I recently bought a Rikon 10” bandsaw. I make small things, mostly boxes and will be doing quite a bit of re-saving from fairly small boards; 1 to 2 inches thick by 4 “ tall by 24 inches long. I have 1/2 inch 3 tpi blade and a 5/16 6 tpi. Can the smaller blade be used effectively as a resaw blade? The 1/2 blade works well but but needs quite a bit of cleanup.
comments appreciated
regards
Tim
Toronto
Replies
Try it!
Now that’s a good idea! I’ll let you know how it turns out. It’ll be good practice for changing blades.
If the saw it set up and running right and you have a suitable blade, yes.
I have kept a 1/4" blade on my 14" bandsaw for years for cutting right curves. I have resawn with it several times. Tooth count is not good for really wide boards but I have done short pieces.
There is a lot of information missing in your original question. First, what horsepower is the saw? A 4" board at 6TPI means 24 teeth are biting at the wood. A weak saw may not be able to hack that for 24" of resawing. Other factor to consider is the type of wood. A softer wood (chestnut, alder, fir, pine, etc) may be more viable than a hard wood (oak, hickory, sapele, purpleheart, etc).
Another option to consider is the hook on the blade. If the cuts need a lot of clean up, you may have a blade with a lot of hook. Instead of more teeth, look at less hook. The general rule for resaw blades is wider and fewer teeth. That give the sawdust someplace to go with out excessive heat build up - which tends to dull blades.
That 5/16th blade seems like it may try to porpoise all over the place on you. A half inch is my lower comfort limit for resaw. I tend to use 3/4 or 1" -but I do larger pieces.
Go with the 1/2" 3tpi. 12 teeth in the cut on a saw not meant for resaw work will give you a cleaner result. That 6tpi will plug up and wander inside the board leaving a lot of waste and even more cleanup work.
After you get over the Amazon price shock, this might work on your 10” Rikon. The re-saw cut quality of a carbide blade is usually good and I would consider finding a place that will resharpen it before you buy.
Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I’m really enjoying working with a bandsaw and these ideas give me a path forward.
Resaw King is realy the way to go, I make lamination grade cuts with it. On a 10 inch bandsaw with only a few inches throat capacité you Will not have to think about sharpening for a decade.
I have the Rikon 14" saw. I use a 5/8" carbide impregnated blade from Lee Valley. Along with the quality of the saw the blade is a dream to resaw with. I recently did 8" wide eastern maple down to an eigth of an inch and have resawn down to a sixteenth. Very little cleanup, just a pass with the drum sander. The carbide tipped resaw blade has been a game changer for my woodworking. I can stretch my wood budget by veneering most sides or tops.
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