Favorite band saw blades?

[profbadger]

Does anyone have a favorite band saw blade for re-sawing? I have a decent Delta 28-185 band saw that I bought very cheap from a neighbor, and she gave me many blades, but they're all quite thin (1/8 to 1/4), and not great for re-sawing. I'm planning on buying a 3/8" blade and to start my first re-sawing project. I keep hearing the name Timberwolf--is that the way to go, or are there other brands worth considering? My choices will be limited by the odd length of sawblade required: 56 1/8", but I know that there are some blades available besides the usual Delta. By the way, is there any great authority on re-sawing that you folks know of? I'm going to buy a copy of The Bandsaw Book before starting, to make sure I am up to speed--any other must-have resources on the subject you'd recommend? Thanks for the wisdom; take care.

[final_t]

With such a smaller BS (8 inch, 1/5th hp), you might not be able to pull anything other than a 1/4" blade through there, let alone tension it properly. Even so, the two bandsaw books that are often recommend both suggest using a 1/4" even on a "standard" 14" bandsaw.
You might looking a what Sears carries - neither Lowes nor Home Depot seem to stock bandsaw blades at all (at least the four stores in Columbus). You'll need a 3tpi blade for resawing, btw.

[Black wallnut]

I use Timberwolf blades. If you called them they would be happy to give you an honest recomendation for which blades they sell would be worth while for your newly acquired saw. Some time ago Fine Wood Working did a resawing blade test but IIRC they only looked at blades for a 14" saw. Timberwolf was not their top pick BTW.

[Tom Hintz]

I would strongly suggest giving TimberWolf blades a try. I was about to toss my bandsaw out completely but decided to give TimberWolf a try first. I still have the bandsaw, working just fine now with those blades on it.
they have great customer service, people that really know their stuff on the phones and have very good prices. Call them with the the kind of saw you have and what you want to do with it and they will tell you the blade you need.
I have a review of the TimberWolf blades at the link below with more specific info and a link to their site.

http://www.newwoodworker.com/reviews/tmwlfblde.html

[LarryG]

quote:Originally posted by profbadger

I'm going to buy a copy of The Bandsaw Book before starting, to make sure I am up to speed

If you mean Lonnie Bird's book, I do NOT recommend it. Bird is a talented woodworker and a fine teacher, but that particular book contains very little useful information and it is way, way, WAY too repetitious. Definitely the most disappointing title on the woodworking shelf of my library.

Although I don't yet own it, I have examined Mark Duginske's "The Bandsaw Handbook" in bookstores and it appears to be the one to get. Bird's book is prettier -- lots of color photos -- but I think Duginske's has more edible meat.

[wassaw998]

FYI - my local Library had several of Duginske's books and also one of his videos (Mastering Your Bandsaw). I was shocked to find them, as I as about to order his book (The Bandsaw Handbook) as I have heard it was pretty good. The books I read were: Band Saw Basics, Mastering Your Woodworking Machines, Shaker Band Saw Projects. The one Larry mentioned "The Bandsaw Handbook" is also avail at the Library, but I have not read that one yet.

The video was really good. I'd recommend it. Nothing in the books I listed above really is not covered in the video regarding the basic stuff you are asking about. The books above are all pretty outdated, and they all repeat the same little section on bandsaw tuning, which again, was covered in the video.

I found a little review on your BS on amazon, http://www.epinions.com/content_73761984132 that may give you some useful information.


There are different theories on re-sawing. A good article on the blade drift / fence moving method (?) can be found on highland hardware's site. A recent FWW mag had a good article on using the blade tracking and keeping fence parallel to the blade method.

Your saw takes a 56 1/2" blade , and has a 7 1/2" resaw cap ? Also, looks like 3/8" is the max width ? Folks love Timberwolf, I have not used them. My next blade will be a BladeRunner from Iturra Design. Currently I have a run of the mill blade from Sterling that works Ok. Since Tom is saying Timberwolf, and I think he was putting it on a small saw too, I'd go with them. (ps, he also has a great site, check it out !)

[lrogers]

I like the Timberwolf blades too.

[Rounder]

I use Timberwolf blades.

[final_t]

Chris: The Inturra Bladerunner *is* a Timberwolf. For some reason, in their catalog, they indicate they cannot list it as such. I have it, nice blade.
Larry: I have both books, and I found the opposite of you - that Lonnie Bird's was more "accessable" to me, while Mark Duginske's book (larger, more info) was more "dry", and most of the pictures trying to show what he was talking about not clear and usually 3-5 pages away from the subject matter. I read both, and got good information from each.

[LarryG]

quote:Originally posted by final_t

The Inturra Bladerunner *is* a Timberwolf.

Um, I thought it was the same as the Wood Slicer ...??? I know that Iturra sells a version of the Wood Slicer (although, as you say, he cannot say so outright) and thought it was called the Bladerunner, but maybe I'm remembering it wrong.

On the book thing ... what content there is in Bird's book is okay, there's just not enough of it, and it's very basic, and what there is is beaten to death. For example, an early chapter describes the different types of bandsaws -- benchtop, stand-mounted, floor, cast vs. steel frame, etc. A chapter or two later offers advice on buying a bandsaw, and the exact same information is repeated almost verbatim. This happens throughout the book. I will agree that Bird's style and presentation is very accessible; I just didn't find much there that I couldn't have gotten elsewhere for free -- like here on this forum, for instance.

I have read comments from others that the Duginske is poorly organized. At a slow glance it still looked better to me, but maybe not.

[gary]

I use a 1/4" 4TPI Timberwolf blade for everything (including resawing). It works great!

[wassaw998]

Iturra Design sells a blade called the Bladerunner that is supposedly the same blade as what Highland Hardware sells called the WoodSlicer, 'cept the one Iturra Design sells is a bit cheaper. I feel sort of wierd saying that, not sure if they get in trouble, but, they do say that in their catalog, even go thru how it is the blade tested in the FWW mag and all, no doubt what blade they are talking about. I trust them, and I have talked with a total diff source who let me know that the Blade is definitely avail from the source (which is not HH).

Iturra is not so hot on the Timberwolf blades, so , they definitely don't sell 'em !

[jnesmith]

I don't have a bandsaw yet, but since I hope to get one soon, I have been following this thread with interest. However, there seems to be some confusion - but maybe it's just me. Which is it:

Bladerunner = Woodslicer; or
Bladerunner = Timberwolf?

[LarryG]

It's Bladerunner = Wood Slicer.

As has been mentioned, Lou Iturra is apparently not able, for legal reasons, to come right out and say this is so many words. But if you read between the lines of what he DOES say, there's no question that he is saying that his Bladerunner and the Wood Slicer are the same blade.

[profbadger]

Thanks for all the advice and tips. Now I know where to spend my last bit of Christmas money. My wife will love the extra sawdust. Take care.