Hello All,
I am the recent recipient of a new GO457 bandsaw ( http://www.grizzly.com/images/specsheets/g0457_ds.pdf) and I need some blades.
For resawing I am most interested in the Woodslicer 3/4, but I am a bit concerned if I will be able to get enough tension. Grizzly specs a 3/4 as the maximum. Is anyone running this, or similar, saw with a 3/4.
I have no real thought re a 3/8 or 1/2 general purpose blade. Suggestions are welcome please.
This saw states a length range of 105 3/4″ to 107 1/4″, but 106″ is stated in the manual.
Edited 8/29/2008 12:12 pm ET by TWG
Replies
With that frame style, I would think the G0457 would much better handle a Woodslicer than the G0555 would. No harm in trying. Suffolk Machinery makes the great Timberwolf, low-tension bandsaw blades. A phone call to them will get you all the help you need in selecting a few blades to get you started on upcoming projects.
They have a new resaw blade that has gotten great reviews from folks who've used it, the VPC (Variable Positive Claw) would be worth checking out. This page gives extensive info about blade models and such.
A good lead FG,
A bit of a tricky sit to navigate - for me anyway. I haven't found the sales pitch on the VPC.
I have been happy with the Viking blade but am always willing to look at options.
Their carbide blade looks interesting, but won't fit a 14" machine.
Probably just saved a significant amount of money :-)Thanks for the info.Don
The description of the VPC is lower on the second page I linked you to. Yes, their site is a bit convoluted, but partly because there is a ton of information there.
Scroll down on this page about 3/4's of the way for the VPC info. Also their toll-free number is at the bottom of that page.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Ah yes the little wheel on the mouse.I do believe I shall order one of these and give it a try.Thanks again FGDon
Edited 8/29/2008 7:26 pm by Don01
LMK how you like it, Don. I'll be placing an order with them next month, as hubby put a bit of a crink in the bandsaw blade that's on there now.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
TWG
I would like to hear your opinion of this machine when you get some experience using it. I am considering this machine as my next purchase. Or if any one else has been using this machine I would like to hear from you also
Thanks to all.
gpssam
Can't comment on the Grizzly saw compatability, but I run a 3/8"x3TPI blade in my General 14" w/riser almost exclusively. Not that it matters, but it has an extra thick kerf as it is designed to cut green wood.
Chris @ www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
I have the griz 17"HD BS. It was reccomended here that I chuck the stock blade and buy the timberwolfe blades. I did and don't requret it. Give them a call and speak with someone. They will ask your model and how do you intend to use it and will make a reccomendation. The blades are great
If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
TWG,
That's a good machine. I used their basic 14" machine for years and it performed beautifully. There are 2 keys to successful band saw operation, 1. a sharp blade, correctly welded, with the proper set and number of teeth for the work and 2. correctly adjusting the saw.
There are many brands that produce excellent blades. Any one will give good results. I started using Timberwolf blades several years ago and they are great. They advocate much lower tension for their blade than is the standard "mindset" by most people who have bandsaws and from most other manufacturers.
Then I read Michael Fortune's article in FWW, Dec. 2004 #173. I think this article is a must read for anyone who uses one of these machines. I had been using wood working equipment for decades, but that article taught me things I had never realized before.
His advice seems to fly in the face of that found in almost any bandsaw book you can pick up. He is absolutely right in everything he says. Michael is an advocate of low blade tension for ALL blades. He describes the technique for tuning out the so-called "normal drift" that everyone else says is characteristic of band saw blades. No band saw should cut anything but a line perfectly parallel to the guiding fence.
He advocates using a blade with a very low number of teeth per inch, 3 tpi, for just about EVERYthing. Again, he is absolutely right. The coarser the blade, the smoother the cut. This is because the bandsaw blade must clear the gullets of sawdust in order to cut well. The more teeth per inch, the harder it is to do that. He uses 3 tpi for re-sawing at the capacity of the saw, or cutting very thin stock. One blade for everything.
He recommended a 3 tpi skip tooth blade from BC Saw and Tool in Canada in that article (888-251-2236, http://www.bcsaw.com) because they are good blades, they cost less than $10 a blade and they give discounts in quantity. This is less than half the Timberwolf price. I bought a quantity of those blades and have never looked back. These blades are as good as any other you can buy at any price. A 1/2", 3 tpi is all I need for almost everything but small curves. I have some 1/8" blades for that. I'll be getting a 17" saw in a few weeks. I'm going to see if a larger blade does anything better than a 1/2" blade on that machine. But I'll stick to 3 tpi.
There is nothing worse than not being able to put a new blade on the machine when your blade has dulled, or a tooth or series of teeth has been bent or lost their set (happens routinely all the time). A new, sharp blade makes all the difference and having (great) inexpensive blades on hand encourages blade changing, rather than pushing against a dull blade and getting poor results (and blaming it on the machine).
If you can, get a copy of that article. You'll be glad you did. FWW should run it again.
Rich
Edited 8/30/2008 8:47 am ET by Rich14
Have you considered the Resaw King from Laguna Tools. I have this blade and it produces a very clean edge, similar to what you might expect from a table saw.
You can send them off for sharpening when they get dull.
Hastings
Thanks for the replies everyone. I am going to look into the blades everyone recommended when business hours resume.
I was able to speak to someone with my saw and they have no problem tensioning the 3/4 Woodslicer.
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