers. You might find some of the accepted rules of what blade to use may not apply to all types of timber as much as some people would have you believe. If you try something out and break a blade in teh process it is a cheap lesson.

I hope this helps

Cheers

Doug

[Luke Maddux]

I'm not a bandsaw expert, but, in my experience, I have found the need for two blades and two blades only.

1.) The biggest, gnarliest, resaw blade your saw can handle

2.) Something for scrolling

I have a 14" bandsaw and it will handle a 3/4" blade, so I have a 3tpi version of that for resawing. I use a 3/8" blade for scrolling. This is mostly used for roughing bowl blanks or subtle curves. I have a couple of intermediate sizes which have, literally, never been on the saw.

Hope that helps. It's my minimalist approach, but it's worked for me.

Cheers,
Luke

[BobL]

I'm not a bandsaw expert, but, in my experience, I have found the need for two blades and two blades only.

1.) The biggest, gnarliest, resaw blade your saw can handle
2.) Something for scrolling

That might work for a 14" bandsaw but it's not going to work for a bigger BS.

The biggest gnarliest blade I can have for my saw is 34mm wide and 1.1 TPI.
Because of the curvature I need for my curved cuts the blade I scroll with is 1/4" 6TPI.
In between this I have a 3/4" 3TPI and the 1" 6 TPI I use for ally and plastic.

[derekcohen]

My previous bandsaw was a 14", which came with 3/4 hp and I upgraded to 1 1/2 hp. My current bandsaw is a 17 1/2" Hammer 4400 with 4 hp. I have only ever used one size blade, and for both bandsaws. This is a 1/2" 3tpi bimetal blade from Henry Bros, and I even resharpen them myself.

The same blade is used for ripping, curves and re-sawing.

Get the tracking sorted and you do not need more. For re-sawing, the narrower blade (than, say, 1") will require less power.

I will also add that, compared with other blades, bimetal blades last very well in our abrasive local hardwoods.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[BobL]

At the mens shed we have 4 bandsaws.

The largest one is an old 16" 3 phase Woodfast and is setup with a 1/2" 3 TPI.

We also have an old 3 phase 14" Steelfast which has 5 pulley settings for the much slower speeds required to cut steel - this has a 1/2" variable pitch (10-14 TPI) bimetal blade.

Then we have 2 x generic 14" bandsaws, one has a 1/2" 4TPI blade and the other has a 1/2" 6 TPI.

Despite this choice and the signs ("wood only" and and "Metal only") there is alway some eejet trying to do the opposite.

[snapper1]

Thanks for the suggestions ; its time for me to update and give feedback

At first I could not get it to cut straight

But a change to a better quality blade ( 12.7 mm 4 t.p.i.bimetal )
and some experimenting with tracking and guide adjustments
and now its cutting real good

I have tried both softwood up to 140 mm
and hard wood ( budgeroo) up to 110 mm
and cuts are very straight and will not require much sanding to finish

as for what other blades to buy ???????????
maybe a 1/4 " about 6 to 8 tpi for cutting curves
and possibly a 3/4 inch about 2 tpi
but only in carbon steel

[BobL]

as for what other blades to buy ???????????
maybe a 1/4 " about 6 to 8 tpi for cutting curves
and possibly a 3/4 inch about 2 tpi
but only in carbon steel

The radius you need to cut at will determine what size blade you need.
Try cutting curves with the 1/2 and see what radius you can comfortably get down to and decide from there.

I've not seen 2 TPI for a 3/4" blade - usually its 1" or a more.

[John Saxton]

http://www.supercutbandsaw.com/how_to_choose.html

Here's a link that might interest you as a guide to bandsaw blades .

Cheers