Band saw and blades

I have a Grizzly 14" bandsaw with the riser kit. It only has a 3/4 HP motor. I've found I can resaw 10" thick oak using a 1/2" / 3 TPI Suffolk "Timberwolf" blade. I was getting barreled cuts attempting 4" thick pine using the blade that came with the saw.

I highly recommend the "Timberwolf" blades. They are a bit expensive, but worth the cost. See:

Jack Novak Buffalo, NY - USA (Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)

On Sat, 06 Dec 2003 22:49:40 GMT, Nova's fingers viciously stabbed at an innocent keyboard to form the now famous if slightly awkward haiku:

good stuff

Mowgli - not gonna ignore good advise any more

Peter, the recommended Timberwolf brand are made in the U.S.  I suspect you are from elsewhere??  At any rate, a 3 tooth per inch blade by

3/8" wide will serve very well for what you are cutting.  In fact, I use it for everything that I cut on the bandsaw. Jim Peter wrote: I am in the process of cutting some blanks from some semi-dry wood (beech and sycamore). They are up to 6 inches thick and I am struggling with my bandsaw which is a Record RSB12.  Am I expecting too much from this machine? I need some new blades and see quite a variation in price in the catalogues that I have but  Screwfix seem about the cheapest.  Is there any problem with their blades?  If so which are the best/better? What is the optimum specification for cutting fairly thick blanks up to about 10 inches in diameter?  All advice will be appreciated. Thank you. Peter

I like Tufftooth blades http::\

They sell both regular and low tension Swedish steel. Both are good. I regularly cut 6" hardwood on an old Rockwell Beaver 10" band saw with a 3/8" x 3 tpi blade.

Buy locally, if you can. Look in the yellowpages under saw sharpening, you might find blades cheaper than the mailorder outfits. In my area, is a Ma and Pa saw sharpening establishment that welds blades for me when I need them--I can get a 1/2" x 102" blade for just over $9.00. And I don't pay shipping. But I'm in a woodsy area with a lot of bandsaw mills and woodcrafters, which helps. Don't know what brand of blade stock they use, it's standard issue carbon steel--possibly Starrett. The 1/2" blade is sufficient for me cutting up to 10" rounds, although I found 3 tpi blades to be grabby. I've ruined some blades by not holding on tight enough to a round log, resulting in an awful grab--so I switched to 6 tpi.

Ken Grunke member and webguy, Coulee Region Woodturners of Wisconsin

Sharp blades are definitely needed. I purchased a 14" Reliant bandsaw and it just wouldn't go through my blanks of any sizes. Finally talked with a Suffolk Machinery expert and he told me that I wasn't getting enough surface feet per minute of the blade from the bandsaw. He instructed me to remove a jack pulley/sheave and have direct drive from my motor to the drive wheel of the BS. That made all the difference. I am currently running about 2100 surface fpm and your BS ought to be chugging along with about that value. If you can't get the sfpm value up, you may need a new (larger) motor. Hope this helps.

Hi Peter

As you appear to be in the UK, the best I have found is dure-edge. You can get their number at

advertise in woodturning magazine John, UK