Another Broken Bandsaw Blade


Chestnut

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10 hours ago, HuxleyWood said:

almost everything was CNC machines

That was my experience with the IWF, too.  The predominant theme was CNC, and I'm talking industrial scale, not hobby or small professional.

So reading through this post again I'm a little confused.  There have been multiple explanations put forth for the repetitive blade failures, but what seems to have been the major factor?  In particular to what degree was this due to band saw size?

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This is the best bandsaw blade discussion I've ever read on he net. I've learned a lot! Now if I could just retain it....

Huxley, for a hobbyist you're pretty intense! Kudos to you for your help  and knowledge. 

I bought myself a 1412 this summer for my 60th and put a 5/8" Laguna blade on it (high silica content). Very smooth cutting, great for resawing (I only cut about 10" with it but am sure it would go the full slice of the saw) and for $35 I think a good deal. I couldn't swing the $150 for the RK, but was drooling over it. Now I'm not so sure. 

I used a 1/2" TW blade to resaw some Ash logs (first day) then switched to a 3/4" TW blade the next day. The 3/4 was faster cutting for sure, but neither would be suitable for resawing veneer. I'd stick with the Laguna 5/8" blade for that.

I had a 5/8" blade made locally and it works fine but the kerf is wide and rough.

By the way as a hobbyist woodworker I love the 1412. I was able to feed fast on green Ash and cherry with the 3/4" blade and start to slow it down but overall it's powered through everything I've put through it and hasn't let me down. 

As for tensioning, I've used the thumb deflection method but find it pretty subjective. I mostly go just above the line on the tension gauge for the different blades. That seems to work. I didn't know until this thread that the indicator was magnetic! Geez... But it works for me so that's my two cents. 

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All of the above is great information. Aside from the technical and replacement issues, have you ever considered repairing a broken blade yourself? All it takes is a propane torch, some silver solder, and a shop made jig to hold the blade and keep it straight. This doesn't solve your original problem, but it can get you back to work quickly and reliably. Repair the broken blade that the company replaced and you will have a backup.

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Finally put the new blade i got in replacement from Highland woodworking cut 1 6" board and took it off. The cut quality is atrocious. Like a dull beaver could do 10 times better. If your looking for a carbide blade stay the hell away from highland like miles away. The blade with broken teeth cut cleaner even thought it started to dive to the sides .... idk what to do but i'm not happy. Maybe I'll just keep it around to abuse by cutting up logs or something. The quality is so bad i'd loose less material with an 1/8" blade on the table saw.

Put my replacement resaw king on and it cut dang near as smooth as I've ever seen.

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On 9/6/2018 at 2:26 PM, Mark J said:

@Chestnut if I'm not mistaken your replacement Resaw King was also a 3/4 inch blade?  So I'm curious how this will perform.  

What is the concensus opinion of a 3/4 inch blade on a 14 inch saw, anyway?

I've used a Timberwolf 3/4 for resawing on my 1412 and although the finish wasn't smooth like you'd want for veneer, it cut easily through 12" ash logs and cherry. Some will say a 14" bandsaw isn't good for a 3/4" blade but I tend to go more with what the mfg says will work, and it worked fine on my saw. 

I also cut with a 1/2" TW blade and it worked too, albeit a bit slower than the coarser pitch of the 3/4" blade.

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On 9/6/2018 at 4:26 PM, Mark J said:

@Chestnut if I'm not mistaken your replacement Resaw King was also a 3/4 inch blade?  So I'm curious how this will perform.  

What is the concensus opinion of a 3/4 inch blade on a 14 inch saw, anyway?

Well it depends on the 14" saw. The size of the wheels has nothing to do with the amount of tension the frame and bearings can withstand. As for the blad turning around a 14" wheel that is less to do with it's width and more to do with how thick the banding is. The RK blades have similar if not thinner banding than some of the 1/4" blades i have just checking now with my calipers.

58 minutes ago, Chip Sawdust said:

I've used a Timberwolf 3/4 for resawing on my 1412 and although the finish wasn't smooth like you'd want for veneer, it cut easily through 12" ash logs and cherry. Some will say a 14" bandsaw isn't good for a 3/4" blade but I tend to go more with what the mfg says will work, and it worked fine on my saw. 

I also cut with a 1/2" TW blade and it worked too, albeit a bit slower than the coarser pitch of the 3/4" blade.

There is nothing wrong with standard steel blades but i wanted something that would last longer and cut more smoothly. Wish i could mail you a piece from the way i have my saw set up now. I had to get raking light to figure out the bad saw cut side from the side that was off my jointer.

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  • 6 months later...

@HuxleyWood Well the drama continues. The resaw king i had replaced in July just broke. I noticed the blade was jumping forward and thought it was odd. I found that it had a crack it in. Not minutes later i heard it snap. I had the saw turned off and was grbbing another piece of wood.

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Sending the information off to Laguna to see what they say.

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This is a little late to the party but if you are interested in spring pressure at different heights, take the spring to your local shop that builds racing engines. They should have a spring tester that will go up to some pretty high tensions. You could ask them to make you a chart showing spring tension vs installed height. This is a pretty standard thing for racing valve trains. My little dragster engine was set for 750lbs at a 2" install height and checked out close to 2000 lbs at .750 inches of lift.

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Knock on wood (SYP in my case) but I’ve had my 14” Grizz for 3 years and have never broken a blade and tension it to whatever feels right. The day that one does break is going to scare the crap out of me I’m sure! 

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Just received a shipping label for a replacement RK blade. Maybe this one will last? There were really no questions asked so i wonder how long they'll keep replacing the blades? If they keep snapping I'll keep asking for a new one though. Nothing lost in asking politely.

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