Got my Timberwolves on order!

[dbhost]

They are running a buy 3 get 1 free offer again. So I grabbed.

2@ 1/2" hook pattern I don't recall, but they were supposed to be good for green & dried wood, up to 10"...

1 @ 3/8 4PC For cutting curves like my toy car builds, bandsaw boxes etc...

1 @ 1/4 6PC

Hope I grabbed the right stuff. With the pricing, if these turn out to be good blades, I will go back and get a few more sizes / tooth profiles...

[cgallery]

I tried my first Timberwolf blade a week or two ago. It was a 1/2 x 3 TPI (hook). It was on sale for $10 at my local Woodcraft. It cuts better than anything else I've ever tried, except the Blade Runner from Iturra.

If the Blade Runner ever becomes too expensive or impossible to get, I'd be very happy using the Tumerwolf blades. I think you'll really like 'em.

Oh, and the blade runner only goes down to 1/2. So I've already been thinking about ordering some thinner blades from Suffolk.

[jziegler]

Thanks for the heads up on this one. I've been thinking of getting some decent blades for a while, I guess I'll need to call while they have this offer.

Jim

[drumpriest]

I'm with cgallery, the timber wolf blades are good, but not quite as good as the wood slicer (much the same blade as the Iturra). For veneer resaw, the wood slicer is just crazy good. I use timberwolf for everything else.

[dbhost]

Well. The Timberwolves came in this afternoon. I did some fence oriented resawing of an unknown limb that was Hurricane Ike blowdown. About 8" thick. The stuff is EXTREMELY heavy, and has a gray / reddish peeled bark, with light sapwood, and almost red heartwood. I tried splitting this stuff with a 5lb splitting maul and only made myself tired. This same limb bogged down a Craftsman 18" gas chainsaw with a freshly sharpened chain. And yes, I did bog it down. I stopped the operation and looked to see what happened, and somehow my lower blade guide shifted, and had jammed the blade. A couple of seconds with an allen wrench later and I am off to cutting smooth, straight cuts.

Does it cut like a 3HP Grizzly 19" band saw? What do you think?

What it does do is makes the 1HP Central Machinery bandsaw actually respectable. It cuts well for what it is.

Oh yeah, anyone that can help me identify what I was resawing tonight, please do... I have no clue what this stuff is...

By the way, I am using the 1/2" PC 3 TPI blades. I have heard great things about the Woodslicer, but did NOT want to push a 3/4" blade with my 1HP saw...

[Kristofor]

Oh yeah, anyone that can help me identify what I was resawing tonight, please do... I have no clue what this stuff is...

Pics? It won't help me identify your tree but it might for someone else. As a bonus then I might learn something

[cgallery]

By the way, I am using the 1/2" PC 3 TPI blades. I have heard great things about the Woodslicer, but did NOT want to push a 3/4" blade with my 1HP saw...

Then get the 1/2" Woodslicer/Blade Runner.

They're also slightly thinner kerf (.022") than the TW blades.

[Bill in Buena Park]

By the way, I am using the 1/2" PC 3 TPI blades. I have heard great things about the Woodslicer, but did NOT want to push a 3/4" blade with my 1HP saw...

Dave,
Your saw is designed to handle up to 3/4in blades, just like the other 14" models - I put a 3/4in 3tpi Timberwolf on my Delta, and it works great. I looked at the 1/2in 3tpi TW to compare, and the only think I noticed was the 3/4in has larger teeth and gullets. The wider blade is also supposed to help cut straighter, and I believe mine did so very nicely.

[dbhost]

Dave,
Your saw is designed to handle up to 3/4in blades, just like the other 14" models - I put a 3/4in 3tpi Timberwolf on my Delta, and it works great. I looked at the 1/2in 3tpi TW to compare, and the only think I noticed was the 3/4in has larger teeth and gullets. The wider blade is also supposed to help cut straighter, and I believe mine did so very nicely.

I am not unhappy with how straight my cuts were. Considering I slabbed a side more or less freehand, and based the rest of the cuts off of the cheapo Craftsman fence, a pass or two through the planer should get this completely straight...

I also resawed some SYP 2x4s for practice runs, and the TWs blow through it at an obscene rate, so the slowdown I experienced with the mystery wood was honestly, mostly due to a VERY hard, dense wood, which is kind of to be expected with a 1HP saw...

A while back somebody had a 1.5HP 220v band saw motor in the classifieds. I was awfully tempted to upgrade my saw with that... Sort of overkill for this thing though...

I'm not even sure where to get Woodslicer blades, but I can say is that there seems to be a bit of debate over Timberwolf / Woodslicer as far as quality / performance. I like my TWs so far... But have had them less than a day so hard to tell long term...

[SARGE..g-47]

Woodslicers are from Highland WW which is formerly Highland Hardware down the street here in Atlanta. The blade Jesse sells at Iturra is supposely the same blade at a lower cost. I cannont comment as I have not used it. Woodslicers were only available up to 1/2" until about two years ago when they came out with a 3/4" blade.

I used the 1/2" WS for many years on a 14" BS as have many others. I personally don't care for the TW for re-saw as I just don't like low tension blades but most swear by them.. especially for curves. I run a 3/4" Lennox bi-metal on my 18" BS for re-saw. It does as well as the Woodslicer with a 3 tpi configuration. I switched to bi-metal as it will stay sharper about 6-7 times as long as a WS for about $10 more per blade.

With that said.. I would not run a 3/4" blade on a 14" BS. My 18" BS will take up to 1 1/4" but.. there is absolutely no need to use one that wide. I could run 1/2" bi-metal on my 18" and actually I do as I use 1/2" 4 tpi to rip thick beams on occasion. A 14" saw will take a 3/4" blade but.. it really doesn't have the size springs to tension it properly IMO. And you are maxing the wheel out with that width. Of course you can upgrade to heavier springs but by the time you do that and switch to Carter guides you might as well have gotten a larger BS as you wil sink about as much after adding a riser block.

And.. if you were to get a WS to do those green.. wet logs... simply Don't.. The Woodslicer does not perform well in wet wood period. Highland sells a special 3/8" blade made especially for green wood and turners who cut wet wood from trunks for turning blanks. It only cost about $12_$15 I believe or did when I got one about a year ago.

Good luck...

[dbhost]

And.. if you were to get a WS to do those green.. wet logs... simply Don't.. The Woodslicer does not perform well in wet wood period. Highland sells a special 3/8" blade made especially for green wood and turners who cut wet wood from trunks for turning blanks. It only cost about $12_$15 I believe or did when I got one about a year ago.

Good luck...

No problems. Yeah, my TW 1/2" was selected as it was supposed to work well in green wood, and even though the wood has been sitting in the shop since about two weeks after Ike, it's a fairly sizeable limb that was still plenty green when I cut it...

I don't know if Woodslicer or Iturra is any better than these, but I can say I am happy with them so far...

[SARGE..g-47]

No problems. Yeah, my TW 1/2" was selected as it was supposed to work well in green wood, and even though the wood has been sitting in the shop since about two weeks after Ike, it's a fairly sizeable limb that was still plenty green when I cut it...

I don't know if Woodslicer or Iturra is any better than these, but I can say I am happy with them so far...

As I said DB... most love the TW. When I demonstrated band-saws for Steel City Toolworks last August at the International WW Fair... I used one the first day as Steel City stock BS blades are Timberwolf. I just personally could never get the tensioning correct with it. That is only my experience as most that use them taut them highly.

I was so frustrated I brought one of my BS blades from my shop the following day and installed it to use for demonstrating. Perhaps I am just use to higher tension and beam strenght as I have used that method for many years. Certainly no knock on the Timberwolf.

[Tom Miller]

I tend to agree with Sarge on 1/2" blades being the largest you can tension properly on a 14" saw. I have a 14" Jet (with riser, though that part shouldn't matter), and the tension I've put on a 1/2" blade is as high as I'd want to go with it. In fact, I've upgraded my spring with an Iturra because it was starting to bottom out (something to watch for on a stock spring).

That being said, I've never actually tried a 3/4" blade. When I put in my first order for blades from Suffolk (Timberwolf), they recommended not to go above 1/2", and I've followed that advice ever since.

Regarding TW's and resaw: I also agree with Sarge that, when tensioned as TW suggests, I don't get a good resaw. I usually have to tension much more, which is a little scary because I've heard these blades aren't designed for that stress. Otherwise, they're fine blades.

Regards,
Tom