Bandsaw blade types - advice on sizes

[Dissolve]

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a few blades for my newly acquired bandsaw and I've read nothing but gold reviews for Tuffsaws. It's a 142" blade length.. but I'm a bit lost as to what width and TPI I'm after.

I'll mainly be using the bandsaw for:

Ripping hardwoods around 1-2" thick
Free hand cutting curves in 2" hardwood
cutting thin boards
Occasionally cross cuts in 2" hardwood/softwood

Are there any general rules for blade width/TPI that are good to follow depending on the material/type of cut?

 

[M P Hales]

contact Tuffsaws and they will give you the advice you need-the service is brilliant
M

 

[marcros]

what is the rule of thumb for width on straight cuts- as much as the machine will tension, or is wide as possible not necessarily better?

 

[Dodge]

contact Tuffsaws and they will give you the advice you need-the service is brilliant
M

+1 for Ian at Tuffsaws - Excellent service every time!

 

[RogerBoyle]

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a few blades for my newly acquired bandsaw and I've read nothing but gold reviews for Tuffsaws. It's a 142" blade length.. but I'm a bit lost as to what width and TPI I'm after.

I'll mainly be using the bandsaw for:

Ripping hardwoods around 1-2" thick
Free hand cutting curves in 2" hardwood
cutting thin boards
Occasionally cross cuts in 2" hardwood/softwood

Are there any general rules for blade width/TPI that are good to follow depending on the material/type of cut?

in very General terms the tighter you want to cut a curve the Smaller a blade you use
The faster you need to cut the fewer teeth you need

But it is all a compromise as there are lots of things to take into account
The type of Bandsaw ,the type and size of materials , The finish that you need to name but a few
That is why I also highly recommend Tuffsaws Ian will give you excellent advice for your particular needs
I Personally will not use anybody else now

Roger

 

[JohnCee]

After years of faffing around with using different blade widths for different jobs I now use a 6mm 6tpi M42 Tuffsaws blade for everything. Works great for cutting tight curves as well as resawing 6 inch thick maple. If you really do a lot of curve cutting though, I think you'd need a separate blade for straight cutting.

 

[Steve Maskery]

As a rule of thumb, there should be at least three teeth in the wood at any time.
But as the tooth-count goes up, the gullets get smaller and so cannot carry away the sawdust as quickly. It is all a compromise.
I use a 3TPI skip 1/2" and a 1/4" 6TPI. That does me for 90% of my work.
The limitations on width are generally the ability of the saw to tension the blade rather than the width of the wheel.

S