Lenox Die Master Bi Metal Blades

[Dan Forman]

I picked up my blades yesterday, didn't have a chance to cut a wet blank but did rip up a mostly dry maple section that had significant cracks that would preclude turning a bowl from it. The resulting surface was better than my 1" Carbide tipped Trimaster would have left, amazingly smooth. Really curious to see how it will do with a green bowl blank, but may be a couple of days before I get to find out.

Dan

[Reed Gray]

Dan,
I am trying to figure out how you could get a smoother cut with the Lenox blade than you could with the carbide tipped Trimaster. Sounds impossible, unless bandsaw isn't set up properly, but if that was the case, then the Die Master should still leave a coarser finish cut.

Oh, and above I mentioned that the Lenox carbide tipped blades were C4 carbide, and a carbide alloy, I meant the Laguna blades.

robo hippy

[Ken Fitzgerald]

When I got my first and only bandsaw some years ago, I emailed Mark Duginske. He was kind enough to reply. He said IHO and experience, TW were sharper initially but bi-metal blades lasted as much as 6 times longer.

While I don't use Lenox, I do use bi-metal blades on my bandsaw.

[Mike Cruz]

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how well it will cut a wet blank.

[Del Hollingsworth]

Lenox blades are available at

www.bandsawbladesdirect.com

I've never tried the brand, but based on what people say here, I think I will try one.

[Mike Cruz]

Del, the Diemaster 2 in 1/2" x .035 x 3 tpi is a couple bucks more there. But they don't offer it in a H (hook) tooth, only an S (skip) tooth. Not sure if that is the difference or not...

[Dan Forman]

Dan,
I am trying to figure out how you could get a smoother cut with the Lenox blade than you could with the carbide tipped Trimaster. Sounds impossible, unless bandsaw isn't set up properly, but if that was the case, then the Die Master should still leave a coarser finish cut.

Oh, and above I mentioned that the Lenox carbide tipped blades were C4 carbide, and a carbide alloy, I meant the Laguna blades.

robo hippy

I was surprised too! The Trimaster still leaves ridges, though small ones. The Diemaster was absolutely smooth in most places, with only a few small ripples in areas where the wood moved a little due to variations in the surface supported by the table. The saw with the Trimaster is a Mini Max 16". Could be that the carbide blade could need a little more tension, but I have no way of checking it, other than the tension indicator on the saw, which just shows band width intervals rather than pounds of tension. 16" is seen as the lower limit for such blades, maybe that has something to do with it.

I Think I'll run this same piece through the MM and see what the difference is. I just know that I've never seen such a clean cut from a bandsaw. The 2 TPI blades that I was using for green wood left a really rough surface. I was expecting a small improvement, but nothing like this. Don't think I'll have a chance to cut a bowl blank until Monday.

Dan

[Mike Cruz]

Dan, I remember posting a pic of something that I had cut on my band saw that happened to be cut with a Diemaster blade. I got a few comments on how smooth the cut was...asking what I was using.

[Eric Holmquist]

I visited the Lenox factory in Mass where they make all of their bandsaw blades. Got to see the whole process to make their bi-metal blades. Also saw the process to make carbide blades. Was pretty cool.

[Clint Baxter]

Fine Woodworking did a test of 19 different brands of 1/2" bandsaw blades, I have the issue somewhere in my extensive collection of magazines so I will look for it. I am sure you can find the info somewhere on the web. I believe they created a weighted system that pulled he wood through the blades at the same rate to assure a fair test.

Jeff

Did a quick search on FineWoodworking.com and you can find the article at Fine Woodworking #169 , pp. 76 April 1, 2004. If you're a member, can view the article there as well.

Essentially, they weren't testing the blades for longevity, but mainly for speed of cutting, smoothness and they also rated barreling, (how much of a bow there was from top to bottom).
They don't appear to have tested anything other than carbon steel blades.

They didn't test for blade life because, "..because the typical home-shop woodworker uses a bandsaw only occasionally, blade life is likely to measured in years rather than in hours."

Looks like we still could use that bandsaw blade test that Reed was talking about. One that tests bi-metal blades, carbide tipped blades and those other materials used in some of the resaw blades as well.

Clint

[Jeff Nicol]

I have lots of time and lots of wood so if someone wants to send me one of every blade out there in 105" I would do it, you know take one for the team! I suppose we could ask everyone to test the blades they use on a regular basis and test them one the same types of wood for each type of cutting from veneers to wet bowl blanks. Then a list woudl be compiled of these tests and should be as close as we can get without having a single person do all the testing.

Put it out and see what happens,

Jeff

[Rick Markham]

I went to the Lenox web site. Their two tipped blades, one uses C4 carbide, and the other used a 'carbide alloy' whatever that means. They used to use Stellite, not sure what they use now.

robo hippy

Thanks Reed, that is what I suspected. I guess I will stick with the Resaw King for resawing. Next time I buy non carbide blades I will definitely be sending my business their way!

[Rick Markham]

Dan,
I am trying to figure out how you could get a smoother cut with the Lenox blade than you could with the carbide tipped Trimaster. Sounds impossible, unless bandsaw isn't set up properly, but if that was the case, then the Die Master should still leave a coarser finish cut.

Oh, and above I mentioned that the Lenox carbide tipped blades were C4 carbide, and a carbide alloy, I meant the Laguna blades.

robo hippy

Maybe it is time for me to reconsider what I am using for resawing. Anyone know of an excellent blade for resawing, that isn't the Resaw King. The allure of the Resaw King, was that you could get it resharpened at least 5 times. Those were the sterllite days... the good 'ole days I know Sterllite is significantly harder than the majority of carbide steels, Forrest uses C4 carbide tips on their tablesaw blades. I'm curious now as to how these compare to the old ones. Not sure I'm curious enough to throw that kind of money around however. Does anyone have any direct comparison experience?

[Willem Martins]

For smaller blades, being from 1/2" down Lenox Diemaster is the only thing I use. The best prices I have seen are at Lowes, they do not stock them, but will order your custom blade at a great price.

For a 17" Grizzly bandsaw with a 16 3/4" wheel diameter, I find blades thicker than 0.025 stress fatigue and crack while they are still sharp, meaning 3/4" is the max blade width at 0.025 and only really available from Timberwolf, unless one is willing to spend a small fortune with Laguna.

[Jim Seyfried]

I tried to cut some bowl blanks with a new Lenox #32 Wood blade (3/8") and it kept drifting in. I am using a new 20" saw with a
Carter circle cutting jig. I tried several different tensions and was cutting green Walnut. Had so much trouble I looked up the blade on the Lenox website and it is not recommended for lengths less than 15', my saw takes a 14' blade. I switched back to the 1/2" blade that came with the saw and it worked much better. I'm not sure what or if I was doing something wrong but switching blades made a big difference.

For the die master 2 bi metal blade, what size and tpi do those using it find most useful for cutting green blanks?