bandsaw blade?

[davebrown]

fellers: i recently came into possession of a grizzly 16" bandsaw. it is said to be an early 90s model, with what appears to be a cast iron bow. no model number anywhere. it had a 3/4" blade on it, which was left on tension and thus had a bad kink. the seller took it off and i neglected to grab it for comparision. hence my question: i have determined this saw takes a 111" blade. i was thinking of buying a 3/4 3 tpi blade, and a 1/4 or 3/8 ish 6tpi blade for it. i don't think a 16" is really that suited for true resaw, so putting something larger than 3/4 seems a bit optimistic. any comments on this plan? i have read there were different grizzly models in the 90s, some not good at all. this one looks to be a real heavyweight, and might be one of the good ones... ps after i posted this i got a letter from the seller sayhing this was a 1538, and maybe as old as late 80s.

[TimmS]

Good plan. I buy my blades from Suffolk saw (http://www.mqsharp.com/sharpening-services/band-mill-blades.html) They will weld whatever size you need. My 16" saw can take up to a 1" wide blade, but I often resaw with a 1/2" 3 tpi Swedish blade from Suffolk

[Mrleft8]

3/4" is way too big for anything other than really cranking through big wet stock. 1/2" is the general workhorse in my shop.1/4" is for really tight curves. I'll second the recomendation of Suffolk Machinery.

[Robert W. Long]

I've been resawing for luthiers since 2002 and have always used a 1/2" 3 tpi hook tooth blade. Works great if the saw is tuned and set up properly.

[kc8pql]

I agree. 1/2" is plenty. My do everything blade is a 3/8" 6 tooth hook on an old 20" Powermatic. Does 95% of what I need, including resawing up to about 6" thick.

[davebrown]

thnx for replies. is a 3tpi hooked blade a suitable allrounder, or should i go for more like a 4 or 6 tpi?

[Jim Budde]

I have an old Walker Turner 16" and second everyone's comments about both 3"tpi hook and Suffolk as a source. Have a couple other widths hangin' on the wall and collectin' dust

[kc8pql]

thnx for replies. is a 3tpi hooked blade a suitable allrounder, or should i go for more like a 4 or 6 tpi?
Depends on what you cut most. I build mostly furniture and cabinets and want a reasonably smooth cut in usually 3" or less stock. 6tpi does that. If you mostly cut thicker stuff and the tooth marks don't matter, a 3 tpi will cut faster.

[CharlieCobra]

I've been using Grizzly blades without issue. It cuts Black Locust like butter.

[SMARTINSEN]

I think that the Suffolk and Grizzly blades are the same, both being advertised as low tension Swedish steel.

[davebrown]

ok, i got the new blade on the saw. i still have a bit of elliptical vibration, and it appears to be coming from the lower of the two wheels. i am suspicious that the bearings were damaged by the former owner running that kinked blade on her...from the side, with the covers off, you can see a fore/aft wobble at the wheel edge that looks to be about 1/64 of an inch--i a mean i haven't measured it, but it is enough to notice and it seems to cycle, so every little bit it is worse and then backs off. tension is good, blocks are set right, could it be the rubber on the tire? how bad of a job is it to change bearings? i still think i am at the stage where it is worth it to get it running right...i have almost nothing in the saw (i know, you get what you pay for).

[Robert W. Long]

Without being there with your saw I can't be very helpful. With my 20" powermatic I can get the cycling harmonic vibration to go away by fine tuning the tension while watching the running blade. Does your bottom wheel have runout when it is running without a blade on? Could very well be worn tires from the saw having been left with the tension on a lot. I always take the tension off when not using the saw.

[Mrleft8]

........ And I never un-tension the saw..... It's very possible that the tire is out of round, and that could contribute to your problem. Replacing bearings isn't hard, but it's not fun. A hard block with coarse sandpaper, and a ridgid support could help dress the tire, but you'd probably be better off replacing it..... Try that before you look into bearing replacement.

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

I echo lefty, if the tires are old, just buy new ones, they can get sort of mangled by improper tension and just sitting too... a good thing to do regardless of what else might be necessary.

[davebrown]

ok, message received. i went to woodcraft and they had tires fora whopping $39. am i to revert to rob white's duct tape advice? what is reasonable?

[SMARTINSEN]

I read somewhere where someone makes bandsaw tires out of 5200. This was for old iron. Does anyone know about it? I will try to find the source.

[Mrleft8]

$39? Buy two! I paid over $200 for the last set I got for my 20" Delta...... The number for my Oliver is mortgage material......