bandsaw blades

When I find a product I like, I like to talk about it. I have no connection with the company, nor anything to gain by mentioning it. It is just a good outfit.

I like my bandsaw, but am not too fond of the blades that Shopsmith sells - especially their resaw blade. It is a miserable waste of metal and the consumer's money.

I use the bandsaw much more than the table saw, and so this is a big deal for me.

A much better blade - and source of blades - is the "Timber Wolf" blade by Geschwind Group, Suffolk Machinery Corp. They also have band saw mill blades for wood mizers and others.

The catalog is very good and detailed and also has excellent tutorial information on bandsaw blades - some things you might not have known, even.

They have an internet presence, but when you buy from them, you have to make a toll-free call and talk to an actual human at the company, who is well-versed in their products. Imagine that - an actual human.

They will fabricate the blade to whatever length you want, even the short 72 inch Shopsmith blades. The agent did say that they don't usually recommend the 3/4 inch blades for the Shopsmith, account of the short length and the smallish pulleys used on the SS. I assured her that I had used one for three years in heavy service and was very happy with it. It did develop a crack across its width, and I attribute that to the nature of the SS... but by golly it works so well that I do not mind what might be considered a shortened life for this blade.

I also use a 1/2 inch blade for some resawing work, and it is excellent, also. I made a rip fence for my bandsaw, and use it with these Timber Wolf blades and consistently get clean straight true flat parallel cuts in wood up to the

6 inch thick capacity of the saw.

If I sound like a fan, a booster of these blades, I am. Unreservedly so.

These are silicon steel blades and work perfectly with less tension than other blades you might be used to. The catalog gives information on the proper tensioning of these blades, and essentially involves slowly increasing the tension until you get a "wobble" in the blade - then increase tension slightly until the wobble disappears. That's your blade tension. It will be less than what you may be used to, otherwise. The company also says it is a good idea to release the tension on the blade any time you are not using the saw, to help keep the tires in good condition and reduce stresses on the blade when not in use.

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tom koehler

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tom koehler
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Thanks for the input. We all try this and that. The last box I bought is just about empty. So I'll look them over next.

Mart> When I find a product I like, I like to talk about it. I have no connection

Reply to
Martin Eastburn

I buy my blades (105") at any local saw shop that makes them up.. usually about $13 to $16 depending on "width?" I think of it more as depth, but I mean 1/4" as opposed to 3/4".. They've always been as good or better as Olson or any other brand I've tried and I find that if the blade is inexpensive enough, I change it when I should, instead of trying to get the maximum cuts out of it.. YMWV

mac

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Reply to
mac davis

"tom koehler" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@news.frontiernet.net...

My experience is that is is more the quality of the Band Saw than the blade. A few years ago I thought I was up grading to a better 18" BS with roller guides. I ordered several Timberwolf blades and was not pleased at all. The blade that came with the saw and a locally made blade ran circles around the Timberwolf blades. After a few blade swap outs, no better luck. Timerwolf suggested that it might be the new saw.

I returned the saw and bought an LT16HD Laguna band saw, and ordered with it their resaw king blades and also received several generic free blades. I traded in the unusd Timberwolf blades for longer new ones to fit the Laguna saw. To this day it does not matter what quality of blade I use on this Laguna BS, they all cut, and track great with little tweaking during blade changes.

So, I agree that Timberwolf blades are very good blades however thay do not perfrom great on all saws. The better the saw, the better "ANY" blade will perform.

Reply to
Leon

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