BS blades for in-bound Grizzly G0513X2F

[Greg Parrish]

My saw should be delivered on Monday and I know it comes with a single, low quality blade from everything I've read. That said, what blades tend to work best on this saw as I would like to order a few to get started. I'm thinking a trio of blades to get me going that include a smaller blade like 1/4" for curvy cuts in dry wood, a resaw blade for cuts in dry wood (maybe 1/2 to 3/4" range) and a wet wood blade for logs (1/2 to 1"). I'm really not sure where to start but figured I needed an initial 2 or 3 blades to get me going and then I can branch out from there.

I've been looking at the wood slicer brand blades thus far.

Thanks for any pointers on not just brand, but which actual blades to choose for a starter set.

[Mike Kees]

My saw should be delivered on Monday and I know it comes with a single, low quality blade from everything I've read. That said, what blades tend to work best on this saw as I would like to order a few to get started. I'm thinking a trio of blades to get me going that include a smaller blade like 1/4" for curvy cuts in dry wood, a resaw blade for cuts in dry wood (maybe 1/2 to 3/4" range) and a wet wood blade for logs (1/2 to 1"). I'm really not sure where to start but figured I needed an initial 2 or 3 blades to get me going and then I can branch out from there.

I've been looking at the wood slicer brand blades thus far.

Thanks for any pointers on not just brand, but which actual blades to choose for a starter set.

For a 1/4 blade general purpose try 6 tpi hook teeth. For resaw try 3tpi hook 3/4'' wide. I dont really do wet wood cutting ,so I will leave that for others to give advice. By no means are these the only choices but they are a place to start. As far as brands,everyone has different ideas what they like. My opinion is that you have to figure out the blade that works best for your particular requirement. Skip tooth blades will give a smoother cut than hook .If you are new to bandsaws ,Mark Duginske's books will help alot. The older one "bandsaw handbook" has alot on blades. Good luck,Mike

[Terry Beadle]

I use the wood slicer 3 tpi 1/2 in in a Craftsman 12. For well over a decade these blades have met all my needs and then some.
They are a bit pricy but I resharpen my blades using my demel tool ( Black n Decker brand ) and get several years of use out of one blade that way.
I have used Olson blades which are quite a bit cheaper than the Wood Slicer but don't last as long between resharpenings. It doesn't take more
than 15 min to resharpen and cuts better afterwards than the original grind.

I can recommend either.

Good luck and enjoy your band saw as it's once of the top three tools in any one's shop IMO.

Terry

[joe maday]

Woodcraft has Starrett BS blades on sale...20% off have not used them..... maybe with the discount I'll try one or two

[lee cox]

Woodcraft also sells TimberWolf bandsaw blades which I like better than Starett but they cost more money. Woodcraft does not carry my size blade since I switched to my MiniMax S45 bandsaw. I ordered from bandsawbladesdirect.com and they have Lenox blades which seem nice also.

[Victor Robinson]

Terry, I'd be very interested in hearing a bit more on your process for resharpening a Woodslicer. I've got a dull one I'd love to try on.

To the OP, I've also been very happy with the Woodslicer. It's a very quiet blade, and I use it for just about everything other than curves.

[Roger Chandler]

As far as bandsaw blades for wet wood or logs many of us wood turners are pretty experienced with this sort of thing. I have two bandsaws, an 18" Jet that uses a 137" blade and a Grizzly G0555LX 14" saw with a riser block......both saws will cut 12" under the blade guide. I used Timberwolf blades for years, and while they are great for resawing, they dull very quickly with log blanks ......we cut bowl blanks from logs all the time.

There are two really good blades for cutting log blanks........the Lenox Diemaster, and the one I use which is the "Wood turners blade from Highland Hardware. They are thicker than most bandsaw blades at .032" and most blades are .025 thickness. They also have a wider teeth set to clear the kerf and allow the chips to be removed much better with deep gullets, and they are 3/8" wide........that allows pretty good curvature cuts in the log pieces, and they are hardened to keep sharp longer which is a must when cutting into bark and grit in logs. I also sharpen them a couple of times with a dremel tool and a cutoff wheel. The Woodturners blades from Highland Hardware are 3 tpi and are aggressive, so good control/technique is needed to be safe with them. Most of the time I cut most blanks on the smaller 14" Grizzly G0555LX, with riser block and 105" blades, and that saw is a superb performer.

Also,the Woodturners Blades can be ordered from Highland Hardware at any length you need, and they are much less expensive than Timberwolf blades, and give several times the life of them in logs and green wood. They are the best I have used in my 30+ years of wood working.

[Terry Beadle]

To Victor,

I bought from Amazon the following:
Black & Decker RTX-B 3-Speed RTX Rotary Tool Kit

Dremel 4486 MultiPro Keyless Chuck

Anytime Tools 5/32" Diamond Chainsaw Sharpener Burr 1/8" Shank, 4 Pack

Dremel 453 5/32" Grinding Stone, 2 Pack

The technique is straight forward. I simply made a simple wood jig to hold the blade to be sharpened flat with the teeth pointing to the right and upward.
Then take the sharpener and give the tip only a one or two second grind matching the angle of the tooth face and making sure it's point had no glint of dullness.
Then give the top of the tooth only the slightest grind for burr removal.

Does the job, simple, and takes little practice. You could make a jig to hold the sharpener and move the blade but it's awkward to say the least.

[Greg Parrish]

Thanks. I'll dig into the links and info everyone provided.

[Greg Parrish]

Not sure if it is the best choice but I ordered a 1" Laguna Resaw King at 131.5" long for my Grizzly to use for resawing. I did a bunch of reading on this one and the Lenox Trimaster with regards to carbide tipped blades and ultimately picked the laguna because it was about $30 cheaper shipped. Hopefully it is still considered today to be a good choice and hopefully it lasts a long time with a home/hobby user like myself.

Now I need to pick a general blade and maybe a curve cutting blade and lastly something for green logs.

[Greg Parrish]

Ordered a few Timberwolves blades to try also


1/2" X 3AS
1/4" X 10RK
1" X 2PC