I recently got a grizzly G0555 with the riser block and am trying to figure out what blade to get for resawing. It appears from looking over the past postings here that people generally recommend either the Timberwolf or the Woodslicer.
Now the recent Fine Woodworking article gave the Timberwolf fairly poor ratings. It gave the Woodslicer very good ratings. And another blade that nobody talks about, a blade made by Delta, also got good ratings.
This leave me fairly puzzled. Another concern is that I noticed a claim made in this group that the Woodslicer needs high tension, which is hard on a wimpy saw like the G0555. (Is it worth upgrading the spring with the Iturra?) Maybe the "low tension" feature is worth something if it takes the strain off the saw. And furthermore, I read somewhere that the lifespan of the Woodslicer blade is very very short. Like it cuts great when new but after 30 minutes it doesn't cut so well any more. The FWW review didn't consider blade wear.
That of course raises the question of whether the Supercut Carbide impregnated blade is a good choice (though Lee Valley doesn't sell
105" blades for some reason). Or even straight carbide. I found an article praising the Lenox Pro-Master III carbide, wherein it was claimed that the this blade could do stuff that other blades couldn't.
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do talk about these blades liking high tension, which again seems like a potential issue for a wimpy saw.
when I got my saw (18" parks) I bought some timberwolf blades for it. today I took off the hardwood resaw one, vowing never to put it back on, and replaced it with a lennox carbide one. the timberwolf blade was welded crooked. it made a rythmic thumping noise while running and often threw sparks off of the guides.
Only a really poor saw can't achieve high tension. Many saws can only do it on a fairly narrow blade, for it's not the tension we really care about, it's the tensile force / area. Most "retail" saws can only do it though by putting their wimpy springs close to the "locked solid" state, and that's a really bad thing.
I use the Suffolk blades, and they work fine for me on a Delta. I've had one replaced in the last ten years for a weld problem. Tougher stuff like carbide will last much better on abrasive exotics, no doubt.
My concern, given experience with a couple of 14" Grizzlies, is with the saw, not the blade. Apparently they're a mixed lot. Be sure to check _everything_ every time you make a change. Oh yes, I like a pivot, not a full fence for resawing, and ceramic guides.
Me, too, except I currently am using brass guides. Not too bad, if you can accept the faster wear. Cheap. Buy bar brass in the proper size at almost any metal shop and cut them yourself.
Charlie Self "The test and the use of man's education is that he finds pleasure in the exercise of his mind." Jacques Barzun
I've used wood and phenolic too, but the ceramics are especially handy when cutting turning blanks, where all the pressure is against the inside guides. They _don't_ wear, which is what I like. Soft ones are too fussy for such heavy work.
Wondering why you didn't return [and continued to use] an obviously defective blade....
-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)
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I don't own a table saw, so my band saw gets a lot of use. Below is what I've gathered from reading too much and using my saw. As you have found, there is a lot of conflicting information on this group and the web about this issue.
I've never tried them, but the Woodslicers are supposed to be really good because they have a really thin kerf and uneven spacing of teeth, which reduces vibration. As a result, they are good if you are resawing highly prized woods. At $30 a pop, I would definitely not start with them as a newbie, especially since I would expect it to wear like a carbon steel blade.
I also haven't tried carbide, but I would not try that as a newbie, either. They are very expensive and relatively fragile (carbide chips easily). Unlike a table saw, you end up changing band saw blades relatively frequently, which can lead to damage with each change. I think carbide only makes sense if you have a dedicated saw that you can leave the blade on all the time and you have a really powerful motor. The carbide blades have a much wider kerf than standard blades, so it takes a lot more energy to cut through the wood. (Note that also means you turn a lot more wood into saw dust.)
As far as carbon steel (or silicon steel), either Lenox or Timberwolf should work fine. I have used both and I think the differences between them are mostly in marketing. Timberwolfs are highly promoted, relatively easy to find, and their website has a lot of information on it about band saw blades. Lenox blades are more difficult to find and their website sucks. You can order Lenox blades online at carbide.com. As I said, I've used both and they seem to perform the same to me.
If you are using a carbon steel blade for resawing, then you need to be really careful about not overheating the blade. Once you overheat it, which is not that difficult to do when resawing, the teeth will loose their temper and the blade will be worthless. The blade is dull if a) it starts drifting really badly, b) the speed at which you can cut slows down significantly, or c) you get a lot of burning when you are making straight cuts.
Another option is bi-metal blades. They cost about 3x as much as carbon steel and are supposed to last 10x as long. I have a Lenox, bi-metal, 1/2",
4 tpi (Lenox Pro II) that I've been using as the main blade in my saw for about 9 months and it's still going strong. That includes resawing a lot of hard maple. I would prefer to have a bi-metal, 1/2", 3 tpi, but Lenox doesn't make one and I had a lot of trouble finding any other source for bi-metal blades. Of the blades that I've used, it seems to work the best for resawing. You don't have to worry about overheating the bi-metal blade. Also, since it dulls much more slowly than carbon steel, you end up adjusting for blade drift much less.
If I were you, I'd order a either a carbon steel, 1/2", 3 tpi blade or a bi-metal, 1/2", 4 tpi blade, depending on your budget. If you go with carbon steel, then when it gets dull, you can decide if you want to spend the extra money on a bi-metal blade for the next one or just buy another carbon steel blade.
condescending tripe! I doubt the poster appreciates your rude comment. Besides, you are gonna need the time you use to rudely answer posts to deal with me now.
I have used both TW and WS blades and *much* prefer the WS. WS only comes in
1/2" and it is relatively thin. The (spring) pressure required for a given tension (psi) is a proportional to the cross section of the blade. Since the cross section is *thin* x 1/2" applying adequate tension should not be a problem since your saw should theoretically be able to tension a normal gauge 3/4" blade.
Buy the WS.
Sadly, I trashed my WS by hitting a nail in a reclaimed beam. I will be replacing it eventually, when the TW blades just won't do.
Call customer service at Suffolk -- I'll bet they will replace it, even without a receipt. From your description, it seems pretty clear that it's a manufacturing defect, and they should stand behind it, regardless of when or where you bought it.
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Yeah it happened to me too, the replacement wasn't that good either so I'm now looking for another blade. By the way the man on the Suffolk wasn't too happy and demanded that I keep the bad blade for returned... they have not asked for it yet!
PSHAW. My MiniMax is probably strong enough to snap the dang blade, but I normally use low-to-moderate tension and it works great. I might crank it up a bit if I'm resawing something tall, but nothing your saw shouldn't be able to manage (especially after an Iturra upgrade). As long as you get it tracking correctly, it shouldn't need significantly more tension than any other blade.
Yeah, probably a good idea. Not because the WS requires it for general purpose use, but for resawing something taller than 6" it would help with most any blade you use.
One more PSHAW again. I've had my WS for almost 2 years now and it still cuts great. I'm not a high-volume user, and I have no idea how many board feet I've pushed through the saw, but enough to know that the claim of a very short life span is false.
I considered going with a carbide blade at one time, but not since getting the WoodSlicer. Even the MiniMax reps advised against it, especially on the smaller saws (less than 18"). The blades are necessarily thicker to provide support for the carbide, and the stress of spinning a thick, tight-radius blade at high tension can cause the welds to fail and the carbide tips start popping off. Not something you want to have happen on such a high-dollar item.
perhaps they would. I'm not enthusiastic about doing that, for a couple of reasons.
first is the experience I had ordering the blade. the guy on the phone was if not quite rude certainly not very helpful. He seemed to be a little put out to have to deal with my insignificant little order of 3 blades and a set of new poly tires for an 18" bandsaw. there are plenty of other vendors of bandsaw blades out there. I think I'll try a different one next time.
secondly, if they send me another blade I'll have to use it for a while too. A replacement from them might be better- or not. there are plenty of brands of bandsaw blades out there. I think I'll try a different one next time. in fact I have. the blade on there now is a Lennox carbide tipped blade that makes a very nice cut.
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