BS cut quality

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
Been thinking about this as I have seen results from others saws quite a bit smoother than mine.
One thought, a carbide blade would be side ground in manufacturer so a more consistent set? Smoother?

We all ( probablly) know to take a diamond to the back of the blade to clean it up, but what about sneaking up from both sides?
Maybe put the band on flipped so the teeth are reversed?
I have Sawblades.com resaw 3 TPI and 3/8, 2/4 6 TPI standard. Al are a bit rough. Guides set pretty close, upped the tension just a tad.
Not sure I have as many choices in 125 inch.
 

Phil S

Phil Soper
Staff member
Corporate Member
I cannot say enough about the quality of the cut that comes off my Hammer N4100 with a 1 1/4 Laguna Resaw King. I can cut veneer that only needs a card scrapper to be ready for finish.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
Yea, I remember and was impressed. Last time I looked I did not see a 125, but I found it this time. A "mere" $180. You don't always get what you pay for, but if you don't pay for it, you won't get it. I see a couple favoring the Lenox carbide. TImberwolf and Woodslicer seem to be favored for steel.

Going to try "honing" one I have as I guess I have nothing to lose.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
Tried a bit of honing on a 3/8. No improvement. Only hand spun so maybe more is possible. Snugged the guides even more. No help.
 

Cuthriell

Cuthriell
Senior User
I clean the saw blade sides with a craytex stick and use a 3/4 tooth Kerfmaster blade from Spectrum Supply. They leave a smooth finish and cost about half of a wood slicer. I have been able to sharpen them twice before tossing out.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
I clean the saw blade sides with a craytex stick and use a 3/4 tooth Kerfmaster blade from Spectrum Supply. They leave a smooth finish and cost about half of a wood slicer. I have been able to sharpen them twice before tossing out.
A new one to me. $19. Worth a try. I have not thought about sharpening a BS band, but I guess why not.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
I clean the saw blade sides with a craytex stick and use a 3/4 tooth Kerfmaster blade from Spectrum Supply. They leave a smooth finish and cost about half of a wood slicer. I have been able to sharpen them twice before tossing out.
Craytrex is also new to me. A rubberized grit of some sort. Which grit do you suggest? Looks like easier to use to de-bur the back edge than a stone.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
Doing more surfing. From pictures, my blades are cutting as expected. The trick is the carbide blades have no set. So, sounds like that is the course I should follow. ( 1 inch I can run) For smaller, I will give a few of the suggestions a comparison.
 

Phil S

Phil Soper
Staff member
Corporate Member
Try this. Put a dial gauge on the side of the blade just an inch or so above the table. Spin the top wheel and see how much variance you get - there will be some of course at the weld. I get less than .003.

My carbide blades do have a set given that the cutters are slightly wider than the body of the blade
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
Just checked.
6 TPI, standard tooth, 1/2 inch Sawblades.com
I get total deviation of .002. I did de-burr the back.

Here is a cut in fir. I suspect it is very good, but I am greedy and want better.
 

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Phil S

Phil Soper
Staff member
Corporate Member
You have some misaligned teeth - hard to find and fix. give carbide a try
 

Willemjm

Willem
Corporate Member
The challenge with carbide tipped blades are first price and second there are none except Laguna available at a thickness below 0.035 for a 3/4 inch blade if a custom length is required. The 0.035 will stress crack after a bit of mileage, unless it runs on a really big saw.

I have really good experience with Lenox Bimetal, the Diemaster II. I use a 4TPI or a 6TPI 1/2" blade. They cut clean and I believe my current 6TPI has been on my saw for 8 years.

I had a few Tri-Masters carbide 3/4" before, they all stress cracked on a 17" Grizzly. I have tried just about every other brand and there is no comparison to the Diemaster, other than carbide.

I tried a Timberwolf, new blade went blunt on me 1/2 way through a veneer cut job.


 
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tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
Hmmm. I have a 14 inch Harvey. Was going to do a 1 inch.
Might put a flat tip in the dial indicator and see if I find an errant tooth or two. The 6TPI does not cut any cleaner than my 3TPI skip tooth, so I found that odd.

What I think I have gleaned from this and other forums:

CARBIDE TIP RESAW
No set so smoother cut
Laguna Resaw King, 1" carbide, $180 Woodcraft
Lenox carbide Tri-Master, Woodmaster CT ( $122 from Spectrum)

STANDARD, MULTI-OPTIONS
Highland Woodslicer " thin set"
Timberwolf Milled not stamped? Many options
Kerfmaster blade from Spectrum Supply.
Starrett weld invisible, no thump
Olson cheap but well made
Bosch I had issues.
Lenox Dimaster

Hone back edge.
Hone the teeth? Issue is inconsistent set and weld. I can hone a hand saw, why not a band saw?
Cratex sticks better than stones.

Hook, 10 degree rake. Very aggressive
Skip, zero rake, but more aggressive
Regular teeth, no rake. Smoothest but slow
 

smurg

New User
Marty
I run a 3/4" Woodslicer on my C14 and it puts out a nice cut. Have only resawn a handful of times, but it's worked well. Woodslicers won't last as long as carbide obviously but works for me since I do it infrequently.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
Going to be too hot today to work on my stone walk, so I can play with bands. I might then order a 3/8 from several of the above to compare them. I have never seen a real head to head comparison of general purpose bands. Super advice from this and other forums, but no objective test. I don't do Y-tube, so no videos to follow.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
As some may have noticed, I like objective data. The engineer in me.
Had a thought on tension. Thumb method requires experience to an unknown value. Flutter method makes sense but requires visual interpretation. I first thought of a dial indicator, but the frequency would just make it float So, how about an optical proximity measurement? I bet it could be invented and not be terribly expensive.

Going to play with the caliper streatch method today. Again, first thought would be to "calibrate" the saw pointer to 15,000 but as no two bands are exactly the same size, that won't work.

So, why am I concerned when it is not really that critical? Well, I was thinking of a 1 inch carbide resaw band. Too expensive to have it fatigue and crack on my 14 inch saw. I have only broken one blade and it was on the 10 inch Delta and I can say, not too scary, but I would rather it not happen.
 

Rwe2156

DrBob
Senior User
I wouldn't put anything bigger than 1/2" on a 14" bandsaw, the reason being, you need to tension the @##$% out of the blade for resawing, not sure how that translates guess it depends on quality of saw and power.

FWIW, the last blades I bought were resaw blades from Infinity (it was a 2 fer discount). I don't know who makes them, but the second blade is not on my saw yet and that's been 6 months ago. I can tell you for a fact they out perform and outlast Woodslicer.

Personally, until I break down and get the carbide ($250 for my 18" saw) I'll keep using Infinity. If I did a tone of resawing, I'd spring for the carbide, but since I have a drum sander and a jointer, I can get by fine without.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
WAY better! Picture does not quite do it justice, but roughness is less than half. ( Same 1/2 Sawblades.com 6 TPI)
Just took one swipe with a 350 block down each side. I did not see any "extra" polished teeth, and the width of the kerf did not change measurably, but a huge difference. So, this confirms it is the blade, not saw adjustment, tension, wood etc. Not even me. Did not seem to change radius cutting either.

I also tried the caliper tension process. See photo. It did not work at all as from barely snug ( in the flutter zone) to tighter than I would ever run it, nothing showed up on the gauge. .000

Lastly, a small change to the C-14. Lowered and tilted the Allen driver rack so it is not in the way of the power switch. Easy little convenience tweak. Next tweaks would be to switch the side the lower rear guide lock knob is on as my big hand does not fit in there. Might switch the side the upper guard mounts on so it can be mounted with a knob, not an Allen head. As good as this saw is, there are still a few things that could be improved. You would think a hundred years or so of band saws it would all be figured out!

I have no concerns with applying tension on my saw. It is built like a tank. 3 HP. Cast iron upper trunnion etc. FWIW, it came with a 3/4, but I damaged it being careless with the guides. It is rated to 1 inch, but that may be more clearance than smart.
 

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tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
Just checked UGS out. The WEB site does not mention BS blades. Mostly all industrial and mill-size stuff.
 

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