Bandsaw Blade Recommendations

[David Tolsky]

I own a 16" Grizzly band saw that takes 113" blades. It's been dormant for 8 years and finally up and running again. What type of blades do you recommend for general cutting and resawing oak and other hardwoods?

[Clay Fails]

Woodslicer or Timberwolf are OK. If you want the finest cut quality, look at Lenox carbide tipped blades. The Laguna Resaw King is highly touted, but I have not been impressed with it.

[roger wiegand]

I'm with Clay, I use the Woodslicer from Highland Hardware for resawing, especially for veneer, and a Lenox carbide blade for almost everything else.

[glenn bradley]

You'll get the standard replies here. I have run Woodslicers and Timberwolf's since forever. There was a period of bad welds on Timberwolfs several years ago that folks can't seem to let go of. The two blades I had trouble with were promptly replaced. I take advantage of their buy 3 get one free offer and have blades to last me for quite sometime yet. the next windfall that lands on me may have me trying a carbide blade but, so far nothing is driving me to it.

[Johnnyy Johnson]

Wood slicer and use the set up on youtube by the guy who works for Carter guides.(cant remember his name but a search will get it.) I have two 14 in BS one a Jet and one is a new Grizzly. Could never get blade drift right until I went to his set up on the position of the gullet on the upper wheel.(Grizzly worked correct out of the box. Jet did not) Now I have bragging rights on my two saws...Hope this helps. (BTW I am switching the Grizzle over to a 1/4 in blade. Bottom of gullet in center of wheel on top and dont worry about where it is at on bottom wheel.

Hope this helps
Johnny

[Clay Fails]

Wood slicer and use the set up on youtube by the guy who works for Carter guides.(cant remember his name but a search will get it.) I have two 14 in BS one a Jet and one is a new Grizzly. Could never get blade drift right until I went to his set up on the position of the gullet on the upper wheel.(Grizzly worked correct out of the box. Jet did not) Now I have bragging rights on my two saws...Hope this helps. (BTW I am switching the Grizzle over to a 1/4 in blade. Bottom of gullet in center of wheel on top and dont worry about where it is at on bottom wheel.

Hope this helps
Johnny

Agree with Johnny. The band must be correctly placed on the wheel to avoid drift. Yes, the Carter demo video is excellent.

[Dan Hahr]

Diemaster II from Woodcraftbands.com. Stays sharper much longer than Woodslicers.

Dan

[David Tolsky]

Thanks for the replies guys, some good suggestions indeed. Question: Do I really need a carbide-tipped blade for general woodworking? I will be cutting more hardwood than anything else but the blade I need in carbide costs $129 and that's a little steep for my wallet for one blade.

[Clay Fails]

Absolutely not. Carbide is nice, but not essential. Try the other blades mentioned and see what works best for you.

[Curt Harms]

Another source - Supercut Bandsaw. I have a few of their premium gold blades and they seem to stay sharp quite a while and don't seem prone to drift. They claim to be made in the U.S. They sell resaw blades but I haven't tried them. Be aware that their 'carbide impregnated' blades are not the same as blades with brazed carbide teeth. They do seem to last well though. They sell bimetal blades as well and I asked them via email which would stay sharp longer, their 'carbide impregnated' blades or bimetal. Their reply was that it depended on the wood. I didn't pursue it further.

http://www.supercutbandsaw.com/

[David Tolsky]

Another source - Supercut Bandsaw. I have a few of their premium gold blades and they seem to stay sharp quite a while and don't seem prone to drift. They claim to be made in the U.S. They sell resaw blades but I haven't tried them. Be aware that their 'carbide impregnated' blades are not the same as blades with brazed carbide teeth. They do seem to last well though. They sell bimetal blades as well and I asked them via email which would stay sharp longer, their 'carbide impregnated' blades or bimetal. Their reply was that it depended on the wood. I didn't pursue it further.

http://www.supercutbandsaw.com/

Thanks, I called SuperCut blades and they were very helpful and the prices were decent. I ordered one gold 6 hook blade and a backup carbon 4 hook blade so I could compare the cuts they make. Thanks for your help!

[Chris Padilla]

Thanks for the replies guys, some good suggestions indeed. Question: Do I really need a carbide-tipped blade for general woodworking? I will be cutting more hardwood than anything else but the blade I need in carbide costs $129 and that's a little steep for my wallet for one blade.

Lenox Diemaster II as Dan wrote. The one I like is a 6 tpi, hook style blade. It is a bimetal blade and really lasts a while. I cut veneers with it all the time. Even though my MM20 can take a wide blade, this one in 1/2" does just dandy.

[Ben Rivel]

I cant speak from experience yet, but I just purchased my first real band saw (Hammer N4400) and all the research I have been doing pointed me to the bi-metal Lenox Diemaster 2 and Woodmaster B blades as the best bang for the buck for both general cutting and resawing. Though Im not sure the OPs mentioned saw can tension a Woodmaster blade. The Dismaster 2's I think would be fine.

[David Tolsky]

Aside from the SuperCut blades I ordered I also ordered a Woodslicer 3/4" resaw blade and wow, I only hope I can get the same performance I'm getting now for a long time to come. It slices through red oak like butter, quietly with a very clean cut. It took a good 15 minutes to line up the blade and adjust the guides on my 16" Grizzly but it was worth it.

[Curt Harms]

Aside from the SuperCut blades I ordered I also ordered a Woodslicer 3/4" resaw blade and wow, I only hope I can get the same performance I'm getting now for a long time to come. It slices through red oak like butter, quietly with a very clean cut. It took a good 15 minutes to line up the blade and adjust the guides on my 16" Grizzly but it was worth it.

I haven't used a Woodslicer (and there are several brands using the same blade stock) but I'll be surprised if the Supercut gold cuts as smoothly when both are new. The shortcoming of Woodslicer seems to be blade life. They seem to dull pretty quickly, my Supercut gold blades stay sharp quite a while and seem to outlast Lenox flexback carbon steel blades as well.