Bandsaw blade thickness

[Armagh]

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]

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


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[Glynne]

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]

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]

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]

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.

 

[Baldhead]

Have a look at Steve Maskerys dvd's, I've setup both my bandsaws using Steve's info and I use Ian's blades too.

Stew

 

[CHJ]

This is the way I now sharpen my blades having had the link passed on by another forumite:-

Does not always work if blade set is destroyed on one side without resetting, which is not always possible on hard point teeth.