Best value in bandsaw blades?

[SARGE..g-47]

I would go with the recommendations here if in your shoes Chris. I love my bi-metal as it will outlast the spring steel blades but.. it has a .035 kerf and that is difficult to tension on most 14" saws IMO. My 18" BS has double springs and can handle tension to the point I can back off the guide bearings on top and bottom. And back off the rear thrust bearings also as when I re-saw my blade doesn't touch any of them. It simply re-saws from band strenght and tension.

I have been thinking about getting one of the Blade-runners to have on hand myself and here's why. The kerf is thin and when you re-saw exotices which I don't use often.. it can make the difference in getting one extra slice of 1/16" veneer out of that high $$ piece of wood. Using mainly QSWO as I do.. my saw handles bi-metal and the wood saving is not a significant as I get QSWO pretty cheap local at $4 a bd. foot as opposed to exotics at $6 +++.

BTW... my 1/4" blade for my curve BS (14") is 6 tpi hook as mentioned. Great general purpose and curve cut blade but don't think any BS blade will give excellent enough results to not have to sand. I have had a cheap Ryobi spindle sander for years now that gets used often in conjunction with curve cutting. I build a tremendous amount of templates for use with pattern router bits and a rough edge is un-acceptable on template patterns just as furniture.
Good luck...

[Chris_B]

After perusing the ncwoodworker.net site from Bill's post, I also plan to contact woodcraftbands.com (though they are closed Fridays). Ken Massingale apparently later switched from Iturra (Bladerunner) to Woodcraftbands (Lenox) as the bi-metal Lenox blades are much longer lasting in his experience, and woodcraftbands is local for him. The pricing at Woodcraftbands is also exceptional. Unbelievable, actually.

Right now I am circling the drain on two blades:
1) 1/2", 3 tpi, hook, bi-metal, .025 (hopefully the 10-325 can tension this)
2) 3/16", 4 tpi, skip, bi-metal, .025 (or alternatively: 1/4", 6 tpi)

I know this is an "it depends" question, but what blade do you guys usually leave on the saw for general-purpose use?

[sweensdv]

Chris, you should have no trouble tensioning a ½" blade on your 10-325, at least I didn't. I usually have my ¼" 6TPI blade on my saw for everyday use.

[SARGE..g-47]

I think the 1/2" .025 will be fine also.. a big difference in the .025 amount of tension required for .025 and the .035's I use. Certainly worth a try IMO. And thanks for the site info for WCB as I was not aware of them or their prices. I very well may try them Monday as I always keep one blade on each of my BS's with a back-up hanging on the wall to avoid down time when a blade dulls.

There are no real early warnings for dull it appears to me. It just happens suddenly in my experience. BTW... most folks don't clean the teeth of BS blades but.. if you use a lot of softwood especially it certainly makes sense. I watch my teeth jsut as on TS blades and at the first sign of build-up ( I use hard-wood 95%) I take the blade off and clean it with simple green. It makes a difference for sure. But.. reality is when a blade is dull it's dull and nothing is going to save it.. Take it off and replace it if you want maximum performance and avoid aggravation of what's wrong with my saw.. it was cutting fine yesterday? I see that ask many times on forums and the majority of the time the blade simply dulled or a tooth got knocked out of set and there is nothing wrong with the saw. Both cases just replace.. get back to sawing and skip the mourning of the death of a blade.

[PhilofKayDu]

Resurecting topic

I have recently accuired a Rockwell 14" BS. Boy this saw needs alot of TLC. Has anyone used the Morse saw blades? My local Menards sells them for less than $7. I do not want to fall into the "you get what you pay for" problem. Or get hurt. How much $ do you spend on a BS blade? Phil

[dbhost]

I have recently accuired a Rockwell 14" BS. Boy this saw needs alot of TLC. Has anyone used the Morse saw blades? My local Menards sells them for less than $7. I do not want to fall into the "you get what you pay for" problem. Or get hurt. How much $ do you spend on a BS blade? Phil

I have a 14" Band Saw with the 6" riser kit, meaning I run the 105" blade instead of the 93.5 the standard 14" uses... My thickest blade is 3/4", and ran me about $26.00, the thinnest is 1/4" and ran me a little under $20.00.

I am pretty sure I wouldn't bother with a $7.00 blade.

[BrazosJake]

Last time I checked Iturra, they were selling Lennox stock, plus the Bladerunner or whatever they call the Woodslicer.

I have yet to invest in anything fancy. The best bang-for-buck I've tried thus far were Starrett blade stock from BCSaw, but the Canadian shipping has killed that deal.

Woodcraft bands has good deals on Lennox blades. I find the carbon steel so-so.

My next blade purchase may be a bi-metal. Per Mark Dugniske (bansaw book author), on regular 14" saws, Olson MVP bi-metal has the best service life, and Woodslicer the best cut.

If I had a bigger saw, I'd probably go with the Lennox tri-master.

[treetopguy2028]

About Iturra Design band saw blades

I just called Lou Iturra to ask some ?'s before placing another order. His voicemail states they are closed for moving to larger facilities. That is usually a good sign for a business. I appreciate all the inputs to this thread for I have sure learned more about blade choices.

[tommyt654]

Ya might wanna check out the Laguna blades as well. They have some of the best carbide tipped blades on the mrkt and while not cheap are well known for there durability. I have them on my little 14 inch Delta and my Grizzly 17 as well and the cut hardwoods like butta.Their Pro-Force blades are better if not the eqivalent to any of the blades mentioned here IMO and priced accordingly.I have the Re-saw King on my 17 inch and man what a difference over the other blades I have tried in the past including most all of the above mentioned, a huge difference when resawing.Try speaking with Tim Lory if interested, http://www.lagunatools.com/accessories/resawking

[lago]

Just received email this a.m. from Suffolk Machinery about their June promo. It's buy 3 and get 4th free.

Lago