Re-sawing Blades

I just wanted to say a bit about my recent re-sawing experiences. I had some success with a little ~$100 Ryobi band saw, before I decided to buy a bigger better band saw. The Ryobi worked just barely OK for not too thick work pieces, with a lot of patience. I had to book match because it wouldn't do wide pieces and the motor was probably going to die prematurely from being overworked.

Next step I bought a nice used 14" Delta that was decked out with a bigger motor, a 6" riser kit, and better guide blocks. It worked pretty well with the blades I was using but I recently found that the 3/4" x 0.25" Timberwolf AS-S 2/3 tooth worked amazingly well.

According to Delta and the saw blade manufacturers, the saw can only take 0.25" or thinner blades, and most 3/4" blades are thicker so the Timberwolf may be the only 3/4" wide blade for the saw.

They aren't the cheapest blade available but the price isn't too bad.

Especially when re-sawing 10-12" deep cuts the problem with most blades is that the gullets of the teeth fill up with sawdust and bind. This makes the saw work harder, cut slower, and the surface winds up rougher. The 2/3 tooth configuration on this blade alternated between sections of four 3 tooth per inch teeth and sections of two 2 tooth per inch teeth. This setup avoids clogging, keeps the power requirement low, and makes for a smooth cut.

These blades work well at really low tension which also is a plus for both low power use and blade life.

I just cut some 10" wide wood for tops and backs. It cut like butter and the surface required much less sanding than I have needed to do in the past. I am delighted with these blades. I highly recommend them for those of you doing re-sawing with a 14" band saw.