Band saw blades and staying sharp?

[Al Willits]

I've got the Delta 14" band saw with a 6" riser and using Timber wolf blades, I did some re sawing on some 5/4 white oak that was between 4.5 and 7" wide, I was using the 3/4" blade they recommended for re sawing and it worked just fine for about 200' of cutting.
Now it seems to have gotten a bit dull, changed to a 1/2" 4 tooth blade and its working fine now.

Is that about all I'm gonna get per blade or am I doing something wrong?

Or do I need a better quality blade??

I've already figured if I'm gonna get serious about re sawing, the Delta has got to go, but it ain't gonna happen for awhile so I have to make due with what I have.

tia

Al

[John Bush]

I had the same concerns--newby with resawing or blade issues. I had been using a Woodslicer and it seemed to poop out quickly. I bought a Lenox Trimaster carbide and it makes an incredible difference. Accurate and smooth cuts. I also bought the new CT Woodmaster from Lenox, but haven't tried it yet. I think you would be happy with a carbide blade. The CT is about a third less costly so that may be a good initial step up to a carbide. Good luck, John.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Ditto the carbide.. only they aren't available in smaller sizes than 1/2"... at least I haven't found one. I re-saw 6" wide white oak quite a bit, doesn't even slow down to think about it. Got mine at mini-max.

[Al Willits]

Thanks guys, I originally used a 3/4" x 3 blade and it worked well, just got dull, part of the reason I went with Timber wolf was the less tension required, while I like my Delta, I'm not so sure it'll take a lot of the higher tension that other blades require??

So...should I try a 1/2" or go ahead with the 3/4"??

Anybody use a 3/4" on a Delta?

I also get a bit of chatter from time to time, feeding to fast maybe???
This saw is definitly a bit short on power I think...o-well, more of that learning curve.

Mini-max as reasonable as anywhere else???
edit ..again..Just looked at Minimax, they don't have the 105" I need, any other suggestions?

Al...who's off to do a search

[Steve knight]

going to bi metal will give you far more life. I get a week of a a regular blade but 2 months or more out of a bi metal so they actually cost less.
Carbide blades are nice but they seldom are cost effective. they tend to break too soon if you use them on smaller machines like a 14" bandsaw. for the cost they don't last as long as the same amount spent on bi metal blades.

[Todd Burch]

If you got 200' feet out of that blade, I think you just set a new world's record. Call Guiness.

Todd

[Al Willits]

"""""
If you got 200' feet out of that blade, I think you just set a new world's record. Call Guiness
"""""""""
Well, the last bunch was pretty slow going and I finally quit when I was getting a burning wood smell, so I suppose someone a bit less stuborn than me would have stopped sooner...

Thanks for the info Steve, I did find the Lenox blades for about a $100 and if its maybe gonna break before it gets dull, I'll try the bi metals first.
Any suggestions on what kind and where to get??

Or maybe which not to get?
Or we back with lenox, just a bi metal blade?

Al

[nic obie]

Hi Al,

Believe it or not, I've been finding good deals on ebay. There are some guys who will cut to size. If you can get them cheap enough regular carbon 'hook' style blades are fine. Otherwise check out carbide.com for Lenox bi-metal ones. they are by far the most cost effective.

Before I sprung for my Minimax I had a Delta one horse like yours only with no extension. I found the best blades for it were a 1/2", 3 or 4 tpi hook for re-sawing and a 1/4" 6 tpi hook for everything else. Both bi-metal.

I'd think about buying a after market tension spring from Iturra too.

[Eddie Darby]

I was just at a woodshow, and ran across these blades that are new to the market. They are not even on the web-page yet.

http://www.tufftooth.com/

Tuff Tooth Swedish Silicon Steel

Thin Kerf, High Tungsten Silicon Band.
105" long, 5/8" width, 0.025" thick, 3 TPI

I like the thin blade for resawing valuable wood, at 0.025" or 0.635 mm you will not be wasting too much wood.

These blades can be resharpened by the company that sold them to me. He recommended that I sharpen a group of them at one time to save on the shipping costs.

The package gives the Flutter test on the back for the proper tensioning.

I would contact them and ask them for more info on the sharpening. I don't recall the cost exactly, but I thought at the time when the sharpening was being explained, not too expensive.

The blade was in use for 3 woodshows before it got to the show I was at, so I think it will have a longer life time, and then it can be resharpened, so that will help too. I got two of them so I could mail them in together for resharpening. I should have gotten 3 so I could have one for use while the other two were out getting sharpened.

This company also sells the beefed-up spring for Delta bandsaws. Nice extra.

[Al Willits]

Once again, thanks all.

Nic, I have the 3/4hp (ya I know....whoosy saw) but considering you have had one close to what I have, I'll order the 1/2" blade.

In a email Iturra advised me there wasn't much I could do with this saw as far as making it better, he did mention the spring though and maybe better guides, but left me with the feeling a better saw (at least 16" or bigger) was my best shot.
Or something close to that...

A bigger saw won't be till next year, so I'll at least buy a spring for it, not so sure about the guide system as I think it'd be money better spent on a new saw.

I'll check ebay, but not found of it unless its buy now, and I look at the tuftooth and other sites to see whats out there...thanks all.

Al

[Curt Harms]

Has anybody tried these?
http://www.supercutbandsaw.com/products.html

I wonder if "carbide impregnated" really works or if it's marketing? It'd be handy to get get a blade with the durability of carbide that wouldn't fatigue on a smaller wheeled saw. They also offer BiMetal.

Curt

[Al Willits]

Has anybody tried these?
http://www.supercutbandsaw.com/products.html

I wonder if "carbide impregnated" really works or if it's marketing? It'd be handy to get get a blade with the durability of carbide that wouldn't fatigue on a smaller wheeled saw. They also offer BiMetal.

Curt

I was looking at their woodsaver or woodsaver plus blades, but do they list a price sheet anywhere??

Al

[David Weaver]

Just as a follow-up post to those above, where can we get bimetal blades, esp. if we have saws that aren't standard lengths?

I have a saw with a blade length of 137". I just checked out the lenox carbide tooth blade and found a site that said a custom 137" blade is $165!!

So far I've only used the stock blade and a woodslicer. The difference between the two is comical - the stock blade, I guess, would be good for cutting up trash, but it was already dulling (a lot) after making about 25 feet of cuts through 3.5 inch thick cherry. I hung it up in case i have something really crappy to cut down the road, but it probably won't get used again.

The woodslicer is nice, but I've resawed two feet of cherry with it so far. If it only lasts between 100 and 200 feet, that's not very satisfying - esp. if the performance goes noticeably south part of the way through there.

So, anyway, where is a good place to get bimetal blades? I'm all for the 0.025 thin kerf blades if possible given that my 18" saw is one of the 1.75hp 110V types - which hasn't proven to be a problem with sharp blades, but there's no reason to give it more than it needs in terms of kerf.

[Bruce Haugen]

I ended up with the Trimaster on my 14" Delta (1'2"), and I accidentally noticed one additional benefit: two weeks ago, I inadvertently cut a hardened sheetrock screw. Sucker was embedded with the head broke off. It has made absolutely no difference to the carbide blade. No degradation of the cut at all. It's been on my saw for 1.5 years.

Bruce, in very unseasonably cold MN

[Bruce Wrenn]

Woodworkers Supply cuts and weld blades. That is where I buy my bi-metal blades. I have had the same 1/4", 0.025, 6 tpi, hook blade on my saw for several years. I don't do a lot of cutting on my saw though Bruce, in unseasonably warm North Carolina- It is 60 degrees outside now!