Thread: Carbide Tipped bandsaw blades

I used to have a bandsaw mill and had the same experiences with blades that you are having. I was using 1 1/4" wide blades with a tooth every 3/4"

I could never slice a full 20" log into 2" slabs with one blade, it would usually take 3 blades and as it took about 1/2 an hour to change blades it was a real problem. And I was only cutting messmate and brown stringy which aren't real hard when green.

I tried stellite tip blades but didnt feel they were any better than the bimetal which werent a lot better than the plain springsteel blades.

The only carbide tipped bandsaw blades I found for wood are the band resaw blades but they are very wide and thick. They are tightened extremely tight. They dont suit a conventional bandsaw at all.

There was a bloke Laidlaw (dec'd) down this way who made bandsaw mills and sold them at the various field days. I watched his demos a few times and he had exactly the same problems.

I have since concluded the only practical approach is to treat the blades like a chainsaw and regularly retouch before they get blunt. I retouch my chainsaw every tank of petrol even if it feels sharp.

I reckon a sharpening attachment (maybe a chainsaw disc grinder could be adapted) could be set up on the saw so that the blades can be touched up on the saw.

It might be worthwhile you looking at the yahoo milling forum and asking them some questions as they use a lot of bandmills over there in the US though they cut mainly softwoods.
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/milling/

Hello Chris,
I use 75mm stellite tipped blades(kerf around 1.6mm) on my bandsaw, they are great. Cost including delivery is around $450.00 each from Henry Bros in Sydney. The saw has a throat of 600mm(see pictures below). Tend to find that I could cut for 4 hours on two blades unless I touch a bit of quartz in the log.

I use a professional 3 phase sharpening device(out of the ark) which weighs a ton but works extremely well, consistent tooth shape and gullet across all teeth and can be easily adjusted for diffferent profiles.

Photos below of bandsaw and sharpener.

Kev M

Perhaps I should have clarified the situation a bit more on the first post. My bandsaw is certainly not a sawmill or 'real' resaw, it has 610mm dia wheels by a 50mm wide face, unfortunately a 3" wide band probably wouldn't go too well. With the guides on the machine and the tensioning ability I think an 1.5" blade would be the max.

The sort of blades I am after is something an average woodworker can get good and economical performance out of for general work and another larger blade for resawing up to 12"ish inches


thanks for the replies, always keen to hear other's experiences.


waiting for more answers...............................................zzzzzzzzzzzz

Originally Posted by Chris Vesper

cutting metal = slow
cutting wood = fast

Therefore blades on a woodcutting machine fatuiges quicker with obvious results.

Chris: You answered your own question.


Touching up the blades as Bob suggested is the only simple solution, pretty easy and quick as resawing blades have large teeth. $300 worth of standard blades touched up regularly will outlast the TCT blades anyday. The mechanics involved in a bandsaw blade as opposed to a circular saw is different due to all the flexing.
Phone Mark at Henry Brothers in Sydney and get his opinion.

I used to get my 1 1/4" stellite blades from a saw service in Altona worth a look in the yellow pages.

Chris,
I do quite a bit of resawing too. to my knowledge the only company that you can buy a good carbide bandsaw blade from (for a small bandsaw) is LENOX. just recently have they come out with a blade that is designed for bandsaws with flywheels less than 24" in diameter. I use a "resaw king" blade from Laguna. they dull faster, but can be resharpened.

https://www.lagunatools.com/index.as...ProdID=14&HS=1

I was thinking of buying one of these blades from Lee Valley. Are these what you are looking for?


http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=3&p=30071&cat=1,41036,41037

Sorry about the link problem. Here it is again.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...=1,41036,41037

Originally Posted by Chris Vesper

Hi Peoples,

Here is a bit of a curly problem for you all to solve for the good of woodkind.

I do a lot of resawing and cutting of hard timbers on my 110 year old bandsaw (no i'm not kidding, its a great machine) and I have found that regulars and even bimetal blades just don't hack the distance. therefore Carbide tipped blades seem the next logical step.

BUT.......

I have approached all the specialist blade suppliers in Aus and no one seems to be able to give me any better than just general answers as to how good they are and what type is best for a given situation, and none of them will guarentee the life of the band itself. Not what you want to hear when the blades can cost $300 plus!

Part of the problem I believe (correct me if i'm wrong please) is that all carbide tipped bandsaw blades on the market in Oz are for the engineering industry for cutting tool steels, titanium etc... the blades for doing this need to be strong and are therefore a thicker gauge than the average woody's blade.

cutting metal = slow
cutting wood = fast

Therefore blades on a woodcutting machine fatuiges quicker with obvious results.

I am wondering if there is any such thing as a good tipped blade for woodworking and anyone that knows something about them??? I would be interested to hear from anyone in the US who has come across something good.

The basic point I feel needs to be made is:
CT blades on circular saws have been around for donkeys yonks, what's so difficult about putting those little hard bits on bandsaw blades and making it work consistantly and work well??

ct bandsaw blades were originally designed for hard to saw materials such as titanium etc, but like all good tools, have been used and adapted for softer materials such as aluminium and plastics. The major problem with woodcutting is not the blade, but the speed of the machine. You need a blade speed in excess of 10,000 ft per minute to get the best from carbide in wood (circular saws tend to run between 10,000 and15000 sfpm) and to achieve that without metal fatigue of the backing material you need wheel diameter of 1000 x the blade thickness, so for a std. 1" wide blade at .035" thick you need a machine with 35" diameter wheels and you need to increase the speed by a factor of 4 on the average wood narrow bandsaw machine (lumber mill saws already run at this speed) Having done all this, wether or not you get the life out of the blade will depend on the condition of the machine and how you use (or abuse) it

Hope that helps.

ps
the equipment required to produce these blades from toothed raw material (ie just the tipping and grinding machines is about £500,000 sterling!!

Stan Ceglinski of Billynudgel Woodworks swears by carbide tipped blades.

Hey Chris, seeing as it was a few years ago that you asked (2005!), have you given them a try, and what was the verdict?

ps FWIW, Terry Gordon of HNT Gordon Planes swears by them too - read an article on his site a year or so back.

Originally Posted by Stuart

ps FWIW, Terry Gordon of HNT Gordon Planes swears by them too - read an article on his site a year or so back.

Article is on this page, March 2006 Newsletter 'bout a 1/3 of the way down.

Yes it was a few years ago that I asked now!!!.... can't rush these things...

I still haven't lashed out on the large dollar expense of an experiment on one of the CT blades. And I probably won't until I get a new bandsaw. Nothing wrong with the one I have but it is only 24" dia wheels and I know I won't get the life out of a CT blade because of fatigue on a small machine like that.

So if I come across a 36" or larger, beast that can compliment my existing machine and be used only with a CT blade I'll give it a shot.