Tuffsaws bandsaw blades - speechless.

[Zeddedhed]

Now I know that everyone here has sung the praise of Tuffsaws blades for a long time and indeed a lot of you use them.

This post is for anyone yet to buy one.

I took delivery of a new Record BS400 (largely based on the fantastic review elsewhere on this forum courtesy of Random with help from Alexam and others.

My experience so far has convinced me that it is a good saw and should do everything I need it to do. With the factory blade it was .....OK.

Adrian visited last week to take a look at the saw and we tried cutting through a chunk of green Oak post (150 x 150) which it wasn't happy with.

Anyway, my Tuffsaws blades turned up today and the first one fitted was the 1" Supertuff Sabrecut 3tpi. It annihilated the wood - just ate through it like it was piece of B&Q UltraDryBalsaCrap.

Then we tried some 200mm Sapele - same result if not better.

Finally a chunk of 285mm TulipWood. Total time to cut 12 seconds.

So if anyone is unsure if the hype is true - it is. They are the woodworking equivalent of Lightsabers.

I'm off to go and make everything thats thick in my workshop thin.

Over and Out.

 

[moosepig]

+1 They are fantastic blades, no doubt, they transformed my cheapo hobby bandsaw into something I can actually cut wood with - repeatably and accurately - as opposed to just mucking about with funny shapes in ply, which was all the saw was fit for beforehand. They are also great value and the customer service is first class. I won't use anything else now. Even rip blades leave a good finish that just needs some sanding.

I'm off to go and make everything thats thick in my workshop thin.

Been there! When I got my first Tuffsaws blades, I ended up with a shed full of increasingly thin softwood veneer :twisted: Light sabres is exactly what they are. If you have a band saw and you don't have Tuffsaws blades - go get 'em, end of.

 

[AJB Temple]

That is very interesting Pete. I must admit, when we put that piece of oak through I thought to myself (but my face obviously betrayed me) "uh oh, this is struggling!" I shall follow your lead and order Tuffsaw blades for the Jet, which is supposedly coming on Wednesday morning.

Record clearly delivers a lot for the money.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Welcome to the club!

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I have been banging this drum for quite some time chaps......glad other people are seeing the same results to help corroborate the detail I documented in the review. For those who really did read it in detail my goal was to only publish objective fact and not exuberant opinion which those given to justifying their tool purchases are wont to do. The results I got are measurable and repeatable and can therefore be relied upon if the same conditions exist ie well setup bandsaw and sharp good quality (Tuffsaws) blade.

It's gratifying to see that exactly that is being reported by those who have followed through and bought the machine I reviewed.

 

[Zeddedhed]

Welcome to the club!

Thanks Steve.

All you have to do to join the club it seems is talk with a very nice and knowledgable Welshman and then give him some money.

S'easy!!

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

One thing that many don't realise is that people new to the bandsaw often have no idea what blade they want for the jobs they have in mind given how immensely versatile the tool is. All you need to do is call Ian at Tuffsaws and explain the work you're trying to accomplish and he will walk you through the choices and options.

Compare that to wading through any bandsaw blade range on any website and it's infinitely easier because the choices aren't that huge when you narrow out the chaff of superfluous information.

 

[Tetsuaiga]

I have the bs400 and use the tuffsaw blades including fastcut and sabrecut. Im very happy and have also learnt its best to stick to straight cuts or change the blade. I have my old smaller dewalt bandsaw which is pretty poor by most standards but now im reserving it for my curve cuts, it does take up extra space in my small workshop but seems the right way to do things.

I would like to try a carbide or bimetal blade at some point though.

 

[Wizard9999]

Anyway, my Tuffsaws blades turned up today and the first one fitted was the 1" Supertuff Sabrecut 3tpi. It annihilated the wood - just ate through it like it was piece of B&Q UltraDryBalsaCrap.

[

Mind me asking which other blades you bought other than the 1" sabre cut?

Terry.

 

[Zeddedhed]

I also got the 1" SuperTuff Premium "Ripper" 1.3 tpi (an evil looking thing - the apprentice calls it Satans necklace!!)
and the 1/2" SuperTuff Fastcut - not sure of the tpi on this one.

£60 inc vat and delivery for the three.

 

[YorkshireMartin]

I'm still short a bandsaw but I fully intend to give tuffsaws my custom when I do.

Everything I read about them suggests they are a proper old school small business, who are customer centric and have the knowledge to backup there product.

That is extremely rare these days.

 

[Zeddedhed]

What I don't get is why Bandsaw manufacturers don't ship their products with blades this good.
It can't add much to the overall cost - the 1/2" blade I got from Ian was £13.50 ex VAT.

It would make their saws instantly appear so much better.

There must be hundreds if not thousands of users who never get to hear the Good News about Tuffsaws who probably end up thinking that the saw they've just bought is a piece of dung.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I've always said the same - the cost would be insignificant at the manufacturing stage. Drill manufactures often supply good drills with sets of plasticine drill bits - it reflects badly on the tool, but this doesn't seem to occur to the manufacturers.

 

[Alexam]

A Tuffsaw blade is a top rate cutter
Sails through wood just like butter
Others are just not the same
There's only one Tuffsaw name
Join the club and you will know
They save you time and lots of dough

 

[Bluekingfisher]

How do they compare to Hamilton Beverstock blades?

David

 

[stuartpaul]

My last few blades from Ian have been M42's and whilst they aren't cheap they do a fantastic job. I cut a fair amount of reclaimed wood and they deal with the odd nail reasonably well.

I'm still searching for a use for blunt blades, - there must be something useful to do with them?

 

[Alexam]

Bluekingfisher - Try them and be delighted.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

My last few blades from Ian have been M42's and whilst they aren't cheap they do a fantastic job. I cut a fair amount of reclaimed wood and they deal with the odd nail reasonably well.

I'm still searching for a use for blunt blades, - there must be something useful to do with them?

I found this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UygEQ-079Ws) on YT after doing a fairly extensive search to evaluate different methods. Simultaneously I asked Ian what he recommended for sharpening blades, he pointed me to the same source. Ironically I'm yet to try it because of family health challenges over the past year but time permitting I will because I now have 3 dulled 1.3tpi ripper blades with loads of life left in them. I had used a dremel and a diamond file it works after a fashion but the technique with a grinder in the video does look superior and as can be seen (and why I like it) the results are measurable, objective fact that don't require an opinion ie they're indisputable. Personally I like approaches where the "seller" is removed from the decision making process. It also looks faster if you've batched up 3 blades as blunt like I have ie do them all at once and keep a stock of sharp blades ready to rumble.

 

[DennisCA]

I sharpened mine with a jig, worked well

 

[stuartpaul]

My last few blades from Ian have been M42's and whilst they aren't cheap they do a fantastic job. I cut a fair amount of reclaimed wood and they deal with the odd nail reasonably well.

I'm still searching for a use for blunt blades, - there must be something useful to do with them?

I found this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UygEQ-079Ws) on YT after doing a fairly extensive search to evaluate different methods. Simultaneously I asked Ian what he recommended for sharpening blades, he pointed me to the same source. Ironically I'm yet to try it because of family health challenges over the past year but time permitting I will because I now have 3 dulled 1.3tpi ripper blades with loads of life left in them. I had used a dremel and a diamond file it works after a fashion but the technique with a grinder in the video does look superior and as can be seen (and why I like it) the results are measurable, objective fact that don't require an opinion ie they're indisputable. Personally I like approaches where the "seller" is removed from the decision making process. It also looks faster if you've batched up 3 blades as blunt like I have ie do them all at once and keep a stock of sharp blades ready to rumble.

Interesting link thanks Bob, - by crikey can he talk!

I'm tempted to have a go but wonder if life is a tad too short?!