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(repost from the saw blade forum)
Hmmm band saw blades.
My first BS is my MM16 which will take a 1-1/4" blade so I've tended to stay with the 3/4"+ blades. The saw came with a factory pair of 4 TPI Olsen blades which were OK, but soon dulled with resawing oak and other harder woods. Timberwolf had good reviews so I bought 3 more with the same profile as the original Olsen's. They cut well for a few resaws, but then also dulled. On to the WoodSlicers. The initial cuts were a dream come true, very sharp. After going through three of these I concurred with others that although they cut great, they dull very quickly, even faster than my Olsen and TWs.
Plenty of warnings about the carbide tipped Resaw Kings from Laguna on smaller than 18" machines. The heat treat and thickness of the metal led to fatigue cracking from the increased flexing around the smaller diameter wheels (this was early 2000's). Finally they came out with a 0.024" thick blade so I bought a 3/4" and later a 1" when on sale. Another thing was that they finally offered a 144" blade which didn't require the weld delays and they were available ready to ship for the sale pricing. I am still running the 3/4" after about 6 years so very happy with the results cutting hard woods like jatoba, ipe, and various rosewoods. Not as smooth as the Wood Slicer but that is why I have a drum sander.
My second BS is a vintage 14" powermatic 141. I got tired of swapping out blades on the 16" when I needed to cut curves. For these needs I use a variety of 1/4" and 3/8" blades, just the cheap ones as they all seem to last for my cutting needs and are very cheap in comparison to the wider/longer resaw blades.
Hmmm band saw blades.
My first BS is my MM16 which will take a 1-1/4" blade so I've tended to stay with the 3/4"+ blades. The saw came with a factory pair of 4 TPI Olsen blades which were OK, but soon dulled with resawing oak and other harder woods. Timberwolf had good reviews so I bought 3 more with the same profile as the original Olsen's. They cut well for a few resaws, but then also dulled. On to the WoodSlicers. The initial cuts were a dream come true, very sharp. After going through three of these I concurred with others that although they cut great, they dull very quickly, even faster than my Olsen and TWs.
Plenty of warnings about the carbide tipped Resaw Kings from Laguna on smaller than 18" machines. The heat treat and thickness of the metal led to fatigue cracking from the increased flexing around the smaller diameter wheels (this was early 2000's). Finally they came out with a 0.024" thick blade so I bought a 3/4" and later a 1" when on sale. Another thing was that they finally offered a 144" blade which didn't require the weld delays and they were available ready to ship for the sale pricing. I am still running the 3/4" after about 6 years so very happy with the results cutting hard woods like jatoba, ipe, and various rosewoods. Not as smooth as the Wood Slicer but that is why I have a drum sander.
My second BS is a vintage 14" powermatic 141. I got tired of swapping out blades on the 16" when I needed to cut curves. For these needs I use a variety of 1/4" and 3/8" blades, just the cheap ones as they all seem to last for my cutting needs and are very cheap in comparison to the wider/longer resaw blades.
