Bandsaw Blade Recommendations – Question of the Week
This week’s question comes from Gatorbait. He writes:
“I value your opinion on tool recommendations. I am very new to bandsaws. I just snagged the 14″ Powermatic (as you know from a previous email) and am looking for a few new blades (only because I heard the ones that come with the saw are horrible). Do you have any recommendations on manufacturers, blades, etc? I’m running the saw with the riser block so I’m looking at 105″ blades.”
And here was my reply:
“I would recommend either Timberwolf or Lenox blades, simply because those are the two I had the most success with. Both are fantastic. I would also recommend using the stock blade for a while. The reason is for your own knowledge as a woodworker. The stock blades cut pretty good for a while, but quickly dull and become crap (in most cases). So I think its important to use that blade for a while so you can actually see and feel an improvement when you install the new blade. You will also learn how to recognize when a blade is dull. Not to mention, there is definitely a lot of life in that stock blade and it’s a waste to just throw it out. Even if you only get a month out of it, you are still ahead of the game. More importantly, when you spend good money on a premium blade, you will have first-hand knowledge and experience that will go a long way in helping you justify spending the extra dough. Hope that helps.”
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Marc,
Hey man, could you also give some info. on tpi and size type blades, for instance what would be good for general purpose, straight cuts, tight cuts, resawing, etc.?
The subject of bandsaw blades reminded me of a funny thing that happened to me installing probably the third blade I got. I installed it and then noticed the teeth were angled up instead of down. I thought.. What the hell I must have gotten a left handed blade or something. I took it back off and twisted it and the teeth popped around to the other side. I laughed at myself for about a week on that one.
Hey Jason. I can tell you, or I can just tell you to watch this:
http://thewoodwhisperer.com/ep.....uptune-up/
My recommendations are toward the end.
:)
Hey Marc,
Thanks for the advise (again). I took it (sort of). I did buy a resaw blade for a piece I am working on. However, I will stick with the stock blade for a while (dang these things can get expensive). I too think it will help to learn the difference between a so-so blade and a good one. I’m having a lot of fun with this sucker. It’s a great saw in case anyone is looking for one.
I’m sort of biased towards MK Morse blades myself. We make carbon bands in a variety of sizes and tooth configurations as well as several types of bimetal bands. And you can do a blade trial where if you don’t like how our blades perform, we’ll give you your money back. Oh… and our blades are all made in Ohio. Some of our largest competitors cant say that anymore.
Sorry for the plug, but this topic hits close to home.
Thanks man, will do!
By the way, I will have to add an endorsement for MK Morse blades http://www.mkmorse.com/. While I haven’t used their bandsaw blades, I have used many of their other offerings. I expect that their bandsaw blades are just as good. In fact, you will see a MK Morse blade make a guest appearance in the next podcast.
The timber wolf line is the best.
Remember to round off the back edges of the band saw blades with a stone or sand paper.
Congrats on your choice of Powermatic. I made the same choice 3 years ago and heve never regreted it. The best for the money in that size (14″)
Hey Mike, can you expand on your comment of ’rounding off’ the back edges of the blade. Is this just so to remove the sharp edge?
Chris….you’re not alone with the teeth pointing up and thinking you got the wrong type of band saw blade. LOL It took me the better part of an hour to realize that I’d mounted it inside out!
I would agree with Mark on the Tiberwolf blades by sulfolk machinery. I do alot of resawing when I am making shaker cabinet doors and so far the TW blades have outlasted just about everything else, plus they are a great value. You can pretty much grab the entire guantlet of sizes and be under 100 bucks…….
Good advice above on rounding off the back of your blades, you will be glad you did it when resawing squirrly wood like African Mahogony or Alder…..
John
I was wondering if anyone has used the Wood Slicer from Highland Hardware, and can support their reviews. It is a .022 high tension blade 3-4 TPI variable tooth pitch design.
I have a Wood Slicer on my band saw right now. It’s the best blade for resawing that I’ve tried so far. I am very impressed.
I have a grizzly 14″ metal cutting bandsaw model num. G8145.This bandsaw has no fence and no t-slot for a miter gauge.I would like to put a fence and miter gauge on this bandsaw.I know there is a universal fence that many need to be modified to fit.. But my real question is ? How or what do I use to be able to use a miter gauge without a t-slot. I can not cut for a t-slot due to the cast iron is only 3/8″ thick. The table is not solid but it’s 2″ thick at the sides. Do you have any ideas how or what I can purchase to make this work? thx mike
Hey Michael. The only thing I can think of would be to build an auxillary top that contains the miter slot. Of course this will take away some of your vertical space but I really see no other way of doing it. Maybe someone else will chime in with an idea.
Hey Mark,
I just installed a 3/4″ Viking blade in my 14″ band saw and the blade seems to be slightly twisted. Is there anything I can do to fix it?
Thanks.
Hey Raf. That’s a tough one to fix. A kink or a twist that leads to blade instability is really a recipe for disaster. Minimally, you’ll get bad vibration. Worse case scenario you get a very unstable blade that walks off the wheel. So if I ever have a blade with a kink or a twist, I will send it back to the manufacturer just to be safe.
Good luck.