I just finished Lonnie Bird’s “The Bandsaw Book”, in which he says to abandon any notion of using a 3/4″ blade in a 14″ bandsaw because you simple cannot tension it sufficiently. He recommends sticking to 1/2″ width blades at most.
In other posts here at Knots, though, I’ve read a lot about Timberwolf blades, which are said to perform well at much lower tensions than traditional carbon steel.
My question is this: do they perform well enough that I could get effective use of a 3/4″ inch blade (for resawing) on my 14″ Grizzly?
Thanks,
-M.
Replies
I have tensioned a 3/4 timerbolf blade on a 14" and produced good results. Having said that, I have been using a 1/2" blade and getting the same results, so it seems a little unnecessary to go with the 3/4. Recently, I've been using the Woodslicer blade from Highland Hardware and getting much better results than with Timberwolf.
It all depends on what you are trying to do.
I resaw 6" high H. Mahogany to 1/8" finish thickness. (I allow .030") to clean up the sawed face. I get zero scrap. (I do the same with 8" high burl from time to time.)
I use a 3/4" blade on a 14" saw.
There are too many people who think they have found THE solution.
Why not just accept what Bird says? Mark Duginske in his bandsaw books says the same thing. A good 1/2" resaw blade will cut every bit as well as a good 3/4". There is no benefit to the wider blade on a 14" bandsaw. The crown in the tire on a 14" saw does not allow the correct contact and support for the wider blades and frequently, the wider blade does not perform as well as the 1/2" blade.
The folks at Suffolk Machinery (makers of Timberwolf blades) are very helpful when you have questions like yours. Give them a call and get one of their tech guys on the phone. Tell him specifically what your resaw task is and he'll suggest the appropriate blade and answer any other questions you have. 1-800-234-7297
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
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