BS Blade for rounding blanks?

[Prashun Patel]

I don't work for them, but I order blades from Bandsawblades.com by the 10-pack. They're as economical as anything out there, and cut as well or better than any of the Timberwolves I've used.

If it were me, I wouldn't pay a premium for "Green wood blades". I think they're just 3tpi, raker set blades. If there's something different about the steel or any kind of coating on the blade, I can tell you that the 'plain old' blades I've used have worked just fine for me.

[Wally Dickerman]

Not to be a fly in the ointment, but I see no reason to use a 4tpi vs. a 3tpi. The 3tpi will be more aggressive and will be better at wet dust ejection. The only reason to use a 4tpi would be for a 'cleaner' surface, which is unnecessary for this type of op. 4 may very well get the job done, but I believe 3 is a better - especially if yr saw is on the border of being underpowered, as is my Grizzly G0555 14".

Believe me, I've tried lots of combinations of size and tooth numbers...the reason that I prefer 4 vs 3 teeth is that when cutting thin stock I get a much smoother, better cut when at least 2 and better, 3 teeth are in the wood. That's why when cutting nothing but thin stock a higher number of teeth such as 8 or 10 are to be preferred.

[Richard Jones]

3/8" 4tpi or 1/2" 3tpi, Lenox Diemaster 2, both .035 thick. This saw (18" Rikon) does a lot of different things, from green wood turning blanks to ripping to resawing to use as a cut off saw. My table saw is covered in bowls, postage scale, and other misc. turning stuff.............

I have found that these blades last way longer (for me) than TW's, so the economy of them should be apparent.

Having said that, you need to try out a number of different blades to see which one performs best for you and your saw. I would be very surprised if you didn't love the Lenox.........

Rich

[Steve Busey]

I'm gonna try the 1/2" 4tpi Diemaster 2 - pricy, but bound to do better than my current set of blades. Thanks everyone for your input!

[Highland Woodworking]

While it's not as well known as our Wood Slicer resawing blade, our Woodturner's Bandsaw Blade is configured specifically for cutting bowl blanks from green wood. (The Wood Slicer's minimum tooth set is configured for smooth, straight rip cuts in kiln-dried or air-dried lumber. We don't generally recommend it for green wood.)

The woodturner's blade is 3/8" wide with 3 TPI alternate set w/raker tooth pattern. To help it hold up while shaping logs into usable bowl blanks, the band thickness is .032", 28% thicker than normal .025" general purpose blades. Its extra-wide tooth set provides plenty of room to help keep the blade from binding while cutting through wet, kerf-closing, growth-tensioned logs.

The blade's deep, rounded gullets efficiently clear chips from the kerf to enable aggressive cuts. The hardened teeth (Rc64-65) stand up well against dulling bark and log grime (though we recommend removing as much grit as possible from your stock before cutting with any blade). The 3/8" wide band allows a cutting radius as small as 1-1/2".

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/w...dsawblade.aspx

Chris Bagby, owner
Highland Woodworking

[Steve Busey]

I'm gonna try the 1/2" 4tpi Diemaster 2 - pricy, but bound to do better than my current set of blades. Thanks everyone for your input!

The DM came today, so I put it on the saw and grabbed an old charred (from it's last exposure to my bandsaw!) chunk of dry cherry. It cut like butter, with a beautiful curve and very little effort!

All I'd ever had on that saw was the original Jet blade, and a HH Wood Slicer, which I'm sure is very old now. It probably cut like butter back in the day, but those days are past.

Here's the cherry chunk - you can see the burn marks on a couple surfaces, then the clean cut curve.

Thanks again for all the input. Slap me if I ever let a blade get that dull again!

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