I have a Laguna Tools 18" bandsaw and I am looking for recommendations for a new resaw blade. I have another bandsaw for general work, so I am looking for a dedicated resaw blade for this saw. I work with a lot of figured wood so I am willing to trade away a lower priced blade to get a high quality blade. I have not purchased a new blade in about seven years so I have not kept current with the quality and features of the different brands.
If you have any recomendations, please let me know.
Call up Suffolk Machinery (makers of Timberwolf blades, also sold under other names), tell them what you have and what you want to do, and they'll recommend a good blade. They're very knowledgeable and good to work with, and they make excellent blades to any length you specify. (800) 234-7297 or suffolkmachinery.com No affiliation other than being a satisfied customer, Andy
I have experience with two different resaw blades:
Timberwolf 4 tpi 3/4" wide
Woodslicer 1/2" wide
The Timberwolf is the tougher of the two blades, my Woodslicer I had to have rebrazed as it broke AWAY from the weld several inches. Since them I have not reinstalled it.
The Timberwolf is a faster cutting blade, but leaves a rough surface.
The Woodslicer is at least 2x as smooth.
However, scuttlebug on the net is that a carbide tipped blade is ideal for exotics and large resaw bandsaws. My saw is a Ryobi BS50N, which they made many years ago when Ryobi was not just a consumer brand. Wish I could have found the BS360NR at the time as it would have been my LAST bandsaw.
Photos and some information here:
Timberwolf blades are trash. I bought three blades from Sulfork in 2004 with the advices from the good folks here. The two Timberwolf replacement are still trash. Browse around the web, it doesn't mean you pay more and get the best.
1" timberwolf on my Minimax 16. It had a very short life before becoming dull. I still have the OEM "olsen" 1" blade that I'll be using shortly but based on conversations I think my hope is in the woodslicer or lennox carbide.
-Bruce
I have excellent results with plain ol' Olson blades purchased inexpensively from Coastal Tool (local) or Ballewtools.com.
Olson 93 1/2" blades are ~ $10 each depending on the details. I typically use a 1/2 x 3 TPI blade for resawing.
My saw is a Delta X5 with Cool Blocks, set up per the 4 or 5 band saw tuning books that are out there. I tension by plucking and fine tune to clues provided by the cutting results.
I've used one "high-end" blade and it worked fine, but I saw no reason to spend money for more.
Barry
I have the Laguna 16 HD saw, and run a 1 1/4 carbide Lennox blade on it. I just love it. There is a Lennox dealer here in town, and he will make whatever blade I need. He gave me a carbon steel blade to experiment with, and it lasted about an hour before it was setting off the smoke alarm. I had a bi metal blade on my smaller saw, and one for the Laguna. The one on the smaller saw lasted a lot longer. The carbide blade is super. It really does cut smooth enough so that minimal surfacing is needed on the cut. One of the blades I got did almost break; I was wondering why there was a strange bump while cutting, and found the break while hand turning to find what I thought was a tracking problem.They cost a lot (150 inches about $140) but are worth it. I cut out bowl blanks, and resaw with it. I seem to remember that the carbide blades from Laguna were about $250. robo hippy
I agree, why spend more when you don't need to? I was cheesed off when a Timberwolf salesperson told me to not to throw the bad blades as they wanna back. The replacement blades were no better than the previous ones.
I am not trying to be bad mouth Timberwolf and I am no expert, I have try Woodcraft, Olson and Viking, the blades and prices are almost the same. Timberwolf blades are the exception, it's trash and I really mean it. I have not bought any blades from the two sites below, but I will try the next time around.
Couple of questions before throwing in my two cents (was a buck but after taxes . . .)
TYPE OF RESAWING:
Green wood or dried wood"
Are you resawing to get bookmatched boards, thick (1/16th to 1/8" thick) veneer or thin (less than 1/16th inch thick) veneer?
What's the widest piece you intend to be able to resaw?
Does the wood you want to resaw scortch easily - like cherry and maple for example?
QUANTITY OF RESAWING:
By "I work with a lot of figured wood" are we talking resawing for a half a day each week or do you mean you're looking for a blade that will work on many different woods?
SURFACE PREP/FINISHING CAPAVITIES:
Do you own a planer and/or a drum sander that'll handle the widest piece you want to resaw or are you expecting to surface just the first face and have all subsequent cut faces be smooth AND flat enough to use with no further finishing?
Laguna makes, or has someone make to their specs, a carbide tipped resaw blade called the Resaw King. It ain't cheap - about $2.50 an INCH! My LT16SEC uses a 130" blade so for me, the price makes it out of the question.
Michael Fortune does a fair amount of resawing - for both bookmatching and thick veneering. He feels that "sharp" is more important than "expensive" He gets a dozen or two dozen $10 - $15 blades at a time and replaces a blade as soon as it starts to get dull.
(if you've to an expensive blade on your saw, the tendency is to keep cutting with it even after it gets too dull to work really well since you probably only can afford one or two of the high price spread blade(s).)
And you don't need a 1" or 1 1/2" wide blade either. Wider just means more friction which means mre potential for burning/scortching AND more horse power. Mr. Fortune slices and dices with a 1/2" blade on a 1 hp bandsaw - a little Delta -without the riser block - if I reall correctly.
The tooth type and spacing is also important. He goes with 3 teeth per inch and a "hook tooth", the latter has more gullet space for sawdust to be in and removed from the cut.
And the table and fence that comes with most bandsaws or carryovers from metal cutting bandsaws. You can make a better table AND fence. This one;s from an American Woodworker article on resawing.
charlie b
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