Lenox Trimaster Bandsaw Blade???

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noddy67

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I just spent a hugely enjoyable and very worthwhile week at Marc Fish's Robinson House Studio on an introductory course. While there I noticed that they use a Lenox Trimaster Bandsaw Blade on their main machine and swear by it. Apparently they last almost indefinitely and cut beautifully. I was wondering whether anyone else had any experience of this blade and their thoughts.

Thanks
 
Yept I use one on mine and they are fantastic! for my machine the cost is around £90 but last a very long time!

Ian
 
I've gone a similar route in using what is basically a blade designed for cutting metal, in my case an M42 bi-metal blade. I made the move to M42 because I fitted an aftermarket fence that requires some disassembly in order to change the blade, so I decided to minimise the frequency of blade changes with a Tuff Saws bi-metal product. Furthermore I dropped from my normal 3/4-1" blades down to a 1/2" blade in 3tpi and find that does just fine for both curve cutting and ripping the 300mm wide x 3mm thick veneers that I use regularly. They certainly deliver longevity, I cut thousands of feet of difficult to machine timbers like teak, ebony and rosewood between blade changes.

But they do have some disadvantages.

The kerf is a bit wider which makes a difference when slicing veneers in very expensive timbers. They need a lot more tension, which was part of the reason for dropping down to a 1/2" blade. Manufacturers get very optimistic with machine ratings and if your machine is rated for say 1" that'll likely be based on a thin carbon steel blade and it won't be able to handle a 1" bi-metal blade. Also, they last a long time but they don't last for ever (nothing does, I've worked in workshops that use stellite tipped bandsaw blades and they didn't last forever either, and the replacement cost was hundreds of pounds a time!), in fact I suspect they run at "acceptably dull" for a long time and you do find yourself applying that bit more pressure when feeding stock through, so you need your thrust guides to be in excellent condition, I've since moved to ceramic guides partly for this reason, but that all gets pretty spendy when you add it up! The cut is okay, but it isn't quite as smooth as I've had with things like "Meat & Fish" blades, if you cut tenons or dovetails on your bandsaw that could be relevant. And because I've switched to a narrower blade the hardened teeth now run very much on the tyres, so that might have implications for tyre life, but I'll only know that in the future.

On balance I'm pleased with the move and wouldn't go back (incidentally I use a Hammer N4400 bandsaw which I think is the same as Marc uses?) but like all these things there are plusses and minuses so it's never quite as clear cut as initially appears.
 
Hi Custard. Thanks again for your reply. Yes I think Marc does have a hammer bandsaw. Not sure the model. Have you been on one of his courses or do you just know him from the industry? Really enjoyed my week there and would recommend it to anyone. Would love to go back for longer but kids etc getting in the way of that at the moment.

I have bought blades from Tuff Saws and been quite happy with them but the finish I get when resawing is positively shabby compared to what I saw the guys getting using the Lenox blade. Whether that is a tensioning issue (I'm running a 3/4" 3tpi blade on an Axminster 4300 bandsaw), a setup issue, a bearing guide issue or a blade issue I'm not sure. I do manage to get a pretty consistent thickness veneer out of it so not sure.

I keep meaning to pop in and introduce myself to your mate Hamish. Not had the chance yet but will try this week.

Thanks again for the info and if you are ever up visiting Timberline let me know and I'll buy you a beer.

Cheers
 

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