Bandsaw's

[sooty]

I am totally new to woodworking, I have always been interested in wood and thought it would make a pleasant hobby for my retirement.

I only have a small shed 10 x 8 and I have just installed a Ryobi RBS-5518 bandsaw which came with a blade pre-installed (88.25 x 0.5 inch 4TPI).

Question 1
Is it cost effective to get the blade resharpened when it is blunt or do I throw it away and buy a new one?

2.
Is there a site I could go to that explains the basic setting up of the bandsaw (i.e. how near do I set the roller guides to the saw blade)?

3.
Should I buy replacement blades from Ryobi or would an independant maker or supplyer be a better choice?

4.
How many stock blades would you have and does more TPI = a finer cut?

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Sooty

Welcome to the forum. Which part of Notts are you in?

Bandsaw Rule 1
Throw away the blade supplied by the manufacturer and buy replacements from Dure Edge. :roll:

If you do a search you will find the contact details for Dure Edge.

There is an excellent book on bandsaws and I'm sure someone will be along soon to give you the title.

Cheers
Neil

 

[Gill]

Hi Sooty

Welcome on board .

I'd just like to emphasise what Neil said about getting a new blade from Dure Edge. Most blades that come with a bandsaw are dreadful and should be binned immediately. A new blade should cost a little under a tenner and you'll be amazed at how much better your saw will perform.

The number of blades you should have will depend on the type of woodwork you do. Since I use mine primarily to trim and resaw boards, I have a coarse set, wide blade with few teeth per inch installed, plus a spare (it takes Dure Edge a couple of weeks to mail their blades, so it's worth keeping a spare). If you're going to be cutting tight curves in thin boards, you'd probably be looking at a thinner blade with a finer set and more TPI. I'd suggest you discuss which blade will best suit you when you phone to order your blade. If you buy from Dure Edge, you'll get some very sound advice as to which blade will meet your needs.

Gill

 

[sooty]

Hi Newbie_Neil

Sutton-in-Ashfield

 

[Steve Maskery]

HI Sooty
I recommend Mark Duginske's book on bandsaws. It's not exciting but there is everything you need to know in there.

If you search on here for Duginske you will also find lots of similar discussion on bandsaws.

And welcome!

Cheers
Steve

 

[LyNx]

Welcome.

I'll add to the vote for dure edge blades. I just ordered two for my bandsaw and it made so much difference to a blade that i thought was OK

Andy

 

[Scrit]

Hi sooty and welcome!

As above, really, but the book I'd recommend is by Lonnie Bird and is titled "The Bandsaw Book" (publ. Taunton Press)

Scrit

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Sooty

I'm at work, in Hucknall, at the moment.

I had to dash off earlier. The book I was thinking about was Lonnie Brid's a'la'Scrit's post. I don't know the one Steve mentioned but, knowing Steve, that will be an excellent choice as well.

Cheers
Neil

 

[ByronBlack]

I can also recommend Birds 'Bandsaw Book' It's been an excellent purchase and helped me out alot in setting the machine up and using it succesfully.

If you don't want to buy a new one, I have a copy you can have for a reduced amount, just PM me if your interested.

 

[devonwoody]

I purchased bandsaw blades from Screwfix 88" half the price of Dure edge and last longer or as long.

 

[Waka]

Hi Sooty

Can't help you with the bandsaw becasue I don't have one, but welcome to the forum.

 

[Jarviser]

Hello Sooty, not sure if we really answered Question 1 which is that you would not want to have any hobby sized bandsaw blade sharpened - they are throw away items, even Dure Edge wear out eventually. Generally thay would have induction hardened teeth anyway.
However I like to keep older well used blades for hacking away at reclaimed materials that may have foreign bodies, like old floorboards, and keep my "best" blades for ripping new hardwood or cutting tenon joints etc. When I get a new blade the oldest one in that size gets thrown.

 

[ByronBlack]

Old bandsaw blades can also be re-purposed for many other smaller-tool requirments, so its worth keeping, and replacing with a dure-edge.