[lem73]

I need some help finding a new bandsaw blade. Woodworking isn't new to me, but at the same time I can't say I've had to shop for bandsaw blades before!

The saw is a common 9" Delta bench top model, perhaps ten years old or so. If I had to guess I'd say the blade that's in there is 3/16" - it's the one that came with it.

What I need to be able to do is make a few dozen 16" long cuts in 7/8" premium grade pine. I can't use the table saw because the kerf is much too wide. These cuts need to be as straight as possible, and freehanding it with this 3/16" blade takes too long (and is just a little bit wiggly).

Will a 3/8" blade help produce less wiggly cuts yet maintain that thin kerf I enjoy by using a bandsaw? What about 1/2"...can (or should) I get something that wide?

 

[woodnthings]

your little saw will probably take....

A maximum of 3/8" wide blade. The smaller saws need blades that are thin in section, no matter the width, because they need to flex more going around the small wheels. So, you may have some difficulty finding one.

Do you know the length?

Yes, a wider blade will reduce the wiggle. You need to do a tune up before trying any cutting with a new blade. Here's how:

 

[lem73]

Thanks for the reply! In looking the saw up (Delta's BS100) I learned from a "tuneup tips" review on Amazon that the stock blade guides and especially blade itself are both junk. Thinking about picking up a 3/8" Timber Wolf blade and fabricating some WD40-soaked hardwood guide blocks since Cool Blocks are expensive and aren't offered in the size I need. I did pull the stock blocks out of the saw and found that they are not at all effective. Considering I can cut decently straight as it is, albeit barely, I think that the combination of a 3/8" blade and new blocks of some kind is going to make a huge improvement.

 

[woodnthings]

make sure of the thickness

It will need to be. 025" NOT .032" or it will break prematurely either at the weld or elsewhere.

 

[lem73]

It will need to be. 025" NOT .032" or it will break prematurely either at the weld or elsewhere.

Thanks! Length is 59 1/2". Just finished watching the YouTube Video too, good stuff!

 

[woodnthings]

here's one

3/8" X 5 ft X .025" @ $12.28
http://www.bandsawbladesdirect.com/...=0&fracFinder=0&widthFinder=56&toothFinder=62

 

[Skiptooth]

I need some help finding a new bandsaw blade. Woodworking isn't new to me, but at the same time I can't say I've had to shop for bandsaw blades before!

The saw is a common 9" Delta bench top model, perhaps ten years old or so. If I had to guess I'd say the blade that's in there is 3/16" - it's the one that came with it.

What I need to be able to do is make a few dozen 16" long cuts in 7/8" premium grade pine. I can't use the table saw because the kerf is much too wide. These cuts need to be as straight as possible, and freehanding it with this 3/16" blade takes too long (and is just a little bit wiggly).

Will a 3/8" blade help produce less wiggly cuts yet maintain that thin kerf I enjoy by using a bandsaw? What about 1/2"...can (or should) I get something that wide?

My little Delta 28-150 band saw is the older version of the exact same BS-100 saw and I use these Olson FB250146SXA 1/4 X .020 X 59-1/2" blades along with a fence for ripping 1X, 2X and 4X as well as 3/4" plywood with it all the time. Good price, nice cut and they seem to last a good long time. I can even make clean curved cuts with them using the stock Delta phenolic blade guides, which will work perfectly fine if you set them up properly and keep them adjusted. I've found that with this saw a 3/8" wide blade with a regular tooth pattern will usually give a very slow cut and actually bog down or stall the saws little 1/3HP motor, even with thinner stock, so I tend to avoid using them.

http://www.olsonsaw.net/5912inlong.html

 

[lem73]

My little Delta 28-150 band saw is the older version of the exact same BS-100 saw and I use these Olson FB250146SXA 1/4 X .020 X 59-1/2" blades along with a fence for ripping 1X, 2X and 4X as well as 3/4" plywood with it all the time. Good price, nice cut and they seem to last a good long time. I can even make clean curved cuts with them using the stock Delta phenolic blade guides, which will work perfectly fine if you set them up properly and keep them adjusted. I've found that with this saw a 3/8" wide blade with a regular tooth pattern will usually give a very slow cut and actually bog down or stall the saws little 1/3HP motor, even with thinner stock, so I tend to avoid using them.

http://www.olsonsaw.net/5912inlong.html

Thanks for the tips! So...if I understand correctly...the side blade guides are irrelevant when cutting straight? Is tension, then, the key to a straight cut? Also...how do you have your blade tracking set up on your saw? Per the video I placed the teeth in the center of my upper wheel, BUT this causes the blade to rub up against the rear blade guide, which cannot be moved back any further.

 

[Skiptooth]

Thanks for the tips! So...if I understand correctly...the side blade guides are irrelevant when cutting straight? Is tension, then, the key to a straight cut? Also...how do you have your blade tracking set up on your saw? Per the video I placed the teeth in the center of my upper wheel, BUT this causes the blade to rub up against the rear blade guide, which cannot be moved back any further.

I think my saw is pretty much set up like in that video.
With the 1/4" wide blade, I always keep the tracking adjusted so that the back of the gullets, not the teeth themselves, are at the centerline of the tire on the upper wheel. That still leaves the saw with at least another additional 1/4" of adjustment on the rear thrust bearing/guide.
IMO, those side blade guide adjustments are important for any kind of cut. I set them so that the front edges of the guide blocks are aligned with the back of the gullets and with just enough clearance for the blade to pass through them easily without any binding.
As far as blade tension, I just go by feel, but you can do like in the video where you have less than 1/8" deflection with the guides retracted. Just don't crank the adjustment knob down too much though, because the tension bracket behind the upper wheel is only made from cast aluminum and is no longer available as a repair part from Delta, so if it gets broken the saw is a goner.