Help with bandsaw blades

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rizaydog

rizaydog

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Oct 1, 2010
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Wellsboro Pennsylvania
I just got my first bandsaw several months ago and wanted to get some new blades soon. I use it to rough out my logs into green bowl blanks.

It's a Grizzly 14" polar bear with an extension block. The blade length is 105" for this saw. I went to the Grizzly site and I see a few different blade types.

The types I see are Pos Claw, Raker, and hook.

I was wondering if someone could explain what the types mean, and which one would be best for green logs.

Any help would be appreciated.​
 
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Not familiar with Timber Wolf Pos Claw tooth blades looked at info provided silicon steel vice carbon steel hook style. Sounds like would work well for resawing.

Raker set (skip tooth) preferred when cutting thick stock too. Timber Wolf says their Raker blades designed for 1" or less stock. Know few people that like 1/4" raker blades for resawing thick stock.

Hook tooth little bit more aggressive and tooth angle different from Raker/skip tooth style.

When resawing green wood want less teeth per inch (2, 3, or 4 TPI) either hook or raker style blade will work. If buying Timber Wolf blades from Grizzly for your saw would buy Pos Claw for resawing.

I have been using 3/8" 3 TPI, .025 hook flex back blades for resawing since got my Grizzly band saw several years ago.

This site has lot of information on Timber Wolf blades you can also call them for help.
http://www.suffolkmachinery.com/

Wood Slicer Resaw blades very popular too have to call for pricing.
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/woodslicer12resawbandsawbladescustomlengthb122to142.aspx

A copy of the Band Saw Handbook by Mark Duginske will provide lot of info on bandsaws and blades.
 
I call suffolk machinery and tell the lady who answers the phone what I will be cutting and lask her to suggest the blade I need to use. I go with her recommendation. She has never let me down.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
 
Suffolk is good folks. But the only place to get the Wood Slicer is Highland Woodworking, here in Atlanta. The Wood Slice is on par with Laguna and priced below Timberwolf.

They even make them custom for a precise fit on every saw. The WS has a variable tooth pitch and works well for resawing.
 
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Some things to consider when using bandsaws...!

All the advice given above is good and will solve your problem, there are a few "main rules" about bandsaws tough, that I would like to expand a little, and they are;

*- The thicker the wood the less teeth the blade should have.

- The less teeth the blade has, the rougher the finish will be.

*- The less teeth a blade has the wider the blade should be.

*- The more teeth the blade has, the more it will clog/gum-up with sawdust, particularly with green/wet woods.

*- The thicker/Kerf the blade is/has the stronger it will be, HOWEVER, the quicker it will crack/brake on a small size bandsaw...! WHY...???

This is in fact one of the bigger dilemmas for small bandsaw users (up to 16"), as while we all need the blade strength with the capacity to cut well and straight, thicker blades do perform better with thicker and tougher woods BUT, what kills these heavy duty gauge blades or known as thick kerf, is the small wheel diameters of the bandsaw.

Thicker blades are less flexible, therefore, will require bigger size wheels to minimize the stress blades are put through when forced to turn in a small/tight diameter wheel. A good comparison to this phenomenon which is no more them pure physics, is the example of trying to bend a twig. It will bend quite well, until the bend/curve gets small, to the point that it will snap.

With bandsaw blades, the "snap" doesn't occur by itself, what I mean is, before the "snap" happens, there will be a number or cracks/fractures the the blade will develop when rotating in a tight circumference/wheel. Many times these fractures are not obvious until the blade start moving in a jig-saw motion, that would be the moment you should stop the bandsaw immediately.

Inspecting the blade after stopped, will show the "main" crack but, 90% of times, there will be a number of small cracks/fractures that have developed in the blade, trough-out its length. Repair these blades is totally out of question, and they should be discarded immediately...!

So, these are my suggestions;
- Use the blades best recommended for your bandsaw size.
- Inspect the blade occasionally for any fractures/cracks developing.
- When blade balance is performed in your machine, try to achieve it in low tension, rather than in high tension, this will save the machine's bearings and will put less tension on the "bend" of the blade. This does also, reduce the risk of a bad snap, due to the less/lower tension in the blade...!

My life would be a big nightmare without a good bandsaw, shame that they can be also the most expensive machine to maintain, particularly with blade replacements, that I know a little about...!:mad:

Cheers
George
 
1/2" blade, 3tpi,hook blade will do any kind of resawing for bowl blanks you want. After all, your just rounding out a bowl blank right? Thats what I use mine for.
 
I am another one for Suffolk I use a 1/2" 3tpi AS. I tried others and always come back to Timber Wolf. They usually have a buy 3 get one free. I just bought 30 blades for maximum discount I should be good for a few years.

As an extra note you can resharpen your blades easily with a dremel. Takes about 10 minutes defiantly extends the life of the blade. Below is one of many videos on the net.
http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com/resharpen-bandsaw-blades.html
Just a light touch and be sure to change your grinding angle to match that of the tooth or you will change the set and your blade will not track like it did. A little patience and practice and you can restore it to like new condition.
 
I find interesting things in tiimbers -- rocks, dirt, and occasionally lead (bullets) or steel (nails) -- things that are common with trees that are free and grow in towns. Bark is dirty.

I use cheap blades for rough cutting, not less than 3/8 and as few teeth as cheap affords. After rock or steel, they are not worth resharpening.

After the bark cutting is done, and you are moving to resaw, better blades suggested are good. Sometimes I change blades from rough work, sometimes good nuf.

A rock will trash a cheap blade or a fancy blade about as fast --
 
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