Several bandsaw blade questions

[Ricky Pray]

I am a bandsaw newbie and need some advice on bandsaw blades.

I just went through my first Lenox Dimaster bimetal blade. It cut great and seamed to do well with the logs I needed to cut. I planned to sharpen the blade to get more life out of it but it ended up getting bent and I didn't want to put it back on the saw.

Now I need to get another one.

95% of the time I use the saw to cut small logs down into different stock. The wood that I spend 99.99% of my time cutting is Texas ebony which is similar to the Ironwoods. It is very dense and hard. I am also cutting the logs when green and most are already halved into 6 inch at most thick pieces.

I am debating which blades to try next. The Lenox was around 55.00 shipped to me. I know that the Woodturner Blade from Highland was much cheaper than that.

Maybe you guys can steer me to my next purchase of a blade.

Here are my requirements:

1: Must handle green wood
2. 3 TPI or less
3. Would like the option to resharpen so my wife doesn't kill me.
4. Prefer something that will stand up to heavy duty wood.

Any suggestions?

I did like the Lenox blade and heard that it will stand up to many resharpens. Where is the cheapest place to get them?

[William Addison]

I' ve found that green Texas Ebony cuts easier than when it's dry. Dry, it's so hard it sometimes sparks. It's a difficult and nasty wood with beauty being it's only redeeming feature.

The Diemaster is as good a blade as I've used on it but I've never heard that they can be resharpened. You might use something easier to cut-like Mesquite 8-).

[Brian Kent]

I get them from Oregon Industrial. I do not know where to get them sharpened. Just bought 2 because they are better than any other blade I have tried.

[Ricky Pray]

Texas ebony is my personal favorite wood to have duck calls made into. I live in the last place in the U.S. that it grows so it is kind of dear to me. Kind of a thorn in my side also. Literally.

Any bandsaw blade can be re sharpened very easily from what I have been told. The guy here uses a deemed with a 5/32" grinding stone. He gets several sharpens out of his blades.

I thought about trying trying the wood Turner from Highland as well. Hmn?

[William Addison]

I live in Corpus Christi and we used to have a lot of it but some years ago a freeze killed most of it. There are still some trees around but not many. I find some once in a while but give it to my brother for knife scales. I'm told it's not hard to get in the Valley.

Anything can can be sharpened but finding someone to do is the hard part. My experience with Ebony and carbon steel blades has been a disaster. I've never tried carbide.

[Jim Finn]

I resaw a lot with my band saw and have found 1/2" Supercut http://supercutbandsaw.com/ carbide blades to be my longest lasting and cost me $25 for a 105" blade there. You need to call there to place an order and you could ask them what blade they recommend for your needs.

[David C. Roseman]

Ricky, cutting green, small logs and half-rounds is hard on any bandsaw blade because the material can easily become unstable and shift slightly on the table, causing the blade to bind or slip off the wheel and kink. Using a shop-built sled/cradle for cross-cuts can help a lot, and if you are cutting rounds for bowl blanks, try cutting on the tangents, rather than trying to always follow a uniform curve for the circle. Since you say you are new to bandsaws, I sure wouldn't be using expensive bi-metal blades for this work. You don't say what size bandsaw you have. If it is one of the popular 14" models, with a six-inch riser, I suggest going with an inexpensive carbon-steel "Flexback" blade that Ellis Mfg. has in a 1/2" width, .025 thickness, 3-tpi hooktooth configuration. http://www.ellissaw.com/Band-Saw-Bla...ade-stock-list Last I checked they were around $12/blade. Ellis sells primarily to the trade, so has a minimum order (I think six blades), but the blades are excellent and you won't stress out over replacing one. You can resharpen, if it is worth the trouble to you.