So many blades - which one?

Al Launier

Member
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1,683
Location
Bedford, NH
With so many 93 1/2" bandsaw blades available, and with no experience yet for me to base a choice on, I'm hoping you experienced saw guys would be good enough to forward your recommendations by brand name & also which ones to stay away from? My application would be general home projects, mainly with wood, but occasionally aluminum and some mild steel, & perhaps some plastics, all on a G0555LX. I recall from my apprenticeship days that that quality of weld was an important charastic in a blade, so if you should have reservations based on the weld, would you please note this. I'm thinking that the carbon blades would be adequate for wood & plastics and the bi-metal better for the aluminum & steel for this application.

Names that I've run acrross so far include:
  • Grizzly
  • Ellis
  • Starrett
  • Lenox
  • Timber Wolf
  • Olson
  • Vermont
  • Bosh
  • Jet
  • Rockler
Thanks for your comments.
Al
 
Al, the first couple blades I bought were Timberwolf blades. They are a great blade! However they are on the pricer side. After some advise here I placed an order with Ellis and have found their blades to also be very good and much cheaper. I did the math one time and if I remember right if you need more than three blades it was much cheaper to buy from ellis. My next order for blades will be through them. They have a minumum of $50.00 I think plus shipping but spread across the 6-8 blades you can get for that price it works out much cheaper overall AND you get a very good quality blade.
 
Thanks Tom, I anticipated someone would recommend Ellis. Vaughn recommended them as well.

I did contact them & was told that even if I wanted to replace only one worn out blade with another, there would still be a $50 minimum order. At this time I don't know what my needs will be & how many blades I'll need, so I was thinking of 2-3 to get me started & decide what would work best for me. However, I'm going to keep your recommendation high on the list though, as I may just say go get 'em to get off on the right foot & worry about the next order later. I do wish they would accept PayPal as I could buy them with my "discretionary" funds rather that from house $$$.

Thanks for your recommendation.
Al
 
Heads up Al,
The G0555 is not meant to cut steel!! Standard cutting speed for mild steel is 100 FPM. Your saw at the lowest speed is 1500 FPM. You can do aluminum, soft brass and copper but I would recommend a a fine toothed blade. As for brand, I use the Olson Pro Series for wood 'cause it is available locally. The 1/2" 3tpi has really worked great for resawing for me.
 
Thanks Roger, had completely overlooked the SFPM. I now recall having used 100 SFPM as the cutting speed for mild steel when I worked the T&D trade almost 50 years ago. My memory continues to fail me as noted in my signature.Thanks for the Olson brand recommendation. I've seen a lot of ads, but had no idea if Olson was good or bad. Appreciate your response & especially the heads up.
 
...I did contact them & was told that even if I wanted to replace only one worn out blade with another, there would still be a $50 minimum order. At this time I don't know what my needs will be & how many blades I'll need, so I was thinking of 2-3 to get me started & decide what would work best for me...

Buying several different configurations of blades at first is a good way to get a feel for they types of blades you're most likely to use. So you're on the right track there, in my opinion. (And your needs will quite possibly be different than those of other guys here.) An assortment with something like a 1/4" with 14 tpi, a 3/8" with 6 to 8 tpi, and a 1/2" with 3 tpi would be a well-rounded set. That said, you can buy two of each from Ellis for less than the three blades would cost most other places. That gives you a spare for each configuration. Having a spare blade is a good thing, since Murphy's Law dictates that the likelihood of a blade breaking is directly proportional to the importance of the project (with a multiplier added if the project is on a deadline).

Once you find the one or two blade configurations you use the most, you can stock several of each. And you still will have one or two blades that you don't use much, but have available for the rare project where they are handy. Case in point: When I first got my bandsaw, I bought a pairs of several different configurations. In time, I realized that I very seldom used the 1/4" blade and almost never used the 3/8" blade, but the 1/2" blade got lots use for the things I was doing. (Your mileage may vary, of course.) When that 1/2" blade was ready to be replaced, I put my spare one on the saw and ordered 6 or 7 more of that size. Those are my primary, day-to-day blades for cutting turning blanks. I still have at least one of those original 1/4" blades, and still use it once in a blue moon when I'm doing a project that can use it. I eventually bought another one to have as a spare, so I added it to my next 1/2" blade order. (I never felt the need to buy any more of the 3/8" ones, but I'll bet I still have one or two in the cabinet...next to the one or two 3/4" blades I've tried and decided I didn't like.)
 
I have had very good luck with Lenox, Timberwolf, Olson and Starrett. Plus Highland Hardware's Wood Slicer for resawing. They're all great, especially the Wood Slicer. I have also had Delta blades -- IMHO, don't even try them.
 
Thanks for the referrals. Looks like I'll be be visiting www.ellis.com to get an inventory started.

Vaugn, I just visited your web site. Are all those beautiful pieces your work? Incredible!

Judging from what I've seen so far of the work done by those on this forum, it looks like I've hit the honey hole of woodworking talent. Skill sets such as these are extraordinary!
 
al before you go and place your order sometimes we can get a group buy going to make the pricing come out better.. and we can get different blades and still have the minimum met.. just need someone to order and resend them out.. i know i am in need of a couple for my small saw but right now i am not sure of the length..
 
Thanks for the referrals. Looks like I'll be be visiting www.ellis.com to get an inventory started.

Vaugn, I just visited your web site. Are all those beautiful pieces your work? Incredible!

Judging from what I've seen so far of the work done by those on this forum, it looks like I've hit the honey hole of woodworking talent. Skill sets such as these are extraordinary!

I think you'll do better buying band-saw blades at this URL

http://www.ellissaw.com/Band-Saw-Blades/4/blade-selection

than at the URL you listed in your post. Good luck.
 
Thanks Bart!

Larry, I could be amenable into this, but to be frank, I doubt if I would have the volume of purchases that you guys are into. What you guys use in a week would probably last me more than a year..... or more.

I currently have 3 blades, with another on order, and I really won't know what I want until I have more experience with them. I am convinced that Ellis is the top choice based on the recommendations from the experts on FWW, but it could be a while before I reach the point of ordering more as I don't have the volume of projects you guys have. Unless of course my wife "forces" me to buy some more! LOL

Also, what would the arrangement be for purchases by multiple buyers: PayPal to the prime buyer to cover the individual purchases & shipments to each other to the buyer?
 
I currently have 3 blades, with another on order, and I really won't know what I want until I have more experience with them. I am convinced that Ellis is the top choice based on the recommendations from the experts on FWW, but it could be a while before I reach the point of ordering more as I don't have the volume of projects you guys have. Unless of course my wife "forces" me to buy some more! LOL

Also, what would the arrangement be for purchases by multiple buyers: PayPal to the prime buyer to cover the individual purchases & shipments to each other to the buyer?

Its not the volume of the wood that does my blades in, its the volume of dirt (turning wood I don't get .. quiiiite clean enough - yeah my bad) or the volume of nails (a $20 cheapo metal detector quickly paid for itself after I hit the first nail - IN A ROOT of all places, and the piece ended up to punky to mess with after that anyway).

I think for a group buy you'd be best off on trust and local distribution if you can find enough local-to-you folks to swing it. Have one fellow front the $$ for the blades and everyone else pay hm back when they pick up (or pay first, buy after, whatever you agree to...).
 
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