Band Saw Blades

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rjwolfe3

rjwolfe3

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Feb 12, 2008
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Mansfield, Ohio, USA.
My band saw uses 105" blades and I am going to be purchasing some and was wondering what the top ten types are for pen making/wood working? I know I want a resaw blade, maybe 3/4" with 3tpi and maybe a 1/8" but not sure on the rest. What do you guys use the most as far as width, tpi and tooth style?:confused:

TIA
 
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If you're looking for a good quality bandsaw blade try the resaw blades from Suffolk Machinery. I think they still have a good sale on: Buy 3 and get the 4th Free. They make some great saw blades.
 
Thanks but I am looking more for sizes that everyone uses for general woodworking and penmaking. I will be purchasing some soon and am looking at the most popular rather then brands right now.
 
You can call Suffolk and ask them. You can decide to buy from them or not after.

When I called, the CS rep asked me my saw size, what I want to do and he advised me of my choices...pros and cons of each, etc.
 
Bandsaw blades

Take a look at Highland Woodworking in Atlanta. They sell a 3tpi narrow blade specifically for cutting bowl rounds out of logs that I have used. It works better than anything else I have tried. And they claim to have a great resaw blade "Wood Slicer" that I have not tried.
 
I keep a 1/2" 3tpi on the saw normally - this works well for bowl blanks of most diameters. Occasionally I need to cut metal for one project or another. I think a 1/4" 10tpi with what is called a raker cut would be best for that.

Marc
 
I really do appreciate the offers but I am going to be placing an order through an offer from one of the members here and I am just trying to find out what sizes to get. I can get 10 different sizes at once that way.

Dario,
I will give them a call and see what they recommend.
 
I keep a 1/2" 3tpi on the saw normally - this works well for bowl blanks of most diameters. Occasionally I need to cut metal for one project or another. I think a 1/4" 10tpi with what is called a raker cut would be best for that.
Click to expand...

Woot, thank you Marc. Will add that to the list. Do you find that the 1/2" cuts straighter then a 3/4"? I tried with a 3/8" and got way to much flex.
 
Rob,

I use half inch, 3 to 6 teeth per inch for my 14".
I also have a tabletop that has a quarter inch, 12 teeth for cutting blanks in half and other "simple" cuts.
 
I use a (small) Shopsmith and uses almost exclusively a 72" x 1/2" x 4tpi as my all-purpose blade. I do switch to a 3tpi when cutting a lot of really wet wood.
 
rjwolfe3 said:
Thank you Ed, does more teeth give a cleaner cut?
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Yes

And, with "diameter" wood or plastics, the space between teeth contributes to "catching". So, the small machine will not catch as easily when I am trying to cut up antlers or cut tubes and other "irregular" items.

But the big saw sure chews through slabs of acrylic!!
 
The 1/2 inch let's me round smaller bowl blanks so I like that. As long as I remember to lower the bearings to keep the gap small it cuts straight as I need. If I was doing a lot of wide veneer kinds of cutting I'd probably want a 3/4", but I can get but most of the time at 1/2".

Marc
 
TPI really depends upon the project and thickness of wood you are cutting. If trying for variety might look at getting an assortment of standard, hook, skip, raker tooth blades.

Not a good idea to go over .025 gauge on a 14" saw, no matter what advertisers say. 3/8" & ½" width blades pretty standard on this type saw. Some folks, not all have problems with ¾" width blades on their saws.

Not sure, what to tell you about 1/8" blades don't know if you are running cool blocks or bearing guides. Some folks running bearing guides can only go down to ¼" blades without difficulty.

My saw loves 3/8" blades, and have no problem running hook or standard blades.
 
My go-to blade for making big pieces of wood into little ones (pen, reel-seat, spindle blanks) is a 1/2" x 3 TPI.

A wider blade would work just as well, but not, IMHO any "better" so the question becomes why bother going bigger if it won't do better? From where I sit, a wider blade just means more blade tension, which means more load on my bearings, with no appreciable gain in sawing efficiency.

I wait until someone puts blades on sale and buy a whole whack of fine-tooth 1/8" (scrolling) blades, 3/8" x 6 (general purpose, and usually mounted on my saw), and 1/2" x 3 (blank ripping/crosscutting) blades.

Notes:

1) I have a 14" bandsaw; and

2) There are 2 rules of thumb for bandsaw blades:

a) wider is better (except for cutting curves, of course) so you should go as wide as your wheels/guides will allow; and

b) you should always have at least 3 teeth in the workpiece (I cut 1" blanks and so the most aggressive blade I go with is 3 TPI)

Thus endeth the Sermon From Ottawa ;)

Cheers!

Gary
 
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Rob, For resawing you would want a blade as wide as your saw will go as it will make a cleaner and straighter cut. I use the most aggressive blade I can find for this which is a 3 or 4 tooth with raker teeth. For a bandsaw Myself I find the 1/8 blade useless as it wonders to much and the guides you are suppose to use seems to get ate up but that is why I have a scroll saw. I like using a 1/4 6tpi skip tooth as my small general purpose and the 3/8 6tpi is what stays on all the time as my everyday use blade as you can cut blanks or circles with it without problems. The 1/2 will give you a better cut without cupping and last longer as it will stay cooler. The more teeth the smoother the cut. the fewer the teeth the faster and ruffer the cut.
If it was me and you were getting 10 blades I'd get depending on what you plan to do. A couple of the widest you can for resawwing and a couple 1/2 " for cutting penblanks and a couple 3/8 and the rest 1/4 as they are the one's to break the most.

This is just my opion and what I did but I don't know what you do with your bandsaw.
 
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