Grizzly G0513X2 Bandsaw

[Warptboard]

I got that saw back when Bing was new and Microsoft was giving some crazy $$ back if you used bing to find your item. Great saw! Put a decent blade on it.

[SpiderDave]

Thanks for everything!!! And for the tip on that fence mod. I will look up everything that was mentioned by everyone. This is a big one for me on a tight budget. I wanted to go with extra features on the next model up, but wasn't in the budget. I've used band saws before plenty, just been wanting one of my own. From the sound of it, a good choice -Thanks for the peace of mind and the reviews and experiences with this saw. (Very valuable)  

I was concerned about that blade length. I noticed it wasn't as available and when I see the words custom order to length I tend to worry. I definitely want to put some good blades on it. If anyone's willing to share their valuable experience and point me in the right direction? I am all ears. I was hoping to set myself up right, but without going bankrupt. I hadn't considered buying two of each blade. But now that I read that, I think it's a reallll good idea. If I don't one will surely break with horrible timing. Ha! I wanted to get a set that would cover most of the bases to start off with? Resaw, basic cuts, ripping, large smooth curves and also small tighter curves. Can I do all of that with 3-4 different blade types?

So far what I've come up with is:

Timber Wolf H8596 - 131-1/2" x 1/2" x .025" x 3 TPI Pos Claw Bandsaw Blade

Wood Slicer 1/2 inch Resaw Bandsaw Blade (70.5 inch to 137 inch) from Highland Woodworker

131.5" x 3/4" x 3TPI Timber Wolf Bandsaw Silicon Steel Low Tension Resaw Blade on Amazon

Outside of those, a work in progress. As much as I'd like to buy $100 blades, I can't right now. I'm not going to be using it heavily as a business might. But like you guys all agree and said, good blade will make or break the saw. It will be getting a work out, guaranteed. I do prefer my tools run as good as they reasonably can, and I don't go cheap on consumables or upgrades. But something that'll hold up and not break the bank would be a big load off my mind for now. So far been scratching my head wondering & researching, and my list above isn't set in stone either. That's just what I've come up with so far. Any ideas or suggestions? I'll definitely look up all the for mentioned items, thank you!

[teetomterrific]

All those blades you listed are primarily for resawing. You may want to also consider a 1/4" 10 TPI blade for finer work/tighter curves than the 1/2" 10 TPI blade it comes with can do. - H8593 Timber Wolf H8593 - 131-1/2" x 1/4" x .025" x 10 TPI Raker Bandsaw Blade
You might also consider this for resawing - T25048 Timber Wolf 3423VPC 131-1/2" - 131-1/2" x 3/4" x .025" x 2/3 TPI Pos Claw Bandsaw Blade

[SpiderDave]

Thats the saw where the coupon code Walker10 works for 10% off.  I havent used the saw; this vid on YT (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4LblDyJwcg&t=575s) shows that the guy likes his (of course grizzly gave him his saw for free so take his review with a grain salt....) Looks like good bandsaw IMHO; be hard pressed to  find a better value.

Thanks! I'll give that shot. Much better than mine.

[SpiderDave]

All those blades you listed are primarily for resawing. You may want to also consider a 1/4" 10 TPI blade for finer work/tighter curves than the 1/2" 10 TPI blade it comes with can do. - H8593 Timber Wolf H8593 - 131-1/2" x 1/4" x .025" x 10 TPI Raker Bandsaw Blade
You might also consider this for resawing - T25048 Timber Wolf 3423VPC 131-1/2" - 131-1/2" x 3/4" x .025" x 2/3 TPI Pos Claw Bandsaw Blade

Leavin for a doc apt. will check those out tonight, thank you!

[barryvabeach]

Dave,  don't get too worried about custom welds, it is pretty common for longer blades, my point was that if you have only one blade on hand and it breaks, don't expect to be able to walk into Woodcraft and buy one that day.     Some people swear by Timberwolf blades, others think they dull too quickly.    Same as to the Woodslicer -  nearly everyone likes the first few cuts, some saw it dulls too quickly.  

Note that you can search the forum for suggestions about bandsaw blades, since they don't vary much by machine  ( except that you need bigger machines to handle the wider blades )  Most of the research I have done says that bimetal is the best tradeoff in terms of cost to expected life.  Some like the Lennox Diemaster, though I haven't been all that thrilled with the life of the one I have.  I  just switched to an extremely expensive blade -  the Laguna Kerf master ,  though I haven't had it long enough to get a feel for how long it will stay sharp.   While there are some recent posts on sharpening, and I have tried a few times, remember that if you have a 3 tpi, you are talking about sharpening nearly 400 teeth .  

I think you are making the right decision to not spend your entire budget on the saw, because when it comes down to cutting  wood, the blade is as important factor, if not more, in how easy it is to cut, and the quality of the cut, than the saw.    You can take an old dull non carbide tipped circular saw blade and put it in the top of the line Powermatic, SS ,  or Unisaw, and you will still get a crappy cut.  Similar story with bandsaws.

[Admiral]

 While there are some recent posts on sharpening, and I have tried a few times, remember that if you have a 3 tpi, you are talking about sharpening nearly 400 teeth .  

I've not tried to sharpen a bandsaw blade, but 400 teeth are about what you have to get through when you sharpen a 30" miter box saw.

[toolie]

I buy all my bs blades from suffuck machinary, they make them any size, and at a very good price, size should not be an issue.

I wish I could endorse this suggestion.  I've gotten too many blades from Suffolk (Timber Wolf) with misaligned welds to ever use them again.  Lennox from Iturra adhere to more stringent quality control standards, IMHO.

[SpiderDave]

Thank you! I do intend on eventually gravitating towards higher priced blades, but for now I have limits. At least this way once I get to that point, I'll certainly develop an appreciation for the value of a better saw blade by then once I get there- as I have with other tools. I'm fighting the urge to break down and just buy the better blades, since I will in the future anyway. I have written these all down and they are on my board for later. People seem really happy with lenox, it pops up often. I'll try searching the site again as suggested. Didn't come with what I was looking for before putting this out there. But I'll giver another try. If I can be in the $70 range, especially buying two of each. Probably be best right now as I'm pushing myself a bit with what I've been taking on lately.

We've been mostly talking about brands, which is extremely valuable. But the other half of the question was sizes too - ie: thickness, width and TPI. I am still foggy on this. Teetomterrific had suggestions with sizes included. I looked those up and they are on my list now. I just want to put them in perspective so I can order what I'm looking for. I want to order two sets of each, so would ordering two different brands of the same saw blade me a chance to compare brands also. Is this a good idea? Or am I over thinking/complicating it? Is a 3/8' blade with the same thickness and TPI going to be drastically different from a 1/2"? Maybe I should find some type of (visual) chart for dummies to choose with? My personal knowledge says thicker blade +more teeth = drag & friction but finer cut. Then apply that to the thickness of the wood and whether its straight or curves you're looking to cut? It makes sense when I say it, but then once I think it over the metal fog sets in and I doubt what I know again - unfamiliarity creating doubt. Some say 1" 2 TPI to resaw, others a 1/4" 3-4 TPI to resaw. Should I try both? Knee jerk reaction says a slightly wider blade won't wander as much (with proper tension etc.). I originally set out to buy a resaw blade, tight cuve cutting blade, a general scutting blade, and a couple others to compete the circle. (2 of each if I can) Keep in mind a lot of this is over flow from all the head spinning & overwhelming amounts reading I've been doing lately, not hands on knowledge. I was a finish carpenter /restoration in the past. But band saws weren't in the picture much. If it was ever needed, that would've been done in-shop and taken to the job site. So, this is a long over due experience for me especially as things have changed greatly since then. Thanks for being patient with my million questions and reaching out to help me. Hopefully I can return the favor soon.

[SpiderDave]

It doesn't compare to actual advice by a person, but I did find this just now: https://www.highlandwoodworking.com/libr..._guide.pdf