I own a laguana 16″HD band saw. I want to buy a few band saw blades of various sizes. However, I would like to try and buy top shelf blades.
Past experiance in buying better quality tools and assesories seems to pay off in the long haul. However, I need some advice with this; because I have no knowledge about band saw manufactureres and best rated blades.
Please provide advice for a novice.
Replies
Some (not all) of the companies making blades are: Lenox, Starrett, Morse, Simonds, Olson, and DoAll. I would recommend Lenox as a place to start. One article in a past FWW recommended a bimetal 1/4", .025, 3-4 tpi blades. Another recommended the same size in carbide tipped blades. If you go to a .035 in thickness, it wears out and cracks before the carbide is worn out. I have a 1/2", .035, 3tpi on my LT-16 and haven't had any trouble. You can also purchase blades in 100' rolls on ebay for a discount and silver solder them together. It isn't hard to do and will save you money.
Be aware that many, many Mini Max owners will tell you that your machine is crap. Why, I don't know. I have never seen a MM up close and compared it to mine. When I made the decision to buy mine about 2 1/2 years ago, I don't recall seeing MM in any of the comparisons that were made in the buying guides. I think it is kind of senseless to cut somebody down for what brand of saw they purchased. There is always one that is better than what you have, no matter what brand. Just have fun with what you have. I will always want a American 36" bandsaw, no matter that it wouldn't fit in my small shop. I still dream.
Chuck,
As a Minimax owner, I can't make myself let your comment lie. I for one am not going to tell you that your Laguna is a piece of crap. They're great saws - not my choice for the same money - but still great saws. We do agree that whatever you have there is always bigger and better.
As to blades I've read the same things you have. The .035 blades break before wearing out the carbide on a 16" wheel. I use Timberwolf for the present but understand Lenox is coming out with a thinner carbide blade that should hold up better on both our saws.
Jim
Thanks for your honest opinion. Several times when I have mentioned that I have a Laguna and that the difference was like ford vs chevy, people have said "more like cadilac to chevy. It just bugged me. If I had seen a MM in person, I might have bought one. I never saw a Laguna in person either before I bought it. I just read the reviews and saw the video. If I could do it over again, I would look hard at ebay. I talked to one person who had bought a 36" saw for a real good price and was jealous.
I am very happy with my saw. I started out with a 14" clone that was sold for $150 at a garage sale because the switch arrived broken. It had some other alignment problems too. I worked through them and learned a bunch. I like the 12" cutting height. I had saved some thick wood for 2 years waiting for a larger saw. When I cut into a large old weathered piece of wood and discovered it was walnut burl, I knew the wait was worth it. Have a good evening.
Chuck,
I am also a MiniMax owner, and I will also tell you that your Laguna is not crap. I looked into both, and just decided the minimax looked better built to me. The Fence and guides seem nicer on the Laguna, but I figured I could always upgrade those. You're pretty much stuck with everything else. I just bought the one I thought was better; at least for me.
As to the blades, most people I have talked to agree anything more the .027 will undergo too much stress on a 16" wheel. This includes all carbide blades I know of. The most important part of the blade IMO is the weld. A great band w/ a crappy weld will not perform well. Also, if you buy a blade that costs half as much as another and performs 90% as good, you will not feel as bad about replacing it with a new blade, and throwing out / reshapening the cheaper blade. So if you stretch the life of the expensive blade, it might not give as good results as the cheaper one you don't mind replacing.
The place I use and am happy with is BC Saw company, which is an industrial supplier in Canada. They have an excellent welder there, and their blades are very reasonably priced. I can't say I have better or worse results with their blades than with other companies, but I don't think there is a magic blade that will give perfect performance on a BS. Technique and your saw are more important than your bands. Google to find BC Saw's website, and their phone is there.
Tom
I bought a 1/2" 3tpi .035 carbide right after I bought my saw. I haven't broke it yet. I bought a couple of carbide tipped blades on ebay for about $45.00 each. They are 133 and 233". I will cut them down to 130" and have them welded at school when I need them. The original will probably last longer because I have a ready replacement. I haven't seen any carbide blades on ebay since I bought them.
I am putting Carter roller guides on my saw. Another ebay buy. Several time, the european guides came loose and let the blade wonder. It was usually the lower guide doing this. I started using channel locks to tighten the set nuts.
So far I have been happy with my band saw but occasionally have "band saw envy" when I see the 36" monsters. Thanks for your response.
Just curious how long you have been using that carbide blade? You said you had 16" wheels, right? Do you keep the bandsaw under a lot of tension or no?
Tom
I release the tension on the blade when I am not using the band saw. I have not used the BS very much at all in the last year. Back surgury does that to you. I only have made a couple of BS boxes and sliced up some walnut into slabs to dry. I have also returned to school full time. At this rate the blade will last a long time. I think a carbide blade is the way to go if you can afford the purchase price. It has cut mesquite, walnut, apricot, and other woods grown around here. I am only a hobby WW, not a production shop. I like having two bandsaws. The 14" has a 1/16" or 1/8" blade on it with Carter guides all the time.
Hi
I'll second the comment about Lenox (American Saw) carbide tipped bandsaw blades for resawing. I use an Agazanni Cosma 700 (28in) bandsaw (sold iunder the Eagle Euro and in the States, I believe) and that's precisely what works best for me in 3/4in and 1-1/4in hook tooth 2 / 3 tpi varipitch (no harmonics on stuff like ebony). I have also tried the Highland Hardware Wood Slicer carbon steel on a smaller 14in saw I have in the shop - very impressive if a trifle short lived, but at the price I suppose I shouldn't complain. I've also used Starrett blades in the 14in BS and was quite frankly underwhelmed. Can't recommend any other blades on your side of the big pond
Regards
Scrit
Thanks for the help.
I've been very happy with Timberwolf blades at http://www.suffolkmachine.com, but not everyone likes them.
bigchip,
After trying many of the “hyped” blades made for woodworking, and being somewhat disappointed with them, I switched to Starrett Bi-Metal blades(Power Band Matrix II). These have given me great results on my Jet 14”, which I use everyday. For resawing, I like the 4 pitch with positive rake, and for general work the 8-12 variable pitch. For my machine, I use the .025” and nothing wider than 3/8”, but for your more stout machine, you are not limited in this way and could use the .035” blades and at least the ½” width. These blades are available from almost any dealer supplying tools to the machine trades.
I was recently given a 3/8” wide resaw blade from Timberwolf, and this has preformed well, although it won’t last as long as the Starrett. I used the Starrett general purpose blade (8-12 pitch) on my saw for over one year, before it needed to be replaced, which is pretty impressive, when you consider I work 8-9 hours a day, and rarely use my table saw.
Rob Millard
Thanks for your advice !
I've been watching this discussion with interest, but not commenting 'cause I run a 14" bandsaw with minimal resaw experience. However, I have been using the low-tension Timberwolf blades, which work great. My concern is that the TW blades are spoken of as if they are all the same, when in fact they offer a (to me) a dizzying array of blades, both with regard to material and configuration.
This leads to a question I hope someone can answer: I don't the see the word "carbide" anywhere I've looked in their catalog or on the web-site. I do see, on the "bi-metal bands" page notations of "M2, Matrix, M-42, Cobalt." Do any of these notations refer to carbide?forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Hi! Nope. Last time I spoke with Suffolk they told me they don't sell a carbide (or Stellite) blade, nor do they need to. The Stellite blades I've gotten from Laguna, at around a dollar and inch, have not worked well at all and I have replaced them with Timberwolf resaw blades -- 3 tpi, 3/4 inch. I use these for general resawing of domestic and exotic hardwoods. The Stellite blades I have are only used for green wood cutting. The welds on them are so bad you have to take care that they track without banging against the blade guard or the thrust bearing. Even if the welds were OK, I'd reserve their use for rough cuts only. Considering their cost, it's not much of a tradeoff with Timberwolf which are only about a tenth the cost.
If the range of blade choices offered by Suffolk is confusing, and I agree it tends to be, just call 'em. I do keep several sizes in stock, but they're all the same steel. Just different widths and pitches.
Edited 1/21/2004 2:19:22 PM ET by JIMMACMAHON
Forestgirl asks
a question I hope someone can answer: I don't the see the word "carbide" anywhere I've looked in their catalog or on the web-site. I do see, on the "bi-metal bands" page notations of "M2, Matrix, M-42, Cobalt." Do any of these notations refer to carbide?
No, sorry forestgirl
They're various grades of High speed steel - the 'matrix' refers to the body of the blade typically a high carbon spring steel, the teeth are harder.
Here's a link describing manufacture of bimetal blades (thanks Sandvik - no affiliation)
http://www.detroitbandsaw.com/sandvik.ivnu
Included in the above link is a hint at their carbide and metal range.
Tool steel grades summarised in the link below. As a (really) general rule, the more alloying elements, and the higher the carbon level, the easier it is to break the steel, but it's wear resistance and hardness also increase.
http://www.crucibleservice.com/eselector/general/generalpart1.html
http://www.sousacorp.com/TS-Comp.htm#HIGH-CARBON,%20%20HIGH%20CHROMIUM%20%20COLD%20WORK%20STEEL
As well, a fairly good article on choosing a bandasw blade
http://www.woodworkingshows.com/choosingbandsawblades.htm
Cheers,
eddie
Thanks, Eddie. No need to be "sorry" -- I was looking for info, pure and simple. If at any point I need or can justify carbide-tipped blades, I'll call Lennox! <g>forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Forest girl, you also can contact Louis Iturra in Florida. He carries lennox bi-metal as well as 1/2", 3/4", 1" carbide blades. Louis is very knowledgable and will help in any way he can. I'm sorry I don't have a number, and he is not on the web. He does advertise in FWW, look for "Iturra Design"
Bill
Hi Bill. I have their catalog and frequently refer people to them also. Am going to order their aftermarket spring and thrust bearings next month I think. A great company!forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Hi Rob.
Did I understand you correctly that you use the Starrett metal cutting blade for wood resawing?
If so, does the 3/8" wide blade work well for resawing? What results have you gotten with other widths, or other teeth configurations?
I've been looking for good blades for resawing for a long time, and settled on the Timberwolf line. They're good, but don't last as long as I think they should. Your duty cycle of 1 year for your blade is unbelieveable...are you teasing? :)
Thanks.
The Starrett blades are indeed made for metalworking. I became aware of them when I worked in a machine shop for awhile. They used these blades to make some impressively accurate cuts, even by metalworking standards. No, I'm not kidding about the longevity of the Starrett Blades for general purpose use, but for resawing they won't last that long. They do last much longer than the other blades I've tried, including the Timberwolf. I used ½" wide blades when I first started with the bandsaw, but after deciding that they required more tension than my Jet 14" could provide, I switched to 3/8" wide blades. The switch to the 3/8" blade dramatically improved the predictability of my resawing. I keep three types of Starrett blades, and one Delta blade on hand, .035"x 3/8" 4 pitch, .035"x 3/8" 10-14 variable pitch, and a .035"x ¼" 10-14 pitch (for scroll work). I use the Delta 3/16" for tight scroll work. The variable pitch of two of those blades, helps to reduce vibrations. The 3/8"x 10-14 is blade that lasted one year on my saw. I use this blade for everyday cutting and resawing up to 6".
Rob Millard
Chip,
I've had the same saw for a year and a half now and have been also trying to find the best blades. The lennox seem fine for most work but I do a lot of hardwood resawing and that's been the toughest to find. I have also tried the Highland Hardware Wood Slicer carbon steel - didn't last long. I finally saved up and bought the Laguna 1" resaw blade about 6 months ago, it still cuts like it just came out of the box! Very thin kerf too. My understanding about carbide blades is that on this size saw and smaller, the curve of the wheel is too small and they crack easily.
Norse
I have the same 1" blade and have had it for several years and I'm happy with it.
Now i just want to add a few smaller blades. Maybe I'll give lenox a try.
Thanks for the help.
I have the same bandsaw as you and have bought a whole family of blades from Suffolk (Timberwolf brand) as mentioned above. They have been a lifesaver for me after trying others, epecially a couple of Laguna's blades which almost caused me to return the saw. The Timberwolf blades are priced right and their customer service is outstanding. Call them and ask anything you want to concerning bandsaws. They're great!
Appreciate your help. I'll check it out.
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