Bandsaw blade thickness

Armagh · 15 May 2016

Hey all

This is my first post, although I've been following the forum for a while. Long story short, is a thicker blade (0.6mm) better for ripping?

As a reader of the forum I see a lot of recommendations for Tuff saw blades. I have a record bs350 for which I've bought several tuff blades. I've never been completely happy with the saw, and always blamed myself for perhaps not having it set up properly. I make my own furniture by ripping up 9x3 redwood lenghts that I buy from my local timber merchant. I only recently watched the Carter products video about bandsaw set up that I saw on this site, and I'm now convinced my saw is set up right.

My next project is going to involve ripping white oak. I therefore decided to see if my local sharpening service might sharpen one of my tuff blades. I'd noticed before that there are a lot of very industrial sized bandsaw blades in his shop, and I though sharpening mine might be cheaper than a new one. The gentleman told me that you cannot sharpen the blades, but did claim that he could make me a better blade. He said the blade I had presented was 0.3mm, and he could make me a 0.6mm blade which would be better for ripping. So my question is, can my bs350 even tension a 0.6mm blade? Or is it a good idea?

Thanks in advance, and sorry for being so long winded.

Bodgers · 15 May 2016

I think TPI, tooth profile, and actual blade width, rather than thickness will have a much bigger impact.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Glynne · 15 May 2016

I'd be one of the first to recommend Tuffsaws for both quality and service.
I did however have one 3/4" blade from Ian that I struggled to set up properly on my BS350S. The main problem seemed to be the lack of tension and I even removed the guage in an effort to wind it up a little more.
Eventually I took the blade off and measured it (with my wife's dress making tape to make sure I could follow the bends) and found it was nearly 2cm over length - hence the problem with tension.
I did contact Ian who offered to shorten the blade free of charge but, as I had used it for quite a while, I declined and just bought a new blade which was spot on the length.
Absolutely no problem at all in ripping a variety of hardwoods, elm, ash beech and walnut. You might just want to check yours for length in case?

Armagh · 15 May 2016

Thanks guys. Since it couldn't be sharpened I took the old Tuffsaws blade back home and refitted it. I then ripped a 6" piece of tulipwood as a test, and it did produce a pretty good 2mm rip. Maybe I'm being overly cautious.

P.S. I did watch the original setup dvd from record power, but I had never mastered folding a blade. I used the technique in the carter video and I was SO proud to fit the blade back in the box!

woodfarmer · 16 May 2016

Armagh":g013vk3q said:
Thanks guys. Since it couldn't be sharpened I took the old Tuffsaws blade back home and refitted it. I then ripped a 6" piece of tulipwood as a test, and it did produce a pretty good 2mm rip. Maybe I'm being overly cautious.

P.S. I did watch the original setup dvd from record power, but I had never mastered folding a blade. I used the technique in the carter video and I was SO proud to fit the blade back in the box!

Most of Ians blades CAN be sharpened. Ian himself will tell you how and send you url for a youtube tutorial.

custard · 16 May 2016

I'm sceptical. The thicker the blade the more difficult it is to tension. Add in the fact that thick blades are more prone to fatigue cracking and need much bigger wheels and I think a 0.6mm thick blade is way too much for a BS 350.

I use a Hammer n4400 and regularly cut veneers in 300mm plus wide boards of Oak, Rosewood and other demanding timbers. Yes, I'd love a stellite tipped, 1 tpi industrial resaw; but I get by just fine with a Tuffsaws 1/2" 3 tpi blade. What you absolutely must do however is use a sharp blade and adjust your feed speed down to an absolute crawl...and I mean so slow you'll initially think it's ridiculous. It might take me most of a morning to cut the veneers for a typical project, but I can assure you they're every bit as clean and accurate as anything produced in industrial workshops.