Question about bandsaw blade

[Joel Brown]

What size bandsaw blade would best for classical guitar making?
Can I get by with one blade for straight cuts (neck scarf joint) and tighter curves (neck heel)
I keep reading timberwolf are good blades.
The blade that came on the used bandsaw is 1/4" wide 14 tpi and seems very worn.

Thanks

[Darrel Friesen]

Definitely nice to have different blades for tight cuts as opposed to resawing (i.e. 1/4" for tight cuts and 1/2" OR 3/4" for resawing). Having said that, I'm often a little lazy when it comes to changing blades. A 3/8" Timberwolf, 4 TPI works for almost anything I need to do, including occasional resawing. That's on a 17" saw.

[Brad Heinzen]

I do nearly everything with a blade in the range of 3/8" x 6 tpi, more or less. I switch it out for resawing, but that's about it. I think mine are mostly Lennox, but that's just what the tool store near me sells.

[Mark Fogleman]

I get my blades from John at http://www.woodcraftbands.com Call him and tell him what saw you have and what you want to cut. You won't beat his prices on Lennox and Starrett blades.

[Rodger Knox]

That really depends on your saw and how you use it. For resaw, the widest blade that your saw will handle with the fewest teeth/inch is best.
I've got a 14" saw with a riser block, and my general purpose blade is a 1/2" 10tpi Timberwolf. I also use a 1/4" blade for tighter curves, and a 5/8" 3 tpi for resaw.
My saw doesn't handle a 3/4" blade, even though it is supposed to. I get better results with a 5/8" blade.

[Bryan Bear]

Rodger makes an important point that should not be overlooked. I wish i had picked up this tidbit earlier too. Just because your saw will fit a 3/4 inch blade doesn't mean it will work well. I too have a 14 inch saw with riser kit. Mine is a very cheap delta clone. I had always heard that you want the widest blade you can get for resawing. Naturally, I started off with 3/4" blades and did not have great results. Eventually I picked up on some chatter on the fora that many 14" saws can't really tension a blade that wide properly. The saw frame (probably made worse by the riser kit and it's extended leverage) flexes too much and the blade tension suffers. When I went down to 5/8 and sometimes even 1/2 blades for resawing I got much better (read usable) results. It is still not a great saw and there are woods I wouldn't try to cut at 8" depth, but I can now saw back sets from the softer stuff like walnut, cherry and maple.

Read up on bandsaw set-up there is a bit of a learning curve. Priming yourself with the basics of how a bandsaw works and cuts will make it much easier to find what works when you start using your saw.

[Joel Brown]

I get my blades from John at http://www.woodcraftbands.com Call him and tell him what saw you have and what you want to cut. You won't beat his prices on Lennox and Starrett blades.

Spoke with John and he was very helpful.
For cutting thick wood such as the neck he recommended 4 tpi, he said 6 tpi would have problems clearing the chips and overheat the blade.
For thin wood such as the top and back he recommended 14 tpi.

Any thoughts on this?

[Mark Fogleman]

John knows his stuff. It's best to have 3 teeth in the workpiece all the time for optimal cuts. Good advice above about not using wide blades, even though the tension scale has it listed. You can't maintain high enough tension to keep the blade from bowing in the cut.

[Joel Brown]

Ordered the blades from John, also ordered some cool blocks since the blocks that came on the saw are messed up.
Again John was really great with all his knowledge of bandsaws.
I thought I got a good deal paying $350 for the bandsaw but now finding I have to put all this money into it and didn't come with a fence.
Still a new one is $750. Also I think the blade tensioner is messed up, when I set to the blade width its way too loose.
The guy i bought it from said he replaced the original one because it broke so maybe he didn't install it right or its a cheap replacement part.

[Mark Fogleman]

There is a business in Jacksonville, FL by the name Iturra Design (904) 642-2802 that sells lots of parts and supplies for bandsaws. They are old school and do not have a website or email and still publish a catalog. Here's a link to a pdf of their 2010 edition. Open it and you will have an encyclopedia of the bandsaw.https://dl.dropbox.com/u/25128636/Iturr ... e_2010.pdf

[Joel Brown]

I have heard of Iturra, he is mentioned in a lot of woodworking forums.
Its funny how people who deal in bandsaws are all old school guys who don't have web sites and you have to call them on the phone to order something.
Nothing wrong with that, I am used to ordering stuff from Amazon and Ebay so its a different and more personal experience.

[Bob Gramann]

Lee Iturra will also have the replacement parts for your tensioner.

[Clay Schaeffer]

You can't put too much faith in where the scale on the tensioner says the blade should be properly tensioned, but should do it more by the feel and sound of the blade when "plucked". Springs get weak over time. As long as the blade can be properly tensioned the saw will work fine.

[Jim Kirby]

It sounds like you don't have resawing in mind. A 3/8" 6 TPI Timberwolf will work just fine. That's what I have on my saw, until I want to resaw and then its a 1/2" Lennox Tri-master.

Iturra is really good. I have their tensioning spring and adjusting wheel assembly on my 14" Delta. They have served me well enough that I've never had an opportunity to throw them more business.