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Band blades

Started by Bruno of NH, May 14, 2014, 04:53:33 PM

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Bruno of NH

What brand to buy?
Where to get sharpened ?
At first I'm sawing spruce , hemlock , and white pine
Thanks Jim (Bruno )
Lt 40 wide with 38hp gas and command controls , F350 4x4 dump and lot of contracting tools

drobertson

It might not matter, but might, what mill are you running?
only have a few chain saws I'm not suppose to use, but will at times, one dog Dolly, pretty good dog, just not sure what for yet,  working on getting the gardening back in order, and kinda thinking on maybe a small bbq bizz,  thinking about it,

Bruno of NH

Thomas 8013 manual mill
Lt 40 wide with 38hp gas and command controls , F350 4x4 dump and lot of contracting tools

hackberry jake

Thats like saying "who makes the best pick-up". You will get a variety of oppinions. You usually get what you pay for.
https://www.facebook.com/TripleTreeWoodworks

EZ Boardwalk Jr. With 20hp Honda, 25' of track, and homemade setworks. 32x18 sawshed. 24x40 insulated shop. 30hp kubota with fel. 1978 Massey ferguson 230.

thecfarm

I buy the Timber Wolf,10° right from Thomas,but I am ALOT closer than you are.
Now that 8013,is that the wide one? That might make a difference too. I just have the regular size mill.
Sharpen might be a problem. WM has a resharp,but you have to buy thier blades and 10 at a time. Which is a good deal. I don't saw much,so I don't use thier service. But I have a guy that does a real nice job. Or I did have. He's going through a divorce.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

drobertson

I would say find a saw shop near by, see what they sell, sharpen, and others in the area are using if this is possible. Otherwise go with wmz or Cooks, they sell and resharp and are good at it.  Or find a sharpener and get samples from the most you can, try them, sharpen them then make your blade decision from there.
only have a few chain saws I'm not suppose to use, but will at times, one dog Dolly, pretty good dog, just not sure what for yet,  working on getting the gardening back in order, and kinda thinking on maybe a small bbq bizz,  thinking about it,

Sixacresand

A guy near me has Cooks Sharpening Equipment.  His machine is set to sharpen Cooks 8 degree 7/8 pitch blades.  I am planning on buy a box of Cooks 8 degree Super Sharps and let him keep them sharp.  The cost of driving 5 miles to his house will be lots cheaper than shipping to and from WM Resharp. 
"Sometimes you can make more hay with less equipment if you just use your head."  Tom, Forestry Forum.  Tenth year with a LT40 Woodmizer,

drobertson

Quote from: Sixacresand on May 15, 2014, 08:21:51 PM
A guy near me has Cooks Sharpening Equipment.  His machine is set to sharpen Cooks 8 degree 7/8 pitch blades.  I am planning on buy a box of Cooks 8 degree Super Sharps and let him keep them sharp.  The cost of driving 5 miles to his house will be lots cheaper than shipping to and from WM Resharp.
I'm pretty sure you will be happy with these blades, been running them for several years, 
only have a few chain saws I'm not suppose to use, but will at times, one dog Dolly, pretty good dog, just not sure what for yet,  working on getting the gardening back in order, and kinda thinking on maybe a small bbq bizz,  thinking about it,

petefrom bearswamp

I have used mainly WM, some Cooks, some timberwolf (Suffolk machine) all work good and just received 2 wood max to try.
Will report on these after i saw.
I sharpen my own as i have cams for my WM sharpener for all of the above except wood max.
Kubota 8540 tractor, FEL bucket and forks, Farmi winch
Kubota 900 RTV
Polaris 570 Sportsman ATV
3 Huskies 1 gas Echo 1 cordless Echo vintage Homelite super xl12
57 acres of woodland

NMFP

Cams and wheels for woodmaxx bands are almost identical to Wood Mizer so you shouldn't have any problems sharpening them. 


Joe Hillmann

I called around to 4 or 5 of the better known sellers of band saw blades and ended up with the conclusion that Cook offers the most bang for the buck. 

The blades I was pricing were $16 each through cooks, everywhere else was between $21 and $25 per blade.  Cooks sharpening was also very reasonable, $7-something per blade, that price includes sharpening, setting and rolling,  the other companies didn't do rolling.  Also Cook will sharpen any 10 degree blade, even if it is from another company.  At least one of the companies I had talked to would only resharpen their own blades.  The person I talked to at Cook also seemed to be very knowledgeable about blades as compared to the others I talked to.

With all that said, I have only dulled one blade yet so I can't say if their blades are any better or worse than others.

If you are looking at the prices of the blades you also need to keep in mind how much shipping to and from will cost you when you need the blades resharpened as well as how long it will take to get them back to you.  I found someone locally who charges more per blade to sharpen but since I don't have to pay for shipping and should get my blades back quicker I plan to use him for my sharpening.

goose63

Just ordered a box of 20 supper sharp for $350 free shipping the young lady I talked to was a great help. thanks to the Forestry Forum I think I got a good deal  8) 8) 8)   
goose
if you find your self in a deep hole stop digging
saw logs all day what do you get lots of lumber and a day older
thank you to all the vets

petefrom bearswamp

Kubota 8540 tractor, FEL bucket and forks, Farmi winch
Kubota 900 RTV
Polaris 570 Sportsman ATV
3 Huskies 1 gas Echo 1 cordless Echo vintage Homelite super xl12
57 acres of woodland

barbender

Goose, that seems like a good price, $17.50 a blade, delivered. I haven't tried Cook's blades yet, I have used quite a few others. I've had the best luck with WM blades. Both Doublehard, and Silvertip. The Doublehards I find to hold an edge longer than anything else I've tried. The Silvertips are as good as anything else I've used, and they are priced pretty cheap. If I were sending them out to Resharp I would always use the Doublehard, I think it would be cheaper in the end. As it is, I sharpen my own, and I seem to wreck a lot of blades so the Silver tips work very well for me.
Too many irons in the fire

bandmiller2

Truth be known all of the major bands will give you good service. Some mills (spelled most) will do better with a certin brand of band but that can be trumped by price and handy. Shop by service, price and sharpening. Always best to trade local if you have someone close. Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

drobertson

There is another band worth a try, it is the Wood Max by Kasco,  I got two samples a few weeks ago, and these blades are right up there, maybe better than Cooks, I have yet to sharpen these two blades and retry them but all things are pointing to a very good blade at less the cost, several dollars less per blade.
only have a few chain saws I'm not suppose to use, but will at times, one dog Dolly, pretty good dog, just not sure what for yet,  working on getting the gardening back in order, and kinda thinking on maybe a small bbq bizz,  thinking about it,

goose63

I looked at wood max by Kasco a box of 15 was 3 some thing plus $40 shipping that's why I went with Cooks
goose
if you find your self in a deep hole stop digging
saw logs all day what do you get lots of lumber and a day older
thank you to all the vets

drobertson

Pretty sure you will be happy with these blades,
only have a few chain saws I'm not suppose to use, but will at times, one dog Dolly, pretty good dog, just not sure what for yet,  working on getting the gardening back in order, and kinda thinking on maybe a small bbq bizz,  thinking about it,

ladylake


I've tried quite a few different brands but so far have always come back to Simonds as they cut straight and take lots of sharpening's.   Steve
Timberking B20  18000  hours +  Case75xt grapple + forks+8" snow bucket + dirt bucket   770 Oliver   Lots(too many) of chainsaws, Like the Echo saws and the Stihl and Husky     W5  Case loader   1  trailers  Wright sharpener     Suffolk  setter Volvo MCT125c skid loader

terrifictimbersllc

Of those you mention, spruce will test you the most. If you want to saw it make sure your blades work on it.
DJ Hoover, Terrific Timbers LLC,  Mystic CT Woodmizer Million Board Foot Club member. 2019 LT70 Super Wide 55 Yanmar,  LogRite fetching arch, WM BMS250 sharpener/BMT250 setter.  2001 F350 7.3L PSD 6 spd manual ZF 4x4 Crew Cab Long Bed

thecfarm

I missed the spruce part. I only have 10° blades. I had no luck at all with that stuff, BUT I only had one log. It was cut up the road to make the road wider. It was just going to rot there. So instead of that bad fate I tried to saw it and then I put it on the brush pile.  ::)  That stuff had more waves than an ocean. Members on other posts have said I needed 7°. I don't have much spruce,so I doubt I will get another chance at it.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

dboyt

Blade specs are important, too.  Hopefully some members who have had experience with spruce will give their opinion on blade thickness, width, set, pitch and hook angle.  I suspect this will be more of a factor than who makes the blades.
Norwood MX34 Pro portable sawmill, 8N Ford, Lewis Winch

ladylake


I've had good results using 3/4 pitch vs 7/8 pitch blades cutting spruce, still not perfect in the wide cut but a lot better than 7/8 pitch.    Steve
Timberking B20  18000  hours +  Case75xt grapple + forks+8" snow bucket + dirt bucket   770 Oliver   Lots(too many) of chainsaws, Like the Echo saws and the Stihl and Husky     W5  Case loader   1  trailers  Wright sharpener     Suffolk  setter Volvo MCT125c skid loader

barbender

Simonds haven't worked that we'll for me, a few years back their teeth were still stamped or "broached" as it was called. They weren't sharp when brand new. I was really struggling with some Red oak, brand new blades wouldn't cut. I was going nuts. The place I was getting my blades had just started stocking WM Silvertip, so I tried those. They are fully ground, they cut great and the price was the same. Since then Simonds started doing a face grind on their teeth, and call them "Pre-sharps" I think. I just tried one with my last blade order. It cut really well, but the finish it left on the white oak I was cutting wasn't as good as the WM blades. BTW, I'm not an eyes rolled back in my head WM guy, (like Poston for instance ;D) when I had my first experience with WM blades I was still running a homemade mill, there was no brand loyalty with that thing :) I just wanted something that would cut straight.
Too many irons in the fire

Bruno of NH

Hi guys
My mill came with 13 ft 6 inch x 1 1/2 blades
Can you run 1 1/4 with blades too ?
Thanks Jim
Lt 40 wide with 38hp gas and command controls , F350 4x4 dump and lot of contracting tools

Bruno of NH

Ordered 10 cooks super sharps today .
Got 10 percent off .
Going to give them a try .
Jim
Lt 40 wide with 38hp gas and command controls , F350 4x4 dump and lot of contracting tools

Nomad

     Cooks makes a great blade.  My experience, however, is that a metal strike is a killer.  As long as you can avoid that, it's a great blade.  Due to the tooth shape I suppose.
Buying a hammer doesn't make you a carpenter
WoodMizer LT50HDD51-WR
Lucas DSM23-19

slider

Bruno,before you go to the 1 1/4 band make sure tour guide setup wont interfere with your set.I have to change roller wheels on mine when going from 1 1/2 to 1 1/4. al
al glenn

barbender

Like slider says, you'll have to check your guides. I can get away with 1 1/2" blades on my 1 1/4" guides, but I think if you tried 1 1/4" blades on 1 1/2" guides the teeth would ride on the rollers and take the set out of one side of the blade.
Too many irons in the fire

Bruno of NH

Hi guys
Thanks for the info !!!
Lt 40 wide with 38hp gas and command controls , F350 4x4 dump and lot of contracting tools

drobertson

I would run with what came on the mill, seems there was a reason for it to start with,
only have a few chain saws I'm not suppose to use, but will at times, one dog Dolly, pretty good dog, just not sure what for yet,  working on getting the gardening back in order, and kinda thinking on maybe a small bbq bizz,  thinking about it,

shinnlinger

Bruno,
I send my bands to a place in Lempster to get resharpened.  They do a good job and don't care what brand.   I send them with a local sawyer so I have never dealt with them directly but will inquire if you would like.   I have also used Bob's sharp all who run a circuit to my local hardware store but think they are out of Merideth.   He is only good for two sharpenings and then his set is off
Shinnlinger
Woodshop teacher, pasture raised chicken farmer
34 horse kubota L-2850, Turner Band Mill, '84 F-600,
living in self-built/milled timberframe home

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