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Choosing Bandsaw blade help please.

Hi All

I bought a new 12" Band saw 4 months ago. The blade which came with the machine was a ripping blade - 2240x15x0.5 although i knew it wasn't the best blade for cutting blanks, i thought I'd use it until it died. Which it now has. I would like to get a general idea what the majority of people use for cutting blanks. I am normally cutting blanks between 10"

- 14" diameter by 3" - 4-1/2" thick, all New Zealand native timber. I see in my manual it recommends the 6mm x 0.5 6tpi blade for cutting rounds, but i feel they are to flimsy. I think the 3/8" x 0.5 6tpi, would be the best all round blade. But first let's see what you experts have to say.

Cheers Richard.

Reply to
Richard
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Richard:

I would vote for fewer teeth -- 3 tpi or 4 max. A skip tooth type blade would also work.

We really don't care about quality of cut and the fewer teeth there are, the less likely they are to clog with the wet stuff we saw. Further, we saw bark which is hard on blades. With a coarse blade it is possible to use a chainsaw grinding wheel on your dremel tool and use it to regrind the b/s blades. I don't even worry about the alternate sets of the teeth -- just grind by hand-holding the dremel, start at the bottom of a tooth, run it up the gullet and go to the next tooth. Use a magic marker so you'll know where you started.

Bill

Richard wrote:

Reply to
Bill Rubenstein

No expert, and non-metric, but I use 4 TPI alternate set for wet wood. You could use skip tooth for dry wood, but it would heat and bind more in wet wood than the one with set in the teeth.

Reply to
George

The 3/8's blade is a good choice. If they are available in NZ Timberwolf is a good choice. Another choice is having one made locally. Those tend to be heavier and, if mine was any indication, have a rougher weld joint than an over the counter blade.

BTW, where do you live, North or South Island?

Deb

Reply to
Delbert Freeman

Thankyou to those who replied.

Sorry for the delay. North Island, New Plymouth or Taranaki as known more locally.

Reply to
Richard

Richard wrote in news:NgXCe.1524$ snipped-for-privacy@news.xtra.co.nz:

For wet wood, look for a blade with 'extra set' which cuts a wider kerf and is much less prone to binding.

John

Reply to
John Yale

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