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New Bandsaw blade

Emiliano Achaval

Emiliano Achaval

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Location
Maui, Hawaii
Website
hawaiiankoaturner.com
As most of you know, I hosted Stuart Batty for classes and a demo at my shop. My bandsaw blade was dull, and I had a replacement. Lo and behold, Timberwolves blades sent me the wrong size! 2 in a package, one was right, the other wasn't. I have over 20 new blades that came with the used Jet 18 in bandsaw. Stuart chose one that was one inch and 1.4, with 3 or 4 tpi. I had several 3/8 too. He told me he uses wide blades, they stand up longer to the abuse of cutting hundreds of blanks, and he resharpens them up to 4 times. I ordered the one he recommended. Bought it from Rocky Mountain Saw Blades, in Boulder, CO. He likes a German-made, bi-metal 3 to 4 tooth blade, 1 in wide. I installed the blade today, cuts really, really nice. Of course, I can't do a perfect circle, but that doesn't bother me, I can bring it to round in seconds on my lathe. To be honest, I do not know what the 3 to 4 tooth means, LOL. Stuart cut countless blanks, most of them green, during the almost 8 days of classes. I made a mountain of shavings, cut-offs, practice bowls, and more. It's a good thing that I have a 150-foot deep gulch behind my shop. A nice touch was that Rocky Mountain sent me, and Wayne Omura that he also bought a blade, a nice T-shirt, and one obsolete mouse pad, LOL Stuart is not only an amazing turner, but I have never seen anyone so good and comfortable with a bandsaw. We filled my dust extractor large bags twice with all the dust from the 8 days. I will report on the performance of the blade, and how it is after I sharpen it in a few months.
 
Several owners ... I added the riser block .... someone added a new motor with pegboard motor cover ... I added the table and a new blade.

charlie2.jpg
 
For cutting rounds, I have used half inch blades with 3 tpi/teeth per inch. The set of the teeth is pretty important as well. For cutting rounds you want a wider set so you can easily clear the swarf/dust. If you are trying to cut veneers, then you want a carbide tipped blade with a narrow set to the teeth, so you don't waste wood and get a cut that requires little to no sanding, as long as your set up on your saw is nearly perfect. I have used the Lennox bimetal blades for ever. The teeth are M42 HSS. No clue as to a brand name of bimetal blades from Germany. Lennox blades are very high quality. I do keep a 1 1/4 inch blade on my big saw for cutting slabs. It isn't good for cutting rounds unless the arc is about a 5 foot radius. A 1/2 inch blade can cut 5 inch diameter fairly easily. Main things that make blades break are pushing too hard, not having the blade thrust guides set properly, and leaving the upper blade guide too high. You want the upper guide no more than 1 inch above the wood you are cutting. If it is higher, you are bending the blade, and this, plus pushing too hard starts stress cracks on the back side of the blade.

robo hippy
 
robo hippy said:
For cutting rounds, I have used half inch blades with 3 tpi/teeth per inch. The set of the teeth is pretty important as well. For cutting rounds you want a wider set so you can easily clear the swarf/dust. If you are trying to cut veneers, then you want a carbide tipped blade with a narrow set to the teeth, so you don't waste wood and get a cut that requires little to no sanding, as long as your set up on your saw is nearly perfect. I have used the Lennox bimetal blades for ever. The teeth are M42 HSS. No clue as to a brand name of bimetal blades from Germany. Lennox blades are very high quality. I do keep a 1 1/4 inch blade on my big saw for cutting slabs. It isn't good for cutting rounds unless the arc is about a 5 foot radius. A 1/2 inch blade can cut 5 inch diameter fairly easily. Main things that make blades break are pushing too hard, not having the blade thrust guides set properly, and leaving the upper blade guide too high. You want the upper guide no more than 1 inch above the wood you are cutting. If it is higher, you are bending the blade, and this, plus pushing too hard starts stress cracks on the back side of the blade.

robo hippy
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Great information! I’ll check to see the brand of my blade. Thanks

Since I have lots of really wide blades, I have been using them. I do not need to make a perfect circle. And that is also Stuart's idea. He wants the blanks for his classes not perfectly round. One of the things he teaches is a left handed cut to balance the blank.
 
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Mark Jundanian said:
I believe the tooth spacing varies as you go around the band. One section will be 3 per inch, the next section 4 per inch, then 3, then 4 and so on.

As to why this is done, I can shed no light.
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Makes sense now. Thanks Mark. When I ordered it, the guy asked if I knew that I needed a slow speed for this blade. I said of course. LOL. I mentioned this to Stuart. He said he has been using this type of blade for years, with regular woodworking bandsaw. I was not aware that a steel bandsaw has a different, slower, speed.
 
Mark Jundanian said:
I believe the tooth spacing varies as you go around the band. One section will be 3 per inch, the next section 4 per inch, then 3, then 4 and so on.

As to why this is done, I can shed no light.
Click to expand...

If I am not mistaken the tooth spacing varies smoothly (probably sinusoidally) between 3 and 4 TPI. Regardless of how the tooth spacing varies, the reason for the variable spacing is to dampen any blade resonances thus making the blade run smoother.
 
Emiliano Achaval said:
Makes sense now. Thanks Mark. When I ordered it, the guy asked if I knew that I needed a slow speed for this blade. I said of course. LOL. I mentioned this to Stuart. He said he has been using this type of blade for years, with regular woodworking bandsaw. I was not aware that a steel bandsaw has a different, slower, speed.
Click to expand...
My Grizley GO555 have two sizes of pulley. I think meat saws are higher speed
 
Emiliano Achaval said:
... I ordered the one he recommended. Bought it from Rocky Mountain Saw Blades, in Boulder, CO. He likes a German-made, bi-metal 3 to 4 tooth blade, 1 in wide. I installed the blade today, cuts really, really nice. ...
Click to expand...
Emiliano: Did you ever figure out the brand and details for that blade? Wanted to look into it myself. Thanks, Scott
 
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