Essential Band Saw Blade Set - Ellis Blades Received

Brent Dowell

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So,

Lets say you had a Delta 15" 14" bandsaw with a riser block that takes 105" blades. What would you consider to be the 'essential' set of blades for the saw?

My blades are all junk. and I was thinking of going to some vendor and ordering an assortment of new blades.

I'm also looking for your preferred vendor.

Thanks!
 
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First, I thought the 14 inch with riser block took a 105 inch blade. Is yours a 14 or 15 inch saw?

No question, I would go with Timberwolf blades from Suffolk Machinery. The web site has lots of info, but you have to phone to order. Operators know more about bandsaws that I will ever know.

I primarily use my 14 inch saw for curve work so normally keep a 3/16 inch blade on it, with a fairly high number of teeth.

Sometimes I cut bowl blanks on the 14 inch saw, so use a special Timberwolf blade with a wider set for green wood, 1/2 inch blade, few teeth per inch.

When my 14 inch was my primary bandsaw, I had marginal luck resawing - 3 times in a row it would work perfectly, then the fourth time it would destroy the workpiece. (I now have a second bandsaw for that work). But if you only have one, I would look at a 3/4 inch blade, or even a Woodslicer from Highland, or a Bladerunner from Iturra (same blade). It is very thin (.022 inches rather than the usual .035 or so), works well with the lower tension possible on a small saw, but as a thin blade doesn't last as long.
 
Suffolk (Timberwolf) makes an excellent blade, but it's way overpriced in my opinion. (Gotta pay for the marketing somehow.) My recommendation for suppliers is Ellis. Every bit as good as (or better than) the Timberwolf blades I've used, and at 1/3 the cost. Look at the 'flexback' models toward the bottom of this page. They have a $50 minimum order, and you have to call it in instead of doing it online, but you can mix and match your order, so it's a great way to stock up on an assortment of blades. I've been VERY satisfied with their blades and their service. :thumb: I've also seen no tangible difference between a plain ol' hook tooth 3 tpi blade and the specialty "green wood" blades that are sold by various vendors.

I will second Charlie's recommendation on the Woodslicer for resawing, though. :thumb: Pricy, but much better than any of the other blades that have been recommended to me for resawing.

Personally, I use the 1/2" 3 tpi hook tooth blades the most, but that's because I'm primarily rough-cutting wet and dry turning blanks. For general purposes, I like a 1/4" 6 to 10 tpi blade, although most of the time I just hack it out with the rough-cutting blade since it's already on the saw. For tighter curves, I keep a 3/16" 10 tpi on hand. I've used three different 3/4" blades, and haven't been impressed with any of them. My suspicion is that the 14" saws don't have the ability to tension a 3/4" blade the way a bigger saw can.
 
When my 14 inch was my primary bandsaw, I had marginal luck resawing - 3 times in a row it would work perfectly, then the fourth time it would destroy the workpiece. (I now have a second bandsaw for that work). But if you only have one, I would look at a 3/4 inch blade, or even a Woodslicer from Highland, or a Bladerunner from Iturra (same blade). It is very thin (.022 inches rather than the usual .035 or so), works well with the lower tension possible on a small saw, but as a thin blade doesn't last as long.

I will second Charlie's recommendation on the Woodslicer for resawing, though. :thumb: Pricy, but much better than any of the other blades that have been recommended to me for resawing.
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My suspicion is that the 14" saws don't have the ability to tension a 3/4" blade the way a bigger saw can.

That's one of the biggest reasons I'm looking at this. Not much luck with resawing with my current crop of blades.

Great advice guys!
 
ellis for the source and a 3/16, or 1/4' for the small stuff and i agree on the 1/2' wood slicer on the smaller saws.. and highland will take care of you as well.. call ellis up and ask them there thoughts brent they are very willing to help you out..
 
Brent, I have used both the Timberwolf blades from Suffolk and the flexback blades from Ellis. The Timberwolf blades are very good blades. I bought blades from Ellis and found them to also be very good blades. I re-sawed 10" wide walnut with a 1/2 inch blade from Ellis and it cut like butter.

Suffolk will have a sale and price their blades with a buy 2 get 1 free deal every once and a while and that helps with the overall price.

The Timberwolf blades from Suffolk were about $19.00 each. Shipping & handling charges from Suffolk was about $7.00.
The same blades I got from Ellis where about $11.00 each. Shipping & handling from Ellis was about. $15.00.


When all was said and done after shipping and handling costs the blades from Ellis are cheaper and they are good blades. You do have to spend a minimum of $50.00 but if you need several different sizes you will meet that pretty quick anyway.

So to sum this all up......my recommendation is......if you only want/need one or two blades......buy the Timberwolf blade from Suffolk.
However if you want to stock up and buy several different sizes at once then you can get a very good quality blade and save a little money overall when you buy from Ellis.

PS....I forgot to add that I like using 1/4" and 1/2" blades......3/4" for rough cutting bowl blanks though.
 
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Tom, it looks like the Ellis blades have gone up a bit since I last checked with them a few months ago. (I was researching this subject for some guys on another forum.) I was quoted somewhere around $8 per blade in the 105" length, and at the time, the comparable Timberwolf was priced at about $21.
 
Well, Sounds like Ellis is the place to go. I doubt I'll have a hard time getting the minimum order ready, as I'm just going to throw away all the blades I currently have. Sure, I can measure the width and TPI, but all I know is they all cut like a dull butter knife, and a hundred bucks spent on new blades (with multiple backups for each size) would be money well spent.

I'll give them a call in the morning.

Thanks! :thumb:
 
I run a 17" saw but have tried a reasonable number of blades sizes. I have settled on 3/4" by 2-3 skip tooth for resaw and 1/4" by 8 and 1/4" by 14 TPI raker blades as the ones I prefer. Bear in mind that I have a 10" bandsaw for small work on which I run 1/8" and 1/4" blades.

The main saw jump between 3/4" for resaw and 1/4" for curves may seem wide but, I have tried a few different 3/*", 1/2" and 5/8" blades before landing on my preferences. Just remember, steel bandsaw blades are wear parts. This next set that you purchase will be far from your last. Try some, jot down your pros and cons and then try some different ones next time. You will find your preferred players pretty quickly.
 
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You've nailed part of my problem Glenn. I have no idea what I have, so no idea what does or in my case, doesn't work. So I'm going to junk them and get a nice set of new ones and keep track...

That, and a good deal of a tune up on the ole saw.
 
Hi,

I have 3/4 in Woodslicer on my new 17 in BS. I purchased the Woodslicer because so many people, including my son Glenn, recommended it.

I also have my dad's 14 in Delta which is in excellent condition. I have a Carter AccuRight 1/4 in blade on it for doing curvy stuff. I just put the 1/4 in blade on the saw. Before purchasing the 17 in, I had a Carter 1/2 in on the Delta. I used it for everything, cutting firewood, cutting kindling, cutting construction lumber, making mahogany gizmos like bottle holders, etc., etc.

The Carter 1/2 inch was on the Delta for approximately 4 years. It was the only blade I used. Glenn and I have used it recently to cut 4 in thick hard Maple. It cut it with the greatest of ease. Glenn was amazed at how easily it cut.

However, I put on the new Carter 1/4 in and it cut the Maple even easier. I was perfectly happy with the 1/2 in. until I put on the new 1/4 in.

I assume that the above accomplished nothing except to cloud the issue.

Enjoy,
Jim
 
My suspicion is that the 14" saws don't have the ability to tension a 3/4" blade the way a bigger saw can.

Brent,

Vaughn's right about this one. I tried to *make* my 14" bandsaw tension a 3/4" timberwolf, and my saw was down for weeks until I received replacements for all the parts I broke! :doh:

YMMV, but since then I never use anything bigger than 1/2" blades...

Thanks,

Bill
 
Brent,

Vaughn's right about this one. I tried to *make* my 14" bandsaw tension a 3/4" timberwolf, and my saw was down for weeks until I received replacements for all the parts I broke! :doh:

YMMV, but since then I never use anything bigger than 1/2" blades...

Thanks,

Bill

But Bill, Timberwolf blades are "LOW TENSION" blades.
 
Got my blades From Ellis today. Quite a little collection, but figured why not order a batch. Heck, Variety is the spice of life, and since you have to come up with a minimum to order, figured why not.

I got the following variety pack. Pricing was very good. Less than 9$ per blade for the 105" blades.

Tested out the 3tpi 1/2" and it made such a much smoother cut than the other blades I had. Granted, not a glue line rip, but it ran straight and smooth

So, I'd have to say the Ellis blades seems like a very good way to go. :thumb:

3 1/2" 3tpi Hook Figured these are the bread and butter, get a bunch
1 1/2" 6tpi Hook Just to see if the 6tpi does a smoother cut
1 3/8" 6tpi Hook
1 3/8" 10tpi Raker
1 3/8" 14tpi Raker
1 1/4" 6 Hook
1 1/4" 10 Raker

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without any real experience using a bandsaw, I purchased several blades from a tool dealer. I never seemed to have much luck, and had problems resawing boards.
I ordered ellis blades, 3 or 4 of them, I havent had problems since.
And now I use the bandsaw more since I get the results I want.
 
Way to go Brent. Do the tune up first. You will be suprised what a difference it makes.

Looking forward to hearing your review of the Ellis blades. For the price though i doubt you can go wrong.:thumb:
 
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