Best Bandsaw Blades Re-Visited

[steviegwood]

Hi Y'all, I know that this has been asked and answered over and over but I need to ask again. Where is the best place to get good quality band saw blades. I need 131&1/2" blades for my 17" Grizzly saw. I will be making several band saw boxes (hopefully) and cutting mostly hardwoods between 1/2" up to 2" thickness. The manual says I can use from 1/8" to 1" blades on the saw. What do you all use for making boxes TPI?, 1/8"?, 1/4"?, 1/2"?. When I bought the saw I got a couple of re-saw blades 1" from Grizzly that seem to do well. The 1/2" blade that came on the saw does not seem to be very good quality though. Thanks for any info. Steve

 

[RayH]

Steve,

As with all good answers, "IT DEPENDS" on the box design you use.

My personal bandsaw box guru, Lois Ventura (if you do not have her book, I recommend it), recommends a 3/16th inch 10 tpi blade. I've used everything from 1/8th inch to 1/4 inch and keep coming back to 3/16th.

Anything larger and tight turns get to be a bother. Anything smaller has a problem with thick stock. That's her wisdom, not mine.

Best of luck,
Ray

 

[steviegwood]

Thanks Ray, I will have to look that book up as that is one that I do not have. Is one brand of blades more superior than others? Hopefully that question does not start a blade war like it does with scroll saw blades. Steve

 

[Tarhead]

John at www.woodcraftbands.com is a good place to check. He has Bimetal blades which last a long time and don't dent your wallet too bad. Call him about the 3/16". He may have it or convince you why you need a 1/4" version. He knows bandsaw blades better than just about anybody in the world (and ain't afraid to tell you:rotflm Seriously.... a really good fellow and a small NC Business we should support.

 

[richlife]

John at www.woodcraftbands.com is a good place to check. He has Bimetal blades which last a long time and don't dent your wallet too bad. Call him about the 3/16". He may have it or convince you why you need a 1/4" version. He knows bandsaw blades better than just about anybody in the world (and ain't afraid to tell you:rotflm Seriously.... a really good fellow and a small NC Business we should support.

Thanks for that link, Mark. I didn't know about this place. (Of course, I just bought 4 blades from Rockler -- best price I could find for what I wanted. Still they were almost double the price.) I'm more than happy to try John's blades. Rich

 

[Guy in Paradise]

My favorite blade is the....

Woodslicer from Highland hardware. I don't do a lot of cutting so the blades last me a long time. They cost more than others, but they get good reviews.

 

[ScottM]

+1 on WoodSlicer blades from Highland Hardware.

 

[secondo]

I called highland because I'd read the reviews of the woodslicer and they talked me into a much cheaper blade after asking me about my needs (I'm not resawing much). I've really liked the blades they sold me, but I am no expert (on the other hand for around $10 there is no question it is light years better than what came with my Delta saw). I did like that they were honest enough to talk me out of a more expensive purchase - that strikes me as a company you can trust.

 

[boxxmaker]

A + for highlands,been dealin with them for yrs an they don't mind pickin up the phone and givin you a call to try and help out if you have a problem.

 

[TedAS]

Steve
I would give Timberwolf blades a try, Klingspore sells them. Here is the link to the Timberwolf web site. Give them a call and tell hm what you want to do and he will set you up.