How long should a bandsaw blade last?

[X_HOBBES]

I'm about to resaw a bunch of 6"-8" wide Wenge planks (very dense African wood). I have a brand new Woodslicer blade on my Rigid bandsaw. How long should I expect the blade to last, assuming I don't torture it in the resaw operation? Will I be able to cut through about 50 feet of this stuff with one blade? I'm new to bandsaws, resawing, and Wenge, so I have no idea what to expect.

Same question goes for my thickness planer -- after resawing, I will need to plane the planks. Will I need to replace my planer blades halfway through?

Thanks, X_HOBBES

[jennifer]

I replaced my dull band saw blade with a brand new never been used "cheapie" I got from somewhere. Made three cuts and snagged a nail that I didn't see. So, I got three cuts, maybe 18", altogether. I'm just glad it was a cheapie blade for a simple cheapie project.

Jenn

[Sweet Sawdust]

life of in minutes used, 15 mins a great blade, and I have blades that I count the life of in weeks, current blade is about 6 wks old and going strong. I use the BS at least 30 mins a day on hard woods. It really depends on what you are doing and what type of blade you have. Rule of thumb, if you need one blade buy three. On the planner I have planned about a thousand bd ft of poplar and a few hundred of maple, oak and others and the knives are still sharp. Rule of thumb, always have a sharp set of planner and jointer knives handy. If you only have one BS blade and one set of knives they will only last half way through any project.

[George]

AMEN. Murphy says, and we should listen.

Since none of the woods listed is a known blade-duller like teak, for instance, and hopefully they haven't been stored exposed to wind and sand, you'll cut all of it if you have a spare blade on hand, considerably less if you don't.

FWIW, I keep my spare jointer and planer blades in synch, because it takes a bit of fussing to set up the Makita for sharpening, and that Hibernian caught me making setup and cleaning for one set a couple of times before I got smarter. One dull, both change, both sharpen.

[Thomas D. Ireland]

I have been reading up on this subject lately and from what I could find out a narrow kerf bandaw blade should get you from 300' to 500' per blade. Very dense African wood should go through a blade every 300' or so I would think. Hope this helps!

Tom

X_HOBBES (x [e-mail]) wrote: : I'm about to resaw a bunch of 6"-8" wide Wenge planks (very dense African : wood). I have a brand new Woodslicer blade on my Rigid bandsaw. How long : should I expect the blade to last, assuming I don't torture it in the resaw : operation? Will I be able to cut through about 50 feet of this stuff with : one blade? I'm new to bandsaws, resawing, and Wenge, so I have no idea what : to expect.

: Same question goes for my thickness planer -- after resawing, I will need to : plane the planks. Will I need to replace my planer blades halfway through?

: Thanks, : X_HOBBES

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[X_HOBBES]

All great advice.

Thanks everyone for the great responses! Now go cut a big stick into little sticks and glue them back up as big stick again! =-)

I need to order a few spare blades. =-P

X_HOBBES

[Hax Planks]

Seems like you would want to cut those expectations in half for most tropicals.

[Thomas D. Ireland]

Possibly, I guess experience will be the best teacher!

Tom

Hax Planks ( snipped-for-privacy@comcastp : > I have been reading up on this subject lately and from what I could find : > out a narrow kerf bandaw blade should get you from 300' to 500' per blade. : > Very dense African wood should go through a blade every 300' or so I would : > think. Hope this helps! : > : > Tom

: Seems like you would want to cut those expectations in half for most : tropicals.

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[Hax Planks]

I have some Jatoba I've been avoiding resawing. David Marks compared it to oak on one of his recent airings. Hah. I wish it was like oak, because I would buy it like it was going out of style. It's a gorgeous wood and I love just about every tropical I ever saw, but my tool spending passed the critical point a while back.