Laguna BS Blade (Resaw King) pricing question

[Bill in Buena Park]

Anyone have any experience with this blade?

http://www.lagunatools.com/bandsaw.resawking34.aspx

Appears the 93-1/2in version, 3/4in blade, 3tpi, runs about $160 - apparently, Laguna advertises "specials" through our local CL (OC-Calif.), and this ad says they're currently 25% off.

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/tls/1041578679.html

So that's $120 for a bandsaw blade. I equate this to roughly 4 Timberwolf blades in value... Could this be worth the money?

[SARGE..g-47]

Anyone have any experience with this blade?

http://www.lagunatools.com/bandsaw.resawking34.aspx

Appears the 93-1/2in version, 3/4in blade, 3tpi, runs about $160 - apparently, Laguna advertises "specials" through our local CL (OC-Calif.), and this ad says they're currently 25% off.

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/tls/1041578679.html

So that's $120 for a bandsaw blade. I equate this to roughly 4 Timberwolf blades in value... Could this be worth the money?

The ReSawKing is a carbide tipped blade which will last much longer for re-saw than a Timberwolf before it has to be sharpened which it can with those carbide teeth. I love the Lennox Tri-master carbide but it is over $200 for my saw. I use Lennox bi-metals which will last about 6-7 times longer than carbon blades at around $40 a pop. I can buy four (almost five) for the price of the Tri-master carbide which will last about 12-14 times longer than a carbon. So.. a better deal for me.

And I will caution you on that 3/4" blade. You mentioned 93 1/2" which tells me you have a 14" BS. Your band-saw wheel might actually seat a 3/4:.. your manufacturer list a maximum of 3/4" but... don't put a 3/4" on a 14" BS as it covers the entire wheel and I seriously doubt that your springs on a 14" BS are large enough to tension a carbide blade which requires a ton of tension to get correct beam strenght. Your springs will bottom out and that's just too much width for your tire even though it will fit on.

Never run the maximum a tire will carry. I ran 1/2" for re-saw on my 14" BS for many.. many years and I currently run a 3/4" on my 18". It will take a 1 1/4" blade but.. there is no need for more than 3/4" and I could do the same job with that 18" saw with a 1/2" blade.

Good luck...

[Bill in Buena Park]

Thanks for the feedback, Sarge. What's the source of your Lennox bi-metal blades? And which type - I see they have several. I'd be interested in trying those out.

[SARGE..g-47]

Thanks for the feedback, Sarge. What's the source of your Lennox bi-metal blades? And which type - I see they have several. I'd be interested in trying those out.

I use these guys and prefer to call them as they will help you if you are not really familar with blades.. and it can get confusing trying to order on-line as it doesn't make it clear what is what IMO. If you know about blades on-line is OK but.. if you don't you are taking a risk with assumtions.

www.toolcenter.com 1-888-778-9663

Now with that said I will touch on your blade question. First.. for re-saw there is basically only one choice of teeth a hobbyist needs. That is 3 TPI or 3 teeth per inch. You can get away with 4 TPI if you just rip on the BS but.. you have to have low teeth count which relates to more gullet space to take away waste. Taking the sawdust away keeps the blade cool which relates to no burn and not wandering in the cut when you are set up properly.

I use a 1/4" 6 TPI blade on my 14" to cut curves. It stays on that BS. 6 TPI will do some narrow re-saw but you have to be extremely slow and deliberate or it's going to heat the carbon blade which will dis-temper it and it is basically toast and dull at that point. Just chunk it in the garbage can as it is officially dead when over-heated. Bi-metal and carbide in low teeth count will stay much cooler.

Again you have a 14" BS. Bi-metal doesn not take the amount of tensioning as carbide does but.. it also takes much more than standard carbon blades for curve cutting. Carbide requires around 25,000 # with bi-metal around 16,000-18,000 #. Carbon blades only require around 10,000-12,000 so unless your BS has been upgraded to heavier springs you might be taking a chance with a bi-metal. If you do.. get a 3/8" or no more than 1/2" for sure.

With your 14" BS.. I will make two suggestions to you. In lieu of bi-metal you can get the Timberwolf 3 TPI which many use. I do not as I really don't like low tension blades and their performance compared to high tension. But many.. many use them and just love them.

Or.. Highland WW in Atlanta designed and makes a 1/2" Woodslicer 3 TPI just for re-saw. I used it for years and it gives a cut as good as carbide for around $30 a pop. The down-side is it will dull much more quickly than a bi-metal or carbide.

But with that said... Iturra Design in Jacksoville makes the Blade-runner which has been reputed as the same blade basically. They buy the blade in bulk roll from the same manufacuter and weld themselves. The cost to you is about half the Woodslicer or no more than 2/3 of it.

If you go Timberwolf you can contact them direct or you can get them from their packaging source which is PS Wood. All timberwolves you see in a package comes say at Woodcraft comes from PS Wood as if you contact Timeberwolf direct.. they weld your individual blade then just send it to you without a formal package. The lady at PS Wood who will answer is the owner.. she's great... knows her stuff and is just a genuine person who enjoys talking to her customers.

So... unless you have indeed upgraded your springs... you have options here. Some are just cheaper than others and good re-saw is very much a part of having your BS tuned.. a proper 3 TPI blade.. a sharp 3 TPI blade and an operator that know how to feed at the correct speed once the above have been achieved.

Enough of the tutorial as I have about 40 mortice and tenons awaiting on a computer desk-hutch. If I can help you in any way.. let me know but you should have enough info here to get connected to someone that can also help you and send you a blade.

Regards..

[LCHIEN]

I can't argue with anything that expert Sarge says and I would trust him!
But just a technical note, the tensions he stated like 23,000, 16,000, and 10-12,000
are not really pounds but pounds per square inch.

23,000 actual pounds would crush any normal bandsaw if the blade didn't snap first.
The lbs/Sq.in. values take into account the cross section area of the blade which is a small faction of a square inch, since it may be 1/2" x .025" or something (I didn't look one up). That means the actual tension you would have to put on the blade is some where in the range of a couple hundred pounds. It also means that a wider blade (like 3/4") or a thicker blade (kerf=.030") must be tensioned higher than a thinner blade (like 1/4") with a thinner kerf (like .020") to keep the same tensile loading. Hence a saw designed to carry 3/4" blades must be a lot stronger in the C-frame than one designed to carry just 1/4" blades for curve cutting.

I'm sure Sarge knows this but is just used to throwing around the tensile loading in pounds rather than the more techncally correct lbs/sq.in.

[SARGE..g-47]

Thanks for explaning that Loring as I did know.. It was already pretty much a tutorial and I figured if anyone ask.. additional info could be provided just as how to get the BS properly set up for re-saw which would require another tutorial. There are several good books out there by Duginske.. Byrd and several free tutorials on-line also that take what looks comlicated and makes it simple

BTW.. if you did apply 23,000 pounds either the blade would indeed snap first and it could result in bending a back-frame if the saw if the saw does not have a rigid one. But.. talking about the components and what is and what isn't is another tutorial in itself.

To get 23,000 actual pounds on a BS would require an additional hydraulic system and even mill BS's don't even come close to requiring those kind of actual pounds. Maybe a mill that crushes coal in attempt to produce "instant diamonds" might just require that? I am just a WW and I suppose that is out of my league.

Have a good day, sir...

[Bill in Buena Park]

Thanks again Sarge. I've been using a Timberwolf 3tpi blade on 14in, and it is working very well, no complaints. As it's the only brand I've been using, I don't know how it compares to others, and I've been interested in trying something else just for comparison. I'm going to give the Lenox Diemaster2 (bimetal) 1/2in 4tpi hook tooth a shot - put one on order through ToolCenter, ends up ~$40 with shipping.

[SARGE..g-47]

Thanks again Sarge. I've been using a Timberwolf 3tpi blade on 14in, and it is working very well, no complaints. As it's the only brand I've been using, I don't know how it compares to others, and I've been interested in trying something else just for comparison. I'm going to give the Lenox Diemaster2 (bimetal) 1/2in 4tpi hook tooth a shot - put one on order through ToolCenter, ends up ~$40 with shipping.

Here is a comparison of cuts... you won't see a major signifcance in them with 3 different blades but.. the carbide stays sharper longer.. with bi-metal next and then standard carbon.

From left to right.. Timberwolf from a Jet.. Steel City 18" with a bi-metal and a Mini-Max of my neighbor up the street with a carbide. The leg component on the extreme right was done with both sides at 45* angles on my TS with an Amana 20 T rip blade.

You will see the Timberwolf with not quite as good a cut... the Steel City with excellent using bi-metal and better than the carbide in this case to the right of it (3 rd from right in picture) but.. but.. my neighbor Bill won't change his carbide or get it sharpened until just before the teeth are about to fall off. He does outdoor furniture for a living and the cut doesn't matter to him. So.. in this case the bi-metal which was sharp gave a better cut than the carbide which has seen a few miles.

But.. all... repeat all re-saws done with a BS need to be cleaned on the showing side. You can get away with the cut on the glue side but the show side will always require some clean up. A Bandsaw is just not going to leave a cut as a TS. That picture to the right is testimony and it was done with a 20 T rip blade which left a glue surface in this case.

Hope this helps... I gotta get back to the shop to get things done.

Put you clicker on the picture and click the mouse to enlarge it if you didn't know that. You probably did but I'm one of those computer idiots who finds these kind of things out many miles down the road on a journey. :>)

[Bill in Buena Park]

Your picture of the Timberwolf results are consistent with my Timberwolf results - needs a few shallow passes on the jointer to clean up, sometimes more. Hoping the Diemaster2 will reduce the amount of jointing required.