Band saw Blade

[jteneyck]

I am sorry I have to write this but, I do not care how to tension a bade that I do not own. I do not care what blade you use on your saw if your the saw is not a Grizzly 17 513X Extreme  band saw and that takes a 131 1/2 blade. And it does however have cast Iron wheels which somehow confuses people as to what saw Grizzly make that I have which that takes a 131 1/2 saw blade. If your saw takes other than a 131 1/2 inch blade. Your width of blade is of no use to me.

I will ask the question again, is the  Laguna Resaw King blade any good. And The blade says it is 1 inch wide. I now use a Wood Slicer 3/4 s on an inch wide. Is there perhaps a better choice? or I probably should have  asked  is anyone running that particular blade on their Grizzly 17 inch 513X saw and only that saw.  If no one is using it is there a better choice? And where do I get it?

Tom

Tom, I recommended you measure the tension on the blade you already have on your G0513X.  Knowing that tension, you can predict how much tension it can apply to another blade, which would answer your question.  The length of the blade has nothing to do with how much tension a saw can apply to it.  

Laguna offers the Resaw King in 3/4" width, not only 1".  

John

[kurt18947]

Have you checked grizzly's site to see if they recommend blade width's for your saw?

I would take the maximum width of blade recommended and go down one size, or maybe 1/4" if the blade width available varies by 1/8". If the maximum size stated by the manufacturer is 1", my max width would be 3/4". If the max recommended is 3/4" as many 14" saws are, I'd limit the blade to 1/2". Blade thickness also enters into it, it takes more to tension a .034" thick blade than it does a .025" thick blade for instance.

[tablesawtom]

Okay here is where I am. I bought the saw before I retired which is 16 years ago. So they have been making that particular saw for quite some time. And since it has been in production for that long I figured someone would have bought the particular blade I asked about. I am not a good searcher so I thought I would ask. If I was asked about recommendation  for a product which I owned I would give it. Also I can not find where Laguna offers that length of blade in 3/4 width. If you know where please give me an address. If I were producing and selling band saw blades, why am I only offering it that width, in that length? Why not a narrower version?  

Stwood Asked a very good question , Which I didn't look at before as to what the max. width of blade the manufacture recommended. Again I figured I would ask someone that has experience with that blade on that saw. Probably 75 responses and not one about the blade.  I had several about going to a 3/4 width but no addresses of where to get it.  I did get one with an address but he said he would call to place the order but the Phone number is not on their web page and when I responded about the phone number, the response was a link to the same company I already have. 

I also got a response about building a tensioning gage.  My response is in a previous reply on this page. which he responded toby saying if I knew the tension of the blade I am using I would know a ball park figure the start width. Now that one makes since to me

In response to Stwood's question I did check with Grizzly and they do say it will take a 1 inch wide blade. Yes I know blade length has nothing to do with tension. In response to John's question I did check where the tension  of my present saw blade is, on the saws indicator. It was at 2 and my tension can go to 8.

Since I have an 1/8th blade on my Inca, I believe a 11 inch saw but do not hold me to it. A 1/4-6 hook toothed blade on my Min Max S45 saw and a wood slicer on the Grizzly in question, I do not plan on changing saw blades often. Also since I have 4 band saws, one in in front for sale that I might just might know a little something about bandsaws. 

Since I am not planning on resewing for a living I do not need a doctrinal theses. All I want is to upgrade from a wood slicer blade because they tend to dull quickly and I am finding that I am doing more res-awing  lately  and I was asking about a particular blade. 

I haven't made my final decision as of yet. But I do know my saw will handle the blade in question. The saw may set for 3 months before it is turned on for a 10 minute re-saw job so the high stress put on the saw frame shouldn't be a major concern since the manufacturer says it will take a 1 inch blade. I am also leaning toward a 3/4 width blade so we will see.

I will gone until after labor day so I will not be responding until after I get back.

Tom

[Stwood_]

These are custom made which I've bought from for 20? years. You may/may not know about Tom.

https://www.bandsawbladesdirect.com/

[tablesawtom]

These are custom made which I've bought from for 20? years. You may/may not know about Tom.

https://www.bandsawbladesdirect.com/

Thank you, I did not know about them.

Tom

[Tapper]

Tom,

FWIW, I have a Lenox Tri-master carbide 1" blade on my Rikon 18" saw. My saw has a gauge on it for different width blades. Obviously it stays on 1" for this blade. I bought this blade new several years ago from someone in SNS who was advertising "extras" he had. A local company cut and welded it to the proper length for my saw.

I use it for resawing and thicker material. It has changed my resaw life for the better. Cuts smoothly and very straight using the fence. Before I had at least a couple of those Wood Slicers, and yes they do dull quickly. I don't use this saw often but when I need it nothing else will do. I have a 16" Walker Turner that I use for curves and small projects.

Good luck,

Doug

[jteneyck]

Tom,

FWIW, I have a Lenox Tri-master carbide 1" blade on my Rikon 18" saw. My saw has a gauge on it for different width blades. Obviously it stays on 1" for this blade. I bought this blade new several years ago from someone in SNS who was advertising "extras" he had. A local company cut and welded it to the proper length for my saw.

I use it for resawing and thicker material. It has changed my resaw life for the better. Cuts smoothly and very straight using the fence. Before I had at least a couple of those Wood Slicers, and yes they do dull quickly. I don't use this saw often but when I need it nothing else will do. I have a 16" Walker Turner that I use for curves and small projects.

Good luck,

Doug

I'm glad that blade works well for you Doug.  Maybe your Rikon has a tension gage that applies the correct tension for that blade, but that's a stretch to believe.  Think about it.  Your Tri-master is made with a 0.035" thick band, IIRC.  A 1" RK, is more like 0.025" thick.  That's a difference of nearly 30%.  So that 1" setting may be appropriate for one or the other, but it can't be correct for both and might not be for either.  Measuring tension is such an easy thing to do.  The Tri-Master cuts best with at least 20 ksi on it, more being even better if you have enough HP to take advantage of it.  Proper tension also maximizes blade life.  Once you measure and adjust the tension for a given blade, you can swap it out for another, then come back to it and set the gage on your machine to whatever the setting was before knowing the tension will be correct.  

This may be of little interest to you since you are happy with how it works and you never change the blade, but for anyone wondering whether their saw can put enough tension on a given blade of interest there's only one way to know.  My little 14" Delta has a tension scale that goes up to 3/4", yet it can only put 12 ksi on a 1/2" blade, far below what would let it do its best work.  Putting a 3/4" blade on it would be a waste of money.  My Grizzly G0636X, on the other hand, has a tension scale that goes up to a 1-3/8" blade.  I run a 1" x 0.035" blade on it at about 24 ksi and it gives amazing performance.  Interestingly, that's just about at the 1" mark on the tension scale.  I once over tensioned that blade to 42 ksi.  Afterwards, a quick calculation showed that that meant it could put 30 ksi on a 1-3/8" blade, more than enough for optimal performance.  Grizzly didn't lie in that saw being able to use a blade at the upper end of the recommended width range.  

There's no consistency in the recommended blade range among manufacturers and reality.  

What tension gives optimum performance?  For carbide blades, something in the 25 ksi range.  For other blades 20 ksi is good, and that includes the "low tension" offerings out there.  What's the upper limit?  Lennox says their blades can run up to 30 ksi.  

John

[Tapper]

I'm glad that blade works well for you Doug.  Maybe your Rikon has a tension gage that applies the correct tension for that blade, but that's a stretch to believe.  Think about it.  Your Tri-master is made with a 0.035" thick band, IIRC.  A 1" RK, is more like 0.025" thick.  That's a difference of nearly 30%.  So that 1" setting may be appropriate for one or the other, but it can't be correct for both and might not be for either.  Measuring tension is such an easy thing to do.  The Tri-Master cuts best with at least 20 ksi on it, more being even better if you have enough HP to take advantage of it.  Proper tension also maximizes blade life.  Once you measure and adjust the tension for a given blade, you can swap it out for another, then come back to it and set the gage on your machine to whatever the setting was before knowing the tension will be correct.  

This may be of little interest to you since you are happy with how it works and you never change the blade, but for anyone wondering whether their saw can put enough tension on a given blade of interest there's only one way to know.  My little 14" Delta has a tension scale that goes up to 3/4", yet it can only put 12 ksi on a 1/2" blade, far below what would let it do its best work.  Putting a 3/4" blade on it would be a waste of money.  My Grizzly G0636X, on the other hand, has a tension scale that goes up to a 1-3/8" blade.  I run a 1" x 0.035" blade on it at about 24 ksi and it gives amazing performance.  Interestingly, that's just about at the 1" mark on the tension scale.  I once over tensioned that blade to 42 ksi.  Afterwards, a quick calculation showed that that meant it could put 30 ksi on a 1-3/8" blade, more than enough for optimal performance.  Grizzly didn't lie in that saw being able to use a blade at the upper end of the recommended width range.  

There's no consistency in the recommended blade range among manufacturers and reality.  

What tension gives optimum performance?  For carbide blades, something in the 25 ksi range.  For other blades 20 ksi is good, and that includes the "low tension" offerings out there.  What's the upper limit?  Lennox says their blades can run up to 30 ksi.  

John

Thanks for your thoughts, John. The tension scale on my Rikon, 2 HP, 18" saw maxes out at 1 1/2. That's all it's got. I bought this blade because it was a 1" carbide model (my first and only), was a bargain as I recall and brand new. So far it has met my pretty meager needs. I doubt I'll ever do the exotic things on my Rikon as you on your big Grizzly - apples and oranges.

Again, so far mine has easily met my needs. "Proof is in the pudding", so they say.

Doug

[MKepke]

<snip>
Since I am not planning on resewing for a living I do not need a doctrinal theses. All I want is to upgrade from a wood slicer blade because they tend to dull quickly and I am finding that I am doing more res-awing  lately  and I was asking about a particular blade. 
<snip>

Tom - the short version is that, performance and longevity-wise*, the RK is a very good blade for resawing. I have run them on my Hitachi resaw for many years.

If you are only interested in the very particular combo of the RK on a Grizzly 513X saw, feel free to ignore my opinion :-)

-Mark

* barring catastrophic events.

[Hank Knight]

Tom, the short answer to your question is: Yes, the Resaw King from Laguna is a very good resaw blade. I bought one with my Laguna LT18 Bandsaw 10 or 12 years ago. I have done a fair amount of resewing with it and I have been very happy with it - zero complaints. It has a thin kerf (surprising for a carbide tipped blade) and it leaves a very smooth surface, assuming your saw is set up properly. They can be resharpened, but mine is still sharp after all these years. If it ever wears out, I will buy another one. Mine is a 1" wide blade, but they make 3/4" blades in various lengths.