Resaw 1" or 3/4"?

[Charley]

Although it's recommended to use as wide of a blade as possible for resawing, the Timber Wolf resaw blades seem to do quite well no matter what width they are. I have a 3/4 and a 1" (if my memory is right - at least I can remember that I have 2 widths) and my smaller one seems to work better than the larger one, but they both do a great job. Wider is supposed to be better, but don't fret if you can't get the widest that your saw can handle. The Timber Wolf will do a fine job anyway.

[Stoutman]

I am looking into buying a good resaw blade (Timberwolf?) and I am not sure what size to get. I DAG but I saw rational for both 3/4" and 1". My saw (18" Rikon w/ 2 hp motor) can accept upto a 1 1/4" blade.

Thanks!

[Leon]

It depends on how wide of a board you are going to resaw and how hard the wood is. Basically the wider the blade the higher you can crank up the tension. The more tension the less chance the blade will bow inside the cut. If the blade bows you can end up with the middle of the board thicker than the edges or visa versa. I am having pretty good luck cutting 6" wide Oak with a 1/2" blade on my Laguna although I do have a couple of 1 inch blades. You might want to contact Rikon to see what they suggest. IIRC they told me that they did not recommend going past 1" although the saw would accept a wider blade. Alternatively call the guys at Timberwolf, they are pretty good at suggesting what to use.

[charlieb]

If you've got a decent fence that can be adjusted for blade drift, have a decent set of guides - above and below

- and let the saw determine the feed rate, a 3/4" blade should be enough- maybe even a half inch blade. 3 tpi hook cuts fairly quick and pulls sawdust out of the kerf.

If you've uncoiled a 1" or 1 1/4" inch bandsaw blade you might seriously consider a narrower blade. If you've tried to refold a 1" or 1 1/4" blade I suspect you'll go with

3/4".

If you want to decimate your bank account - and maybe stop your heart for a few beats, check out Laguna Tools Resaw King. Multiply your band length by $3/inch ( could be more now) and you'll understand why.

charlie b

[Doug Miller]

The wider the blade, the more stable it will be for resawing.

But IMO you should not consider Timberwolf. I have had much better results from Olson blades, at less than half the price.

I bought mine from Ballew Saw & Tool. Good price, and amazingly fast shipping.

www. ballewsaw.com

[Leon]

I agree to a point, however the longer the blade the easier it is to fold it back up. My 1" 150" blade is pretty easy to wind back up. Oddly it is harder to unwind. It takes several tosses on the ground to coax it to gradually open up. The guy at the saw mill showed me how he recoils his

1-1/2 to 2" blades and it was shockingly simple but then again the blade was pretty long. IIRC the blade on the 18" Rikon is about 138" long.

Actually the Resaw King blades normally go for $1.50 per inch. Still a number to not take lightly. At the moment Laguna has a sale, buy 2 Resaw Kings and get 1 free. That takes the average price down to $1 per inch. Also Laguna's Ripmaster blades, much like the Timberwolf blades are on sale, buy 4 get one free.

[bc]

I have to agree with Doug on the Olsen blades, I had three different Timberwolf blades and was not impressed. The Olsen's that I bought to replace them have done a much better job at half the price. As for blade width, on the advice of the wrec I bought a 1/2" 3 tpi Olsen and have gotten much better resaw results than the 3/4" Timberwolf that I had. Just my two cents ;) bc

[Leon]

I believe that the band saw has more to do with whether the blade brand works well for you or not. I had a 18" Rikon BS and could not get 4 different Timberwolf blades to track properly. The off brand cheaper blades tracked great. I replaced the Rikon with a 16" Laguna and Timberwolf gave me credit towards the longer blades for the Laguna. The Timberwolf blades do just fine on the Laguna.

[Doug Miller]

Not to pick nits, but if the OP is going to do a Google search, it's probably going to work better with the correct spelling "Olson" (not Olsen).

[B A R R Y]

Same here, as well as Ballew.