10-09-2018, 05:54 PM
(10-09-2018, 03:27 PM)Alan S Wrote: If you plan to resaw, keep a blade specifically for that. When it gets dull for that purpose, it can be demoted to ordinary ripping and curves; it should still seem sharp for that.
My work fits with those above who suggested 1/2" 3TPI and 1/4" 6TPI as particularly useful. One thing I learned from an article by Michael Fortune is that you do not need three teeth in the stock as is usually prescribed: for straight cuts or moderate curves even in 1/4" thick stock the 3 TPI blade is fine, if you don't cut too fast.
One approach is to get a variety of inexpensive steel blades. If you use one more than the others, replace it when it wears out with a longer-lasting bimetal blade. (The same approach might subsequently lead to carbide blades, but I've not got there yet.) My two most used blades are a 1/2" 3TPI Olson MVP (I did resharpen it, and it cuts better than new) and a 1/4" 6TPI bimetal blade of Lenox stock from Woodcraftbands. I've found them to be a good, inexpensive source of blades.
I got the .025" thick band of the Olson MVP rather than the .035" of the Lenox Diemaster because I was not sure my old Delta would properly tension the thicker blade.
I had the same experience with the Olson MVP. Actually, the brand new 1/2" x 3 tpi blade I had wouldn't cut straight until I sharpened it. Afterwards, it cut beautifully and lasted a very long time. I would have sharpened it again had I not done something stupid and bent it.
John