C4 Carbide Tipped. For some reason, top flight carbide tipped blades haven’t found their way onto most bandsaws. Seasoned woodworkers wouldn’t dream of using plain steel blades and bits on their tablesaw and router table. Experience that game changing improvement on your bandsaw too, with the Resaw King line of blades with C4 carbide teeth individually brazed and specially diamond ground for precision resawing and ripping.
Crown Your Bandsaw. A quality tool matters, it really does. But put a dull or improper blade on ANY SAW, and I guarantee you will have cutting defects like barrel-shaped cuts, burning, or irregular tapered cuts. Let’s fix that issue pronto with a new Resaw King carbide tipped bandsaw blade. The Resaw King is available in widths from ½” to an impressive 2” wide, but you’ll want to select a length and width that works best for your saw. For example, for the popular 1412 bandsaw, pick a 115” length and either ½” or ¾” width. The half-inch version is great for resawing, ripping cuts, and gentle curved cuts – like curved rails on some Arts and Crafts style furniture pieces. Or jump to the ¾” width for a dedicated resawing blade that can also tackle straight line rips.
Vari-Tooth Spacing. On first glance, you might not even notice all the engineering that went into this blade design. It actually uses variable tooth spacing, interspersing 14, 16, and 18mm tooth spacing to improve harmonics, and virtually eliminate blade flutter. So, if anyone asks what pitch or tooth spacing you use at the bandsaw you can say well… it averages around 2-3 TPI.
Is it Your Saw or Your Blade? If you’re struggling to get consistent veneers, or avoid the task of resawing entirely, you must ask yourself what’s the limiting factor? I’ve used some cast iron bandsaws that weren’t terribly accurate, so a modern steel frame bandsaw like the 1412 certainly helps. But regardless of your saw brand or model, you can dramatically improve cutting performance with a C4 Carbide tipped and diamond ground Resaw King blade.
Undeniable Benefits. A blade that lasts up to 10x longer than a conventional steel blade, could it be true? Well, I think that claim is being conservative, considering each Resaw King blade can be resharpened 4-5 times. That yields a staggering number of hours of useful work in its lifetime – and much more accurate than a standard blade as well.
Give One a Spin. I heard about carbide tipped bandsaw blades years before I ever actually used one. I figured maybe they were limited to specialty woodworkers or big cabinet shops. In reality, they’ll make anyone a better woodworker, especially if you do much work at the bandsaw. Plus – they last so much longer than plain steel blades, you’ll actually change blades less often.
The Fence System Matters Too. Most Laguna bandsaws come with a quality “High-Low” style fence that can be positioned either vertically for resawing, or horizontally for general purpose ripping and notching work. Or upgrade to the optional Driftmaster III (DX3) rack and pinion fence for effortless adjustments left and right. Plus, it has built-in micro adjustment of the fence angle to compensate for blade drift, and a number of other smart features.
Put it All Together. With the right saw, fence, and blade you’re almost there. Just make sure to include proper infeed / outfeed support with a roller stand or Laguna’s new XP series conveyor roller tables. Choose from the XP14 for narrower 14” support, or the XP20 for a full 20” working width. Simply expand the frame, and lock in the “Laguna Link” to form a rigid support surface that extends high enough to use at a bandsaw.
Results You’ll be Happy With. End the struggle of using a dull or narrow blade for resawing. The improvement is so immediate and drastic, I doubt you’ll believe it until you see it with your own eyes. If you struggle with getting ¼” thick bookmatched grain with your current setup, try veneer-grade exotics as thin as 1/32” right off the saw.
The Point of No Return. One thing’s for certain - once you experience the lofty performance of a carbide tipped Resaw King bandsaw blade – there is no going back. It’s like changing channels without a remote, or looking up facts in the Encyclopedia Britannica. You just can’t go back to the old way of doing things.
Accessorize That Bandsaw. So, deck out the queen of power tools in your shop with dust collection, a tall resawing fence, and LED lights galore. Even an expandable XP20 conveyor roller for unwavering outfeed support when sawing long planks or large timbers. But please, please do not forget to upgrade the blade!
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Willie Sandry is an Author for woodworking magazines, blogger, and tool tester with an affinity for Arts and Crafts style furniture. Equally comfortable behind a bandsaw, camera, or industrial sewing machine, he builds in white oak and leather whenever he can. Check out his cabinet building videos, or latest tool review on his YouTube channel The Thoughtful Woodworker https://www.youtube.com/c/TheThoughtfulWoodworker |
