Official Luthiers Forum!

I have a problem. I need coarse bandsaw blades but in Taiwan all the blades they sell here are all fine toothed intended for metal work. They do not work for resaws because they're not hook teeth and is more than 4tpi. However ordering 3tpi blades from overseas is impossible due to covid. So I'm thinking of taking a 4tpi blade and manually grind every other teeth off and try to form it into a hook gullet. Because over here anything coarse are over 2 inches wide and even then they are not actually that coarse (you will find a 2tpi if you can use a 2 inch blade). My bandsaw is 14 inch and can't use anything over half inch, but unfortunately all they have are 4 tpi or higher. Great if I'm sawing steel but not wood.

I can't find any information about this on google, probably for good reasons but my blade is worn and I need to cut something.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

that won't work as the set of the tooth would become unbalanced

_________________
John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I realize that, but I can always set the tooth myself... But fact is I can't get 3T blades in Taiwan, the most they have is 4T and I KNOW 4T won't work because I tried it. The motor bogs down because the gullet becomes packed, and then the blade dulls early and breaks after 10 minutes because it dulled and wandered (not to mention the Amada band from Japan is a lot harder than Lenox flexback blades, more like hardback, I even had trouble with that brand on 18" wheels).

So unless I can figure out how to electron beam weld stuff myself, I'm left with little choice but to basically resort to this.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Tai. Do you even want advice when you post? Seriously we take this time to write things to help you out and you just throw it back every single time. I'm out.

Do you just enjoy telling me stuff that won't work?

Or you can figure out how I can buy the right bands for a 14" bandsaw with reasonable shipping price? Or just pay 80 dollars to ship a 25 dollar band?

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Dan, why do you always trash talk Tai? Just not cool dude. This is not the first time I have mentioned this to you. And you have never done this to anyone else. Is this a racial thing with you?

Tai, 4 TPI is not that fine of a blade and it should work fine for most wood cutting. Perhaps you are not using "skip-tooth" blades which have more room in the gullet. Also, there is another method for joining bandsaw blades using silver solder brazing. I am just getting setup to do this so can't speak from experience. But from everything I have read it is cheaper, easier, and at least as effective as welding blades. And it can be done with a simple propane torch.

Sorry to other OLF members for being confrontational here, but I just can't stand by and let that go on.

This could be one of the problems. I think the tooth is regular, with a sharp V in the gullet rather than hooked. So there is little to no room in the gullet, this band is very clearly designed for metal work, and in Taiwan bands for wood work simply does not exist (we are a footnote in the industry of bandsaws, vast majority is for cutting aluminum or steel rods). But I just know that particular band, in addition to having little to no room in the gullet, and the band body itself being harder than normal flex back blades (I said I had problem with that brand of bands breaking even in 18 inch saws, none of that problem with Lenox flexback bands).

The big problem right now is I can't order from the states because either sellers refuse to ship outside the US, or charges too much to do so. I ordered my last set from Tuffsaws in the UK but they told me because of COVID and brexit that they will not ship outside of the EU anymore.

Maybe I just gotta figure out how to make my own bands and then braze carbide to that. I got a bunch of trash carbide inserts. Unfortunately I cannot resaw with a milling machine.

So now I just gotta figure out how to get 3T coil stocks from Lenox or others. That may prove to be as big as a problem as before.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Nothing to do with race. I have offered advice to tai multiple times in the past and I do not always bad mouth him.

If you read the Cheapo Chinese Planes thread I made several posts offering cheaper alternatives and advice. In one recent thread about Abalone I offered advice multiple times with ideas about how to do it cheaply. He just ignores it even when it comes from people who are 10x smarter than I am like John Hall. Tai gets some good advice and then just flips them the bird and says he'll do it his way.

I have called others to the floor for jerk behavior. Do a search in the repair thread for one on German made archtops. OP was being a dick to everyone about how much smarter he was than everyone else. I called him for it.

Tai I get tired of you telling people your way will work even when you've been presented experience and advice that your method might need changing. Yes sometimes you have to spend money even if it seems crazy.

The cost of shipping 10 blades wouldn’t be much more than shipping one. So buy a bunch of them to reduce per unit shipping costs and you wouldn’t have to think about getting blades for years.

Yeah I was just gonna say... Just buy in bulk and learn to sharpen blades. Buy a bunch today, cough up for the shipping and you will be set for a long time. I keep 3 blades on rotation on my resaw. One is always new and the other too get sharpened when I have some spare time. Sharpening does take time but much less time then what you propose and seems to me like your best option.

I have learned to sharpen 3 tpi blades. I have considered trying to weld them from stock. From what I have read either would be easier than grinding teeth