Well, I pulled the trigger on my first bandsaw!

[HomeyJay]

After dithering for a long time and trying to decide between the Axminster 2305 and the Record Power BS300E, I chose the BS300E. I just felt that it was more solid than the Ax and the cast iron wheels just made it a smoother runner.
Anyway, after using the horrific factory blade for a while, I replaced it with one of the 3 RP blades (6, 4, 3 TPI) I got free with the saw and the cut was much better when using the 6TPI one but still not as smooth as, don’t laugh, my now returned Aldi saw! I think the blade on the Aldi saw was probably an 8TPI or higher job.

I’d really like to get a smoother cut if possible so I was going to order a couple of 3/8” blades from TuffSaws but I’m not sure which ones would be a decent general purpose blades. Would they be better than the RP blades in any case?

Can anyone help please? (homer)

 

[Droogs]

Tuffsaw quality much better, blade to use depends on how thick the wood you will usually cut will be, aim for 3 or 4 teeth to be in the wood at a time

 

[HomeyJay]

Hmm, I don’t get that! If I’m cutting 4” thick wood, does that mean that I need a blade with 1 TPI??

 

[Phil Pascoe]

No. It's a guide not a requirement - if you are cutting say 1/2" ply you should have 6 tpi minimum and maybe a 10 tpi max. Fewer it'll snatch, too many more and it'll clog. If you look at huge industrial saws they do have teeth that large ........... and motors to match. If you try starting a cut on a corner with a handsaw too quickly it'll jump - same thing. Once the cut is a little way in it smooths out - more teeth are in contact.

 

[HomeyJay]

Thanks but don’t fewer teeth give a rougher cut?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Not necessarily. A blade with a few sharp, correctly set large teeth will give a better cut than something struggling and likely to wander - the cut might be smooth but if if it's not on line and square you've gained nothing.
https://www.tuffsaws.co.uk/
Read the blade buying guide.

 

[sunnybob]

email Ian at tuffsaws. tell him your machine, what wood you cut, and whether it is just straight or tight curves. He will tell you EXACTLY what blades to buy.

 

[Simon_M]

No. It's a guide not a requirement - if you are cutting say 1/2" ply you should have 6 tpi minimum and maybe a 10 tpi max.

As a guide,you can work with 3-24 teeth in the workpiece but 6-12 is better. So you could cut 1/2” plywood with 6tpi but not 6mm plywood with the same blade. A better blade for your 1/2” plywood would be 12tpi.

Using the wrong blade can be the difference between success and failure (more than machine or “skill”) and recognising that it’s time to retire the blade puts the “odds” in your favour too.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

As a guide,you can work with 3-24 teeth in the workpiece but 6-12 is better ... A better blade for your 1/2” plywood would be 3-4tpi.
.

You've just contradicted yourself.

 

[HomeyJay]

Just to let everyone know, spoke to Ian@tuffsaws (what a gent), went over and collected a 16mm SuperTuff Fastcut blade and bl**dy hell - I felt that I'd been previously been cutting wood with a potato! This blade will basically cut anything at 10mm + and zip through it leaving a smooth finish. I'm honestly sooo impressed!

Many, many thanks to Ian at TuffSaws, you have another loyal customer!

 

[woodbloke66]

Just to let everyone know, spoke to Ian@tuffsaws (what a gent), went over and collected a 16mm SuperTuff Fastcut blade and bl**dy hell - I felt that I'd been previously been cutting wood with a potato! This blade will basically cut anything at 10mm + and zip through it leaving a smooth finish. I'm honestly sooo impressed!

Tuff saw blades are good and it's a revelation when you experience a decent blade for the first time, but don't forget there are other suppliers who provide blades equally as good - Rob

 

[sunnybob]

My bandsaw blade buying experience is fairly limited, but of the three makes I have bought and used, Ian now gets all my repeat business (such as it is) =D>

 

[Raymond UK]

My bandsaw blade buying experience is fairly limited, but of the three makes I have bought and used, Ian now gets all my repeat business (such as it is) =D>

Same here! It might have been you pointing me in the right direction but I've had 8 or 9 blades from Ian and I'm more than happy.

 

[SamTheJarvis]

<Obligatory tuffsaws recommendation here>

 

[Inspector]

"....16mm SuperTuff Fastcut blade...."

I was wondering how many teeth per inch the blade has and going to the site didn't tell me because it is down for maintenance. So for the sake of my curiosity how many teeth does this blade have?

Pete

 

[sunnybob]

You can tell Ian how many you want :shock: =D>