bandsaw blade recommendations

[sawdustmaker]

I just got my new toy -- a Laguna 1412 bandsaw. :) Somewhat surprised and disappointed that it didn't include a "general purpose" blade. :( This is my 1st (and last) bandsaw.

What kind of blades are recommended for: 1. general purpose cutting 3/8 or 1/2" number of TPI? 2. resawing probably 3/4" 2 or 3 TPI?

Blade length? Manual sezs blade length of 114.75" - 116". I suppose I'd choose a middleing length.

Any brands -- either recommended or to stay away from?

Yeah -- I'll google it. But 1st person recommendations are helpful.

Thanks.

[Doug Winterburn]

[Spalted Walt]

115"

recommended:

[Leon]

I have a HD 16 Laguna I found that once I bought a Laguna, blade brand was no longer important, they all work fine so far.

I keep a 1/2" blade on the saw most of the time for general cutting.

I use a Laguna ResawKing for resawing when I need high yield and a pretty smooth cut.

For rough cutting and getting a couple of 1/4" thick pieces from 3/4" I use a 1.5 TPI blade.

The fewer teeth the faster and less strain the cut, to a point, I have about 3 more hp than you but you should do fine.

Seriously, call Laguna and see what they recommend, they sell blades. Or call Timberwolf, they too will be very helpful.

[Sonny]

Good timing for this subject and good info from all of you. I have always had problems resawing, with my 14" Delta, seemingly limited to 4" wide stoc k to get reasonable results. And there has always been some missing, somet hing not proficient or efficient, as I would have liked, resawing on the ta ble saw.

I recently purchased an old 20" Davis & Wells, so I'm expecting much better results, despite its age. Just got it into the shop, after making space for it, and I'm anxious to clean it up, set it up, "get to know it", etc. For a long time, I've had lots of salvaged big lumber/timber, that needs re sawing, in order to do some smaller work, rather than big heavy lumbered pr ojects.

Time for me to study-up on resaw blades. Thanks for the links, notes, tips , etc. Again, good timing for this subject.

Sonny

[Ed Pawlowski]

I've had god luck wiht Timberwolf, but I think for resawing the 1/2" Woodslicer is a bit better. Never saw the need to go to a 3/4" blade.

[Leon]

FWIW a wider blade, will handle heat better and will take a much higher tension. That in turn equates to blade tension being more stable and less wander, especially when resawing wider planks.

[Larry Blanchard]

At least one of the books on bandsaws points out the a 14" bandsaw really can't tension a 3/4" blade as it should be and suggests a 1/2" blade. It might be different on a bigger bandsaw.

[Leon]

This is true and some of the thicker and wider blades don't to well when being bent around a tight 7" radius. Apparently they fail sooner.

[Brewster]

Minimax 16"

Went with the Timberwolf 1" for resawing and consumed two of them to resaw about 30' of 10" white oak. Not terribly impressed. Bought several

1" "Wood Slicers" from Highland and I'm still running the first blade after several years. No recommendations either way but given their relatively low cost it's not unreasonable to just rotate through brands until you find one that satisfies your needs.

For curved work and narrow resawing, I'm still using my first 1/2" Timberwolf.

-BR

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[Dr. Deb]

Like Doug below, you really cannot beat either the standard bandsaw blade or the woodslicer resaw blade. I have tried Olson, Carter, Timberwolf and some others. None even comes close.