Blade for 18" Band Saw

[DieselDennis]

I picked up a new to me Dayton 18" bandsaw yesterday.  Bought it cheap, so there's some money in the budget for tooling & upgrades.  It's basically a 25 y/o version of this saw:  https://www.grainger.com/product/DAYTON-Corded-21UN03  Mine looks the same as the unit in the link.  

The blade that came with it is way too fine for my taste.  I'm guessing it's about 10 TPI.  I'm thinking I need something in the 3 TPI range to do some ripping.  What width?  It will handle a 1" blade width, but I've heard you can tension a 3/4" wide blade tighter.  

For another wrinkle, the saw only has a 1 HP motor.  So does this factor into the blade decision?  Secondly, the saw can be set to run at either 2000 SFPM or 3000 SFPM.  I realize that at the slower speed, it will have more torque, but will the cutting suffer, or just be slower?  

I'm at least going to poke into a motor upgrade.  Probably a 3 HP.  

A steel framed tiawanese 18" band saw is better than a cast iron tiawanese 14" band saw right?

[paul2004]

I have an 18" Rikon. I like to use 1/2" timberwolf blades for most of my cutting. I suppose you could get a 3/4" blade to try also.
Obviously, maybe some thinner blades if you plan on curves.

[rwe2156]

The last blades I got for my 18" were from InfinityTools. They are 3/4" resaw blades. Fairly good when new, lots of saw marks, tho. Overall I'm happy with it, for the money IMO its a better blade than WoodSlicer.

Bandsawbladesdirect.com and Spectrum are two sources.

I've got one Infinity blade left and my next will be carbide.

+1 on the motor. Mine came with a 2HP when it failed, the only one available to fit was 3HP, so I'm still happy with it.

[cputnam]

In general, the faster speed is better as long as the feed rate is near optimal. What are you going to do with the saw? A 1/4" blade will cut tight curves while a 1" will not. A 1" 3 TPI skip-tooth blade, properly tensioned, will do a great job of resawing/ripping.

[kurt18947]

The blade that came with it is way too fine for my taste.  I'm guessing it's about 10 TPI.  I'm thinking I need something in the 3 TPI range to do some ripping.  What width?  It will handle a 1" blade width, but I've heard you can tension a 3/4" wide blade tighter.  

For another wrinkle, the saw only has a 1 HP motor.  So does this factor into the blade decision?  Secondly, the saw can be set to run at either 2000 SFPM or 3000 SFPM.  I realize that at the slower speed, it will have more torque, but will the cutting suffer, or just be slower?  

I'm at least going to poke into a motor upgrade.  Probably a 3 HP.  

A steel framed tiawanese 18" band saw is better than a cast iron tiawanese 14" band saw right?

I usually take the stated maximum blade width and go down one size. In your case 1" stated max so 3/4" practical max seems right, 3 tpi or less for ripping. Motor size, most 18" saws are 2 h.p.+ so 3 hp seems reasonable.