Small bandsaw or small table saw

[Bob Howell]

Cutting 1/16" perfling, I need a lot of teeth, like 18/in. Bi metal was what I saw.

[Craig Bumgarner]

I have a bigger better band saw in my machinery shed, but bought a Wen 3962 10" Bandsaw for $260 on Amazon a couple months ago for my dedicated guitar making shed and have been very happy with it. You get what you pay for and this one is not an industrial tool, but seems well designed and executed for what it is. Two speed though I've only used one, has a LED light on a flex arm, dust collection port, rip fence, floor stand all came with it. Operation is good, quite, smooth, worked well right out of the box. Comes with a super thin band that cuts very well. Tracking is not perfect and I would not recommend for heavy resawing, but I don't do that much any way and I have the other bigger bandsaw for that. This one is really handy for the many little cuts needed for guitar making, it is two steps from my bench and I use it 2-4 times every hour.

I'd never give up my table saw for general woodworking, but for guitars, my bandsaws get a lot more use. Unless there is a need to process a lot of lumber for your guitars, a good band saw would be my choice. I continue to lust for a 14" Laguna.

[Bob Howell]

What blades are you finding most useful.
I see the 14 tooth per in at spectrum supply. I guess that will cut perfling strips.

Find any finer around?

[David King]

I don't think that the number teeth is necessarily all that important when what you really care about is the smoothness of the cut. Many teeth can, especially a wavy tooth set one often sees on metal cutting blades will leave a very rough surface. I think 10 or 14 TPI is a fine compromise but I'd look for a source for thinner stock bands that are designed for these smaller saws. The blade length of the bench top saws is usually 59" or close to that. See what Amazon has from reputable brands like Timberwolf and Lennox. I'm not wild about Olson blades but they might be your only option.

[Waddy Thomson]

I use the 14 - 18 tooth and the 12 -14 tooth bi metal 1/4" blades on my 10" band saw, and get pretty smooth cuts with them. They are a little thicker than the carbon steel blades, but they do cut smoother. They do break at the welds before other blades do. That's the biggest problem with the 10" band saws. That said, it's still the most used power tool in my shop, next to the drill press.

[Todd Stock]

I run a 60 tooth Freud Diablo 7-1/4" blade in my tablesaw...and routinely mill up binding and fine purfling lines with a fresh zero clearance insert and a good feather board system.

[Bob Howell]

I got an Irwin 7 1/4", 24 tooth. Maybe I need more teeth. I assumed I needed a setup for ripping. I know I need a better feather board sys. For the Table saw.

I thought a fine tooth sb blade would work better and have thinner kerf than TS.

[Brian Evans]

Todd, we are talking tooth count per inch for bandsaw blades. I think we need a thread just for blade selection. I know for ripping and resawing I had far more luck with a low tooth count blade, I currently a 4 TPI blade on. I get the impression that you want more than one tooth in the workpiece at once, but not too many or they get clogged with sawdust and that starts the problems.

[Barry Daniels]

Todd's point, I believe, is presenting a better option for ripping purling. Trying to use a bandsaw to make 1/16" wide purfling will prove to be a difficult experience no matter what blade you use. There is too much "wavering" in a bandsaw blade to get a smooth enough cut for purling. Not that it can't be done, but there are easier ways.

[Brian Evans]

Barry, I agree with that, for sure. The only cuts I ever make on a bandsaw are ones I am going to post-process in some way. Cuts can come off the tablesaw ready to use.

[David King]

Super smooth bands exist like the Woodslicer/Bladerunner/Kerfmaster they all have the 3-4 varitooth and they all will cut thinner stock like veneer as well as a 14-18 tpi BS blade provided you have a 0 clearance insert. The Kerfmaster 5/8" 3-4TPI with .016" blade stock is what I run on my delta 14 +riser 99% of the time. It cuts a .028" kerf. You can glue up right off the saw or run a 220 sanding block over it for a finished surface. Unfortunately it's too wide for a 10" benchtop bandsaw.

I agree that a dirt cheap 7-1/4" Freud Diablo 40 tooth blade is the smoothest cutting bang for the buck for ripping, cross cutting etc. The kerf is 2mm or .058". It's the blade I keep on my TS 99% of the time. I see them on sale in two-packs for under $10 ea. You do have to clean them all the time like any blade.

When I'm cutting super thin stock on the TS I just use my fret slotting blade with it's 0 clearance insert. I find I have to wash this blade every time I put it on the saw as it gets gunked up like nobody's business.

[Simon Magennis]

...bought a Wen 3962 10" Bandsaw...

Anyone got any idea what brand name that saw might be selling under in Europe? I will soon be in the market for a small band saw.

[Bob Howell]

Super smooth bands exist like the Woodslicer/Bladerunner/Kerfmaster they all have the 3-4 varitooth and they all will cut thinner stock like veneer as well as a 14-18 tpi BS blade provided you have a 0 clearance insert. The Kerfmaster 5/8" 3-4TPI with .016" blade stock is what I run on my delta 14 +riser 99% of the time. It cuts a .028" kerf. You can glue up right off the saw or run a 220 sanding block over it for a finished surface. Unfortunately it's too wide for a 10" benchtop bandsaw.

I agree that a dirt cheap 7-1/4" Freud Diablo 40 tooth blade is the smoothest cutting bang for the buck for ripping, cross cutting etc. The kerf is 2mm or .058". It's the blade I keep on my TS 99% of the time. I see them on sale in two-packs for under $10 ea. You do have to clean them all the time like any blade.

When I'm cutting super thin stock on the TS I just use my fret slotting blade with it's 0 clearance insert. I find I have to wash this blade every time I put it on the saw as it gets gunked up like nobody's business.

I just saw this. I have the Spectrum Kerfmaster .016", 5/8" 3-4t mounted on my 14"bs now, but never thought to cut veneer with it. I have ordered a 14t blade from Spectrum. I have tried the Irwin 7 1/4" 24 t blade on my TS but the veneer sandwich shreds about half the strips. I need to work on my hold-down setup.

The kerfmaster cuts 1-3" thick wood that I have tried great, so I'll try it with a 1/8" Masonite temp. table cover or veneer strip. I just never thought of it.

This will kill the need for the 10"bs, which I have not bought yet.

[Bob Howell]

I run a 60 tooth Freud Diablo 7-1/4" blade in my tablesaw...and routinely mill up binding and fine purfling lines with a fresh zero clearance insert and a good feather board system.

I am going to work on this also. Any pictures out there of a good feather board system for perfling. I just used my hands which don't work well.

[David King]

Bob,
Spectrum supply's welds can be hit or miss on the kerfmaster blades. I think they have gotten better at it over the years. I wrote them a few emails a while back to explain to them what they were getting wrong and things improved after that.

[Bob Howell]

Just placed an order. The price of shipping and handling jumped 250% over last summer. Looking for another source now. Ideas?

[Bob Gramann]

You might try Iturra Designs ((904) 642-2802). You'll have to call him. He doesn't do internet. Highland Hardware also sells the Woodslicer.

[David King]

Spectrum was bought last year by another company. I'd call them and have them check the shipping prices. I think their website is set up incorrectly. I've often been able to get places to send stuff in the mail or have them use my fedex account.
Meanwhile I've gotten really good at sharpening the blades, it takes all of 20 minutes and they are like new again. I use a 1/8" dia diamond chainsaw file ($6 + sh) here: https://www.pjtool.com/diamond-chainsaw ... -file.html or off Amazon. I use my patternmaker's vise with birch ply jaw liners and do the blade in 5" sections. You want just the top 7/64" of the teeth to stick up above the vise jaws (make a gauge), 3-4 strokes on each tooth, I mark the beginning point with a sharpy. Get into a rhythm and go. If 20 mins seems like a long time think how long it would take you to order and wait for the box to arrive. What if you had to walk to Ohio and back?

[Bob Howell]

Just placed an order. The price of shipping and handling jumped 250% over last summer. Looking for another source now. Ideas?

I now understand the shipping is an estimate and the actual cost runs $3-4 per blade, so reasonable.

Got one of the 14t blades and it cuts 2-3 layer veneer sandwiches great; like 1/6" slice. Using it on my 14" bs and dropped idea of 10"bs. Hate to change blades but will do it.

[David King]

I hate changing blades too but you can speed it up if you want by installing the lever tensioner and putting your saw's wheel covers on hinges. I just polished up the studs and nuts that hold my covers on with a dry lube so that now they fly off with a simple spin. I added a brass block under the point where the tensioning wheel bearing is at the top of the frame to reduce the friction in the wheel so that it's less of a struggle. Lastly the previous owner of my saw removed the micrometer adjustments for the top blade guides and bearing so that they can simply be slid to the correct position and tightened down in a second. You can get blade changes down to a couple of minutes or even less if the blade gauge doesn't change.