Brittany Posted March 31, 2021 Report Share Posted March 31, 2021 Hello all! I'm a total newbie here. I'm new to working with Bandsaws, and have a simple question (hopefully). I am currently working on a few different projects that requires many many small pieces of wood (1/4"T x 6.75"L x 1/2"W) I am using 1/4" Sandeply Plywood as it is cheap and perfect for what I am using it for. However, my current bandsaw blade is rather low on the TPI scale (6TPI) and is causing a TON of tearout. I am just wondering what is the preferred blade to have little to no tearout on this super thin soft plywood. Also, do I need a regular tooth, skip tooth, or what? I am using a simple Ryobi 9" 2.5amp Band Saw. Nothing fancy. Any advice, help, suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Like I said, I'm a total newbie so don't judge me for not knowing the answer to this silly question! haha Thank you all in advance for the suggestion and help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jussi Posted March 31, 2021 Report Share Posted March 31, 2021 No expert here but I would think a blade with more teeth will result in a better (but slower) cut. With thin stock I find having a zctp (zero clearance throat plate) important If you don’t have one you can run a piece of scrap half way through and then clamp it down. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted March 31, 2021 Report Share Posted March 31, 2021 Welcome! Actually 6TPI is not all that low mine are mostly 3 or 4 TPI. I would suggest using blue tape, sometimes when using a BS on plywood with thin veneers, regardless of TPI, you will see tear out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted March 31, 2021 Report Share Posted March 31, 2021 @jussi is correct. For thin material, a higher tooth count will provide a smoother cut. Thicker stock needs larger gullets (the gap between teeth) to carry the waste through the cut. Skip tooth designs also help with agressive cuts in thicker stock. For thin plywood, a regular tooth geometry will be smoother. Also, 'hook tooth' styles tend to take deeper bites into the wood. Cuts faster, but rougher. Sounds like slower & smoother is what you want, so avoid anything with 'hook' in the description. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted March 31, 2021 Report Share Posted March 31, 2021 Something like a 14 TPI blade might do better. Not sure if such a thing is available for your Ryobi. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Askland09 Posted April 1, 2021 Report Share Posted April 1, 2021 If you're using the factory blade I'd highly recommend tossing it and investing in a better blade. Other than that the tricks and tips above should drastically help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brittany Posted April 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2021 Thank you all very much for the advice! I will shoot for a higher TPI, and get a zero clearance throat set up. I will put the stock through slower, and even try the tape option. I will also stay away from any "Hook" blades and stick to the standard. Hopefully I will get the desired results with this! Thank you so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted April 2, 2021 Report Share Posted April 2, 2021 I you have somw thin scrap material, you could put it under your 1/4" plywood, cut them at the same time - no tearout. Good luck. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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