Looking for bandsaw resawing blade suggestions

[tbr]

I have a Rikon 10-325 bandsaw (111” blades) and am planning to buy a 3/4” blade for resawing hardwood up to 4” thick to make 1/8” thick pieces for inlay. I am looking for suggestions for a good quality blade for this type of work, Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Jason28]

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tbr

I have a Rikon 10-325 bandsaw (111” blades) and am planning to buy a 3/4” blade for resawing hardwood up to 4” thick to make 1/8” thick pieces for inlay. I am looking for suggestions for a good quality blade for this type of work, Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
[/quote]

I have the same saw. I've got a 3/4" Olson blade and I'd pass on it for anything but rough cuts; the teeth have a pretty aggressive set and the surface the blade leaves is really rough, even at slow speed. One thing to bear in mind though is the thickness of the blade. It's generally recommended that you use a blade no thicker than .025" on a saw with 14" wheels, and most 3/4"  blades are at .035" and up. That can vary of course depending on the type of steel used in the blade. 

I've got a 1/2" Woodslicer from Highland Woodworking and it works quite well. Their 3/4" is the same .022" thickness as the 1/2" blade, so that could work for you.

The next blade I'm likely to get is a carbide toothed blade; they're 4-5 times the price of the Woodslicer, but likely to last 10 times longer. Caveat: I've heard multiple reports of manufacturers denying faulty blade claims when they learn they were used on 14" saws, claiming the wheel radius is too small for the steel - even though they make and market the blades for the saws (and even smaller ones). It's been awhile since I've seen those claims, and gotten only the consumer's sides of the stories (most likely related in their favor) so I can't say if they're accurate or not. Manufacturers may also have altered the steels they use to address that possible issue as well (it's a decent market so I assume they would).

Here are a few links to carbide tipped blades:

Highland Woodworking 1/2" carbide tipped (.025")

Bandsaw Blades Direct (Lennox Tri-Master) 1/2" carbide tipped (.025")

Laguna Tools Resaw King 3/4" carbide tipped (.024" as I read it)

If anyone else has real-world experience with any of these carbide tipped blades, I'd love to hear about it as well.

[tbr]

Jason,

Thanks for the detailed reply. Although I originally mentioned that I was looking for a 3/4” blade, if that is not necessarily suitable for the 325, would a 1/2” blade handle the type of resawing I would like to do. I wasn’t aware that blade thickness was a limiting factor.

[Aram]

I have a Rikon 10-325 bandsaw (111” blades) and am planning to buy a 3/4” blade for resawing hardwood up to 4” thick to make 1/8” thick pieces for inlay. I am looking for suggestions for a good quality blade for this type of work, Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

The Highland Woodslicer is a great resaw blade. At one point I had a Lenox Trimaster. I sold it, even though it is an excellent blade. One reason was the thick kerf, which sometimes was just enough to cost me a slice. The other factor was the high tension it required. I have a Minimax MM16, which is a pretty beefy saw -- but at 30k PSI it was bending the frame (!) enough that I had to realign every time I used the Trimaster. 

I've been very happy with the Woodslicer.

[gcrimmins]

I have a Rikon 10-325 bandsaw (111” blades) and am planning to buy a 3/4” blade for resawing hardwood up to 4” thick to make 1/8” thick pieces for inlay. I am looking for suggestions for a good quality blade for this type of work, Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

A 1/2" 3tpi blade should work great. I've had good luck with Supercut blades. I've also had good luck with the blades that the local hardware store welds to whatever length you need. No idea what brand they are, but they work. I've also heard good things about Lennox blades.

[Derek Cohen]

Sorry Aram, The Woodslicer is a poor blade in regards to longevity. I have had a few. They leave a very fine surface, but also last a very short time. I cannot recommend one.

I am in the market to (possibly) replace the Lenox Woodmaster CT (which is carbide) I am currently using for resawing. My bandsaw is a Hammer N4400, which is 17" and 4 hp. I use a 1" wide blade, and this seems to tension enough ... or does it?

Wider is better, but ..  but .. but ..

The issue here is that there is a difference in blade stiffness when blades get wider as generally the steel gets thicker as well. It may well be the case that a 3/4" blades will tension better than a 1" wide blade, and then perform better. Wider is better, but what is wide enough? Has anyone put to blade widths side-by-side? In the case of a smaller bandsaw, be certain that you can get the tension needed for a wider blade. 


There seems to be a choice between a faster cutting blade, such as the Lenox Woodmaster CT, and a slower but smoother cutting blade, such as the Trimaster. If I understand it correctly, the Resaw King is smooth cutter. It is also a thinner blade, which improves ease/speed of cutting that way. 

Personally, I want smoother than the Woodmaster CT I have, but do not want to sacrifice too much on speed. Hence my search, and questions. 

A second issue is resharpening. The Lenox carbide blades are not re-sharpenable. The Resaw King can be done 5 times, but this must be done by the factory. For general use I have 1/2" bimetal blades, and sharpen these myself (Dremal and diamond disk). If cost is a factor (when is it not!), then carbide may not be the way to go.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Mr Eddie]

I have a Laguna 14" and use a 3/4" 3 tpi Resaw King blade.  I haven't cut any wide boards (say wider than 10").  Most of my resawing is 6" or smaller.  I am happy with the blade.  It cuts straight and the finish is smooth.  I would buy it again if I needed a new blade.

Lonnie

[Jason28]

Sorry Aram, The Woodslicer is a poor blade in regards to longevity. I have had a few. They leave a very fine surface, but also last a very short time. I cannot recommend one.

Derek, could the short blade life be due the woods you use in Australia? US woods may not be as hard on the blades.

[WaterlooMarc]

I have to agree with Derek, the woodslicer does dull incredibly quick. They do leave such a fine finish though that I don’t particularly care and use them anyway. My saw takes a 144” blade so there’s not particularly cheap but I still find the cut quality worth it. I should point out that while I have tried most of the steel brands floating around I haven’t tried any carbide options.

I get my woodslicers from spectrum supply where they’re not sold as “woodslicer” but something else, they’re slightly cheaper than from highland but you have buy a few at a time to overcome the shipping costs...and the frustration of their atrocious website.

[jcredding]

I have the Rikon 18" bandsaw and the Laguna Resaw King. As Derek mentions, it gives very smooth cuts. It is a rather expensive blade, but the ability to get it resharpened and the desire for the smoother cuts sold me on it. I've used it with white oak, cherry, walnut, cocobolo, koa and some others up to about 8" and it has performed well. I would recommend it based on my experience with it.

John