I am needing to purchase a new bandsaw blade. I have had good luck
with the timberwolf 3tpi x 1/2" blades but they dont seem to last very
long. I mainly use my Grizzly G1019 (w/ riser) bandsaw for cutting
blanks before mounting on my jet 1236. I do trim most of the blanks
with a chainsaw before making round on bandsaw. So there is still some
bark which is probably dulling the blade. I mainly use green wood that
is about 6" deep or less.

So what are everyone thoughts on carbide blades for rounding blanks.

Here is the one I was looking at purchasing.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/H6998
At $53 if it would out last two timberwolf blades it would be more
economical.

Thanks for your thoughts,
Steve Massman

Steve
I get regular bandsaw blades from http://tufftooth.com/ and find both the
blades and the service excellent. They also have silicon steel blades
similar to the Timber Wolf and these are excellent as well. I sharpen my
blades a la Steve Russell and find that i get about three sharpenings per
blade before metal fatigue sets in on my 72" blade.
If you do go the carbide route it would be nice to know how it works out.

--
God bless and safe turning
Darrell Feltmate
Truro, NS Canada
www.aroundthewoods.com

"massmans" wrote in message
oups.com...
I am needing to purchase a new bandsaw blade. I have had good luck
with the timberwolf 3tpi x 1/2" blades but they dont seem to last very
long. I mainly use my Grizzly G1019 (w/ riser) bandsaw for cutting
blanks before mounting on my jet 1236. I do trim most of the blanks
with a chainsaw before making round on bandsaw. So there is still some
bark which is probably dulling the blade. I mainly use green wood that
is about 6" deep or less.

So what are everyone thoughts on carbide blades for rounding blanks.

Here is the one I was looking at purchasing.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/H6998
At $53 if it would out last two timberwolf blades it would be more
economical.

Thanks for your thoughts,
Steve Massman

I concur with Darrell. The problem with me is when I am not careful I break
the blade when I get around blanks.
I soon learned that (with my band saw) the base of the blank has to be
square with the blade. Otherwise the blade binds and breaks.
Replacing a broken carbide blade is more expensive than a metal one.
When selecting a carbide blade I would inquire about the teeth configuration
to cut green wood. For the average band saw a 4 skip tooth works good.
That is 4 teeth per inch with one racker. A large band saw work fine with a
3 teeth per inch with one racker.
Let us know how you make out with the carbide blade.

"Darrell Feltmate" wrote in message
news:QqLrh.162771$YV4.95102@edtnps89...
Steve
I get regular bandsaw blades from http://tufftooth.com/ and find both the
blades and the service excellent. They also have silicon steel blades
similar to the Timber Wolf and these are excellent as well. I sharpen my
blades a la Steve Russell and find that i get about three sharpenings per
blade before metal fatigue sets in on my 72" blade.
If you do go the carbide route it would be nice to know how it works out.

--
God bless and safe turning
Darrell Feltmate
Truro, NS Canada
www.aroundthewoods.com

"massmans" wrote in message
oups.com...
I am needing to purchase a new bandsaw blade. I have had good luck
with the timberwolf 3tpi x 1/2" blades but they dont seem to last very
long. I mainly use my Grizzly G1019 (w/ riser) bandsaw for cutting
blanks before mounting on my jet 1236. I do trim most of the blanks
with a chainsaw before making round on bandsaw. So there is still some
bark which is probably dulling the blade. I mainly use green wood that
is about 6" deep or less.

So what are everyone thoughts on carbide blades for rounding blanks.

Here is the one I was looking at purchasing.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/H6998
At $53 if it would out last two timberwolf blades it would be more
economical.

Thanks for your thoughts,
Steve Massman

I am lucky to have a Lennox blade dealer here in town, and can get
anything that I need from him. For general bowl blank roughing a
bimetal blade works best. They last a lot longer than other blades.
While I haven't used anything else, I have several friends who have
switched to them and this is what they have told me. They are a utility
blade and good for rough work. I do have a carbide tipped blade that
costs about double what a bimetal blade does (150 inch by 1 1/4 blade
$75 to $180). I did use one for bowl blanks for a while just to see how
they did. They work fine, but don't seem to last any longer. They are
made for resawing board stock, and the dealer said that they are a must
have if you are planning to resaw your own veneers. I can get a surface
that needs almost no sanding with them, but are overkill for bowls.
robo hippy



wrote:
I concur with Darrell. The problem with me is when I am not careful I break
the blade when I get around blanks.
I soon learned that (with my band saw) the base of the blank has to be
square with the blade. Otherwise the blade binds and breaks.
Replacing a broken carbide blade is more expensive than a metal one.
When selecting a carbide blade I would inquire about the teeth configuration
to cut green wood. For the average band saw a 4 skip tooth works good.
That is 4 teeth per inch with one racker. A large band saw work fine with a
3 teeth per inch with one racker.
Let us know how you make out with the carbide blade.

"Darrell Feltmate" wrote in message
news:QqLrh.162771$YV4.95102@edtnps89...
Steve
I get regular bandsaw blades from http://tufftooth.com/ and find both the
blades and the service excellent. They also have silicon steel blades
similar to the Timber Wolf and these are excellent as well. I sharpen my
blades a la Steve Russell and find that i get about three sharpenings per
blade before metal fatigue sets in on my 72" blade.
If you do go the carbide route it would be nice to know how it works out.

--
God bless and safe turning
Darrell Feltmate
Truro, NS Canada
www.aroundthewoods.com

"massmans" wrote in message
oups.com...
I am needing to purchase a new bandsaw blade. I have had good luck
with the timberwolf 3tpi x 1/2" blades but they dont seem to last very
long. I mainly use my Grizzly G1019 (w/ riser) bandsaw for cutting
blanks before mounting on my jet 1236. I do trim most of the blanks
with a chainsaw before making round on bandsaw. So there is still some
bark which is probably dulling the blade. I mainly use green wood that
is about 6" deep or less.

So what are everyone thoughts on carbide blades for rounding blanks.

Here is the one I was looking at purchasing.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/H6998
At $53 if it would out last two timberwolf blades it would be more
economical.

Thanks for your thoughts,
Steve Massman

On 18 Jan 2007 08:23:33 -0800, "robo hippy"
wrote:

I am lucky to have a Lennox blade dealer here in town, and can get
anything that I need from him. For general bowl blank roughing a
bimetal blade works best. They last a lot longer than other blades.
While I haven't used anything else, I have several friends who have
switched to them and this is what they have told me. They are a utility
blade and good for rough work. I do have a carbide tipped blade that
costs about double what a bimetal blade does (150 inch by 1 1/4 blade
$75 to $180). I did use one for bowl blanks for a while just to see how
they did. They work fine, but don't seem to last any longer. They are
made for resawing board stock, and the dealer said that they are a must
have if you are planning to resaw your own veneers. I can get a surface
that needs almost no sanding with them, but are overkill for bowls.
robo hippy

I spent a lot of time in front of industrial bandsaws over the years,
and the conclusion I came to was the same as above- the Lennox
bi-metal blades will cut almost as long and just as well as carbide
tipped, and cost less. They're just plain tough, and if they can cut
steel 24 hours a day for a week or better, I can't imagine that there
are many woods that are going to hurt them much!

Hi Prometheus

The problem with the bi-metal blades is to many TPI and not enough set
on them for sawing wet wood, they'll bind up and do just not work well
sawing wet wood I found, the once or twice I tried sawing wood on my
saw with the Bi-metal in place, also most BI-metal bands are wider than
thicker than the wood bands, they need more power and bigger wheel
sizes.
One other thing that does make a big difference is the saw speed in
metal sawing or wood sawing, where the wood sawing blades feed at
approx. 10X the speed of steel blades, as speed goes up so does the
friction and heat, but if you can find some bi-metal bands that do have
the 3 or 4 TPI with a good wide set than it might be more economical to
use one of those.

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

http://homepage.mac.com/l.vanderloo/PhotoAlbum22.html

Prometheus wrote:
On 18 Jan 2007 08:23:33 -0800, "robo hippy"
wrote:

I am lucky to have a Lennox blade dealer here in town, and can get
anything that I need from him. For general bowl blank roughing a
bimetal blade works best. They last a lot longer than other blades.
While I haven't used anything else, I have several friends who have
switched to them and this is what they have told me. They are a utility
blade and good for rough work. I do have a carbide tipped blade that
costs about double what a bimetal blade does (150 inch by 1 1/4 blade
$75 to $180). I did use one for bowl blanks for a while just to see how
they did. They work fine, but don't seem to last any longer. They are
made for resawing board stock, and the dealer said that they are a must
have if you are planning to resaw your own veneers. I can get a surface
that needs almost no sanding with them, but are overkill for bowls.
robo hippy

I spent a lot of time in front of industrial bandsaws over the years,
and the conclusion I came to was the same as above- the Lennox
bi-metal blades will cut almost as long and just as well as carbide
tipped, and cost less. They're just plain tough, and if they can cut
steel 24 hours a day for a week or better, I can't imagine that there
are many woods that are going to hurt them much!

wrote in message
news
I concur with Darrell. The problem with me is when I am not careful I
break the blade when I get around blanks.
I soon learned that (with my band saw) the base of the blank has to be
square with the blade. Otherwise the blade binds and breaks.

Note that the blade will be square with any flat base. It's tip and pinch
that get you. Suggestions for flattening if you're not the best with a
chainsaw include scrub/jack/block planes, or perhaps you might want to lay
the piece flat on its broad face on the drillpress table and make stopped,
overlapping Forstner bores for parallel, it that's what you're after.

I find a circle cutting jig to be an excellent way to do round things, as it
keeps you from the other blade-destroyer, turning the blank/blade while not
cutting. No choice but to cut with the jig.

Hello Darrell,

Glad to hear you're still using my bandsaw blade sharpening protocol and
that it has helped you a wee bit. :-) It has saved me several thousand
dollars over the years and I still use it regularly. I routinely get about
8-10 sharpenings on my steel bands with the abrasive wheels (150" bands) and
about 15-20 on the carbide bands with diamond wheels.

For those who may not know about my resharpening protocol for bandsaw
blades, point your browser to the following URL for the article:

http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com...aw-blades.html

If any of you have woodturning websites, you may wish to add a link to this
page to help visitors to your site take advantage of this time and money
saving protocol.

The protocol works equally well on steel and carbide bands and I have used
it many times on both types of bands. Of course, with carbide bands, you
need to use diamond disks to resharpen the carbide teeth.

If you have questions, or if I can assist you in any way, please do not
hesitate to contact me. Take care and all the best to you and yours!


On 1/18/07 8:24 AM, in article QqLrh.162771$YV4.95102@edtnps89, "Darrell
Feltmate" wrote:

Steve I get regular bandsaw blades from http://tufftooth.com/ and find both
the blades and the service excellent. They also have silicon steel blades
similar to the Timber Wolf and these are excellent as well. I sharpen my
blades a la Steve Russell and find that i get about three sharpenings per
blade before metal fatigue sets in on my 72" blade. If you do go the carbide
route it would be nice to know how it works out.

--
Better Woodturning and Finishing Through Chemistry...

Steven D. Russell
Eurowood Werks Woodturning Studio, The Woodlands, Texas
Machinery, Tool and Product Testing for the Woodworking and Woodturning
Industries

Website: www.woodturningvideosplus.com

³Woodturning with Steven D. Russell²
Volume #1 CD ROM e-Book * Available for Shipment
Volume #2 CD ROM e-Book/DVD Video * Available for Shipment
Volume #3 Double DVD Video on Bowl Turning * Available for Shipment

Thanks Steve. The protocol works a treat. My small bandsaw uses 72" blades
and metal fatigue sets in after the first 3 or 4 sharpenings and the blade
finally breaks, but that is still a lot more cutting per blade and the saw
has no trouble with 5" of maple.
___
God bless and safe turning
Darrell Feltmate
Truro, NS Canada
www.aroundthewoods.com

"Steve Russell" wrote in message
...
Hello Darrell,

Glad to hear you're still using my bandsaw blade sharpening protocol and
that it has helped you a wee bit. :-) It has saved me several thousand
dollars over the years and I still use it regularly. I routinely get about
8-10 sharpenings on my steel bands with the abrasive wheels (150" bands)
and
about 15-20 on the carbide bands with diamond wheels.

For those who may not know about my resharpening protocol for bandsaw
blades, point your browser to the following URL for the article:

http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com...aw-blades.html

If any of you have woodturning websites, you may wish to add a link to
this
page to help visitors to your site take advantage of this time and money
saving protocol.

The protocol works equally well on steel and carbide bands and I have used
it many times on both types of bands. Of course, with carbide bands, you
need to use diamond disks to resharpen the carbide teeth.

If you have questions, or if I can assist you in any way, please do not
hesitate to contact me. Take care and all the best to you and yours!


On 1/18/07 8:24 AM, in article QqLrh.162771$YV4.95102@edtnps89, "Darrell
Feltmate" wrote:

Steve I get regular bandsaw blades from http://tufftooth.com/ and find
both
the blades and the service excellent. They also have silicon steel blades
similar to the Timber Wolf and these are excellent as well. I sharpen my
blades a la Steve Russell and find that i get about three sharpenings per
blade before metal fatigue sets in on my 72" blade. If you do go the
carbide
route it would be nice to know how it works out.

--
Better Woodturning and Finishing Through Chemistry...

Steven D. Russell
Eurowood Werks Woodturning Studio, The Woodlands, Texas
Machinery, Tool and Product Testing for the Woodworking and Woodturning
Industries

Website: www.woodturningvideosplus.com

³Woodturning with Steven D. Russell²
Volume #1 CD ROM e-Book * Available for Shipment
Volume #2 CD ROM e-Book/DVD Video * Available for Shipment
Volume #3 Double DVD Video on Bowl Turning * Available for Shipment

"Darrell Feltmate" wrote in message
news:f7fth.179473$hn.72757@edtnps82...
My small bandsaw uses 72" blades and metal fatigue sets in after the first
3 or 4 sharpenings and the blade finally breaks, but that is still a lot
more cutting per blade and the saw has no trouble with 5" of maple.

Changed the blade on my 14 Delta yesterday, and as I went to fold and
compact the old blade it snapped. For grins I bent it again elsewhere and
it snapped with a quarter inch between bands.

Work-hardening, metal fatigue, corrosion can all take their toll. Be
careful while you're being economical. New one's a Suffolk, as the bargain
bands are now gone.

Steve, I know you asked about carbide bandsaw blades, but for green wood
how often do you need to interpose a bandsaw between your chain saw and
a tool that's made for making wood round ...the lathe?


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter


http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

While it isn't a necessity, a big bandsaw for preping blanks saves huge
amounts of time. As a production turner, I had to have one. It cuts the
log up faster, you parallel top and bottom, and a better circle. This
means that you can start turning at higher speeds, and there is less
roughing to do. It has cut my prep and turning time almost in half. The
bandsaw does a much better job than a chainsaw. You don't need carbide
blades for bowl blanks.
robo hippy
Arch wrote:
Steve, I know you asked about carbide bandsaw blades, but for green wood
how often do you need to interpose a bandsaw between your chain saw and
a tool that's made for making wood round ...the lathe?


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter


http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

Thanks for all the help. My main need to is to get bigger logs round
so that i can put them on my limited Jet 1236. It doesnt do well with
large octagons blanks.

I will look into resharpening and also staying with timberwolf blades.


Steve

Hi Steve

But if you want to make larger turnings, you should maybe get a larger
lathe, or saw the corners of the octagonal blanks one more time with
your chain saw while you are at it anyway, ;-)))))

But seriously, if the above isn't in the cards, ( I seldom use my band
saw for making bowl blanks, but I do sometimes), use the silicon steel
bands, that are thicker than normal .032" 4 TPI 1/2" wide, the blades
have a wider set and they are called the "turner/carver bands" by the
makers,(where I get them from) but you need wheels that are larger than
12" I think it is, I was paying something like 15 cents an inch, and
for that price it is pretty hard to do better with carbide teeth bands
IMO.

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo


massmans wrote:
I am needing to purchase a new bandsaw blade. I have had good luck
with the timberwolf 3tpi x 1/2" blades but they dont seem to last very
long. I mainly use my Grizzly G1019 (w/ riser) bandsaw for cutting
blanks before mounting on my jet 1236. I do trim most of the blanks
with a chainsaw before making round on bandsaw. So there is still some
bark which is probably dulling the blade. I mainly use green wood that
is about 6" deep or less.

So what are everyone thoughts on carbide blades for rounding blanks.

Here is the one I was looking at purchasing.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/H6998
At $53 if it would out last two timberwolf blades it would be more
economical.

Thanks for your thoughts,
Steve Massman

I have used the carbide blades for resawing and cutting blanks. I will only
use it on something that I know for sure doesn't have rocks in it. I was
making venier from a madrona burl and had the misfortune to find a rock in
it, or rather the blade did and as it was a 3/4 it could not be resharpened.
They are costly. Stick with the bimetals.

Brian

Maybe a different tool - SawzAll bayonet saw - with "demolition"
blades. Cut to close to round - on the driveway. Easy to clean
up, blades a lot cheaper and a whole lot quicker to change. You
don't need perfect rounds, that's what roughing gouges do.

charlie b

You know, Charlie makes a lot of sense. I hardly ever use the bandsaw on
bowls over 8" diam. I just use the chain saw to know off the corners and
then fine it up if necessary. I can get a 15" chainsawn bowl blank over the
bed of my 15" lathe and still turn it without hitting obstructions so that
is plenty "round" for me. I have an electric for inside the shop (-14* C
plus windchill to -30 the other day) and my Stihl for outdoors. I find it
easier and safer than a bandaw.
___
God bless and safe turning
Darrell Feltmate
Truro, NS Canada
www.aroundthewoods.com
"charlie b" wrote in message
...
Maybe a different tool - SawzAll bayonet saw - with "demolition"
blades. Cut to close to round - on the driveway. Easy to clean
up, blades a lot cheaper and a whole lot quicker to change. You
don't need perfect rounds, that's what roughing gouges do.

charlie b

On Tue, 23 Jan 2007 06:31:06 -0800, charlie b
wrote:

Maybe a different tool - SawzAll bayonet saw - with "demolition"
blades. Cut to close to round - on the driveway. Easy to clean
up, blades a lot cheaper and a whole lot quicker to change. You
don't need perfect rounds, that's what roughing gouges do.

Ick. I did that for a while before I got my chainsaw- and while it
did work, I don't think I'll be repeating that chore anytime soon.
Better off sticking with the chainsaw, since you've already got it out
and all.