1/4 inch 6TPI band saw blade...


Idaho Andy

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I'm in the market for a new 1/4 inch blade 6tpi for hardwood on my Laguana 14-12... yep, makin' curves.  I can't say I've been overly impressed with the Timberwolf blades I've been using... I had a bad run of welds (they replaced no problem) and various kinks right out of the package.  The bottom line is I'm once again asking this distinguished group for your thoughts and recommendations... I was thinking of just placing an order with Highland, but it's always worth asking around :)  

TIA Andy

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The Lenox Flexback is arguably the best low budget general purpose wood cutting blade out there.  You may get them locally from an industrial supply or a place like Spectrum Supply online and I think Iturra sells Lenox flex back blade stock.   Highland is very expensive for BS blades partly because they don't weld in-house so you have 2 middle men to pay. 

That said I suggest you get a Lenox Diemaster II bi-metal blade instead, takes higher tension than a carbon blade so more beam strength and will outlast a carbon blade a minimum or 8 times and cost about 3 times as much initially.  

Someone mentioned the Woodslicer.  It is an impulse hardened spring steel blade borrowed from the meat cutting industry.  It comes in very thin gauges, has a very thin kerf due to virtually no set.  It can produce near carbide blade level finish in veneer cuts.  It has no set so it is useless for curves and should not be used for green wood.  It has very soft teeth and though they are very sharp initially they dull much faster than even a standard carbon blade.  There are a niche blade but good for light weight saws since they need less spring pressure to tension them correctly (~15k psi) due to the thin gauge backer.  They are also useful for saving wood due to the thin kerf.  Both Iturra and Spectrum sell the same bladestock as the Woodslicer but for much cheaper they call the blade the Blade Runner and Kerfmaster respectively.  These blades have their place but even at Spectrum prices they are only cost effective if you need one of their rather unusual characteristics or do very little resawing.  That said I love them for some applications and keep a couple around for several of my saws.  

 

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