Official Luthiers Forum!

I don't have much of a clue what to buy. I have 3/4 resaw blade (3 TPI) that I love. The smaller blades I have purchased have not worked out so well, but it seems wrong to leave the resaw blade on for general cutting, and it doesn't cut curves very well.
In the Grizzly catalogue for the Timber Wolf blades it talks about Raker, HP, AS-S, Positive Claw, hook.
How do I know what TPI to order?
Are carbide tipped blades worth buying?
I have a Delta 14 and I just don't know what to order for cutting braces, neck blanks, tops, binding, plywood molds etc. Can someone help me out or show me a good website?
My Delta 1hp seems a little under powered, are there blades that are a better choice, especially for making molds?
Thanks!

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"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G. K. Chesterton.

I use a 5/8" blade to do all of my resawing and it is a 4 TPI blade (hook). If I am going to be sawing curves, especially sharp curves, I'll change the blade to a 1/4" 6TPI. Otherwise, I leave the 5/8 blade on.

I also have a 3/8" blade that is something like 10TPI that I use for sawing plastics. Lexan and Corian will dull a blade in a hurry.

I usually get my blades from woodcraft, but I have ordered them through Hastings saws. The price is much better at Hastings if you can wait on them.

 

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Reguards,

Ken H

Steve, I use only one blade on my Delta 14, a general purpose Olson 1/4 inch. With it, I resaw four inch neck blanks to perfection.

It seems some use their 14's for resawing backs, but usually they've upgraded to a riser block and Carter's.

I use Lenox TriMaster's 1 inch in my Laguna 18, 3/4 Varitooth. They are great, but are recommended for 17" or larger saws, the lit says 18", but some dealers know folks successfully using them on Grizzly 17's.

The TPI issue comes in on hardwood vs softwoods. I tend to prefer a few more teeth per inch on hardwoods. Spruce cuts well on 1 to 2 teeth per inch. The larger gullets hold more cuttings.

Good luck on your bandsaw quest. There is a definite learning curve for resawing successfully. One I'm working on right now is dust collection, upgrading to 6 inch tube all the way to each machine and trapping dust in a cyclone system.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

  3/4" blades are not recommended on 14" saws. the small wheels flex them too much and will lead to premature breakage, and the springs are not designed to tension them.

1/2" blades are the largest that they will tension properly.

I have a 14 in Delta with the riser and carter bearing guides, and only the 3/4 hp motor. I use only Tuff Tooth blades made by a local guy near me, R&D Bandsaws (try Google). The two blades I buy (and only these) are the 1/2 3tpi , and the 3/16 10tpi industrial hardened blades - I have no need for anything else. And I have resawn a fair amount with the 1/2 3tpi - many tops in sitka and cedar, 11x48 inch padauk into sets, 10 inch mahogany and makore, hard and soft maples ... countless woods for bindings and headplates, neck blanks .. its a little workhorse in my shop.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I also buy from R&D after getting a tip from Tony. Excellent products at good prices and they charge little for shipping.
I like their 'Lil Ripper' blades as well- they go on sale for $25 (any length up to 150") fairly often.

Cheers
John

On my Delta 14 inch saw with 3" riser:

I use a 1/4" 6 tpi skip tooth blade for general purpose cutting.

For wider resaw work I use a 1/2" 3 tpi hook tooth

For veneer work I use a very fine toothed blade 18 tpi?

Mark

The TimberWolf ASS has a .025" thick band that should be fine on a 14" saw.   It's what I use on my 20" horizontal resaw.    Great blade for resawing...

I just bought a wood slicer (top rated by Fine Woodworking) from Highland
Hardware. Its a 1/2" 3 tpi. I wouldn't waste money on a Timber Wolf blade.
Cut some lexan with it and it was toast. Response from the manufacturer
was, lexan will dull it. Had better luck with Grizzly blades.

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A higher purpose for wood.
Rich Smith
Issaquah, WA

Why cut a material not recommended on any blade?   You're fighting blade geometry, not quality. Learn what blades are for what materials and use them properly before you criticize.   I can run the Timberwolf blades for hours and hours of resawing wood...which is what they're designed for.    

I pretty much use one size. I use a 1/4 timberwolf blade.

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Guitars, guitars and more guitars.

My rikon 14" deluxe came standard with a 5/8" blade, but I was thinking of going with the 3/4" and just dedicate this saw to straight cuts and resawing. I've got a 10" that I do all of my small cuts and radius cuts with.
According to rikon, the 14" Deluxe will take the 3/4" just fine and the blade tension release would help extend the life of the blade.
Is the 3/4" too much to use? Would I do just as well to go with a narrower blade...even for resawing?
Is there a big difference in cut or blade longevity with a 3 tpi vs. 4 tpi?
-j.

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“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
-jack handy

There's a lot more to bandsaw blades than width and the number of teeth.   Go to the Suffolk Machinery website and read up on it all.   

This is basic woodworking stuff, kind of like knowing the difference between a crosscut saw and a rip saw.   

BTW, all this "cutting geometry" stuff extends deep into router bits as well...

The info is all out there...and not much of it is to be found here. Read up on all the saw and bit companies you can find on line.   

I should have clarified that I was asking specifically about the Timberwolf blades.
-j.

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“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
-jack handy

And thanks for the website tip, Rick. Much of the firsthand info I get at the woodworking store here is "sure, that'll work" and still leaves me scratching my head for the 'best' solution.
-j.

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“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
-jack handy

Here is the Suffolk Link: http://www.suffolkmachinery.com/

They don't seem to have much in the way of everyday usage tips...Am I missing something?

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Steve Walden
Aspiring Builder,
Bartlesville, OK

If you move your cursor over Tiber Wolf Blades, then Vertical Woodcutting Bandsaws, there are a bunch of options on tensioning, setup, general use. Mostly pertaining to the Timber Wolf brand. Also, the blade selection guide is VERY helpful.
-j.

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“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
-jack handy

there are generally three problems running wider blades on small, e.g., 14" saws.

one relates primarily to blade durability; the blade flexs a lot more on smaller wheels and the wider blades, which are also thicker, are then more  subject to metal fatigue potentially leading to premature breakage.

two relate to primarily to performance; the thicker blade requires more power to make its cut since it is removing more wood, and the blade is harder to tension. most 14" saws standard springs are not strong enough to tension 3/4" blades.

Lee Valley also sells a Timberwolf, 1/2" 3tpi.

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David White, Toronto

"All my favourite singers can't sing."

The Timberwolf ASS resaw blade is designed specifically for that purpose and it is recommended for hand feeding, though I power feed all my stuff.   That particular blade is 3/4" but is based on a thin .025" band with .010" of set for a nominal kerf of .045"...much narrower, and thus requiring less power than the usual .035" bands that often have closer to .020" set. I have cut thick billets into guitar sets, and I have done very careful measurements that confirm an actual kerf loss of about .046" on the ASS blades...a rather unfortunate part number designation!   

So you can successfully run the Timberwolf ASS resaw blades on a well tuned 14" saw.   I'd go for a 2 hp motor and probably go to Carter ball bearing guides.   I use a "Lil' Mister" mist coolant on my Baker saw, and that might not be a bad idea on a vertical saw as well. Good old kitchen "Pam" makes for an excellent blade lubricant, too.

The #1 enemy of blades and bits is heat and anything you can do to lessen that issue will make your blades last longer.   

We've probably cut several thousand guitar sets on my resaw, a lot for ourselves, but also wood that has wound up everywhere from Fender to Taylor to Martin to Roberto Venn.   Most has been sliced using the Timberwolf ASS model blades.   I've run Lennox and Laguna carbide, and the Lennox was very good, but if you hit a rock or a nail...all too common in this biz...you just wrote a check for $270.00 or so.   In quantities of 30, the Timberwolf blades come down nicely under $30.00 for 14' 2" blades that run on my Baker.

BTW, Roberto Venn just got a Baker...congrats, John!