Your bandsaw blades are the most important part of your milling operation. Ensuring sharp and accurately set blades will produce more precise cuts and smoother operation. Regular bandsaw blade maintenance can extend the life of your blades and save you money. Learn more about blades and browse our assortment of bandsaw blades, blade sharpener and tooth setter tools.
Our bandsaw blades are available in 7/8” Pitch (Hard & Softwood) and 3/4” Pitch (Hardwood). 7/8” Pitch blades are a good general-purpose blade for sawyers milling both hard and softwood logs. 3/4” Pitch blades are designed for sawyers milling primarily hardwood logs like maple, walnut and cherry.
ABlade Width | |||
A | Blade Width | The blade width is measured from the tip of the tooth to the back of the band. | |
BTooth Angle | |||
B | Tooth Angle | The tooth angle is the angle the tooth cuts into the wood at. Common angles are 7° for hardwood/frozen timber, 10° for general purpose and 14° for soft woods. | |
CBlade Thickness | |||
C | Blade Thickness | The overall thickness of the blade itself. | |
DBlade Gullet | |||
D | Blade Gullet | The blade gullet is the rounded space between the teeth. Designed to carry away sawdust. | |
EBlade Pitch | |||
E | Blade Pitch | The blade pitch is the distance between the tips of each cutting edge. Also described as teeth per inch. |
FSet | |||
F | Set | The bending of teeth up and down to allow clearance of the back of the blade through the cut. | |
GRake Tooth | |||
G | Rake Tooth | The blade tooth that is unset (straight). | |
HOffset Up | |||
H | Offset Up | The blade tooth that is set up. | |
IOffset Down | |||
I | Offset Down | The blade tooth that is set down. | |
JKerf | |||
J | Kerf | The thickness of the cut created in the wood. |
Your portable sawmill will perform best when you use sharp and accurately set bandsaw blades. Bandsaw blades will dull during use. Several factors can accelerate the decline in blade performance including the type of wood you are cutting or objects that it may encounter in the wood–dirt, sand, hard knots and foreign objects. Dull blades will result in wavy, poor quality cuts of lumber. Fortunately, maintaining your blades can be done more quickly and efficiently than you might have thought. Adding a bandsaw blade sharpener and tooth setter to your milling operation will save you money and increase your productivity.
Extend the life of your bandsaw blades. During use, your bandsaw blades will begin to dull. Pushing dull blades through logs will result in very small stress cracks that form in the gullet of the blade tooth. These stress cracks will expand over time and eventually cause the blade to break prematurely. The bandsaw blade sharpener can grind away these small cracks before they become larger. This will extend the life of your blade and produce smoother more accurately cut lumber. Blades can be resharpened up to 5 times on average.
Maintain your sawmill blades with the Woodland Mills Blade Tooth Setter by restoring the blade tooth set to the optimized position for cutting. Over time, your sawmill blades will dull and lose their set, which will reduce the effectiveness of the blade and diminish the quality of your cuts. An incorrectly set blade can result in wavy cuts, lines or grooves in your boards and even generate excessive heat in the blade, causing premature failure or breakage. Use the tooth setter in combination with the blade sharpener for best results.
It is strongly recommended that you wear gloves and safety glasses when handling and maintaining bandsaw blades. Remember to read all manuals carefully.