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I need to purchase some bandsaw blades for a 10" Craftsman Unibody saw. 70-1/2" in length . What do people prefer? I would prefer quality over cheap. Is there a good blade that fits the bill for most things or do I need to purchase two different blades?

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It really depends on what you plan to cut, I use a 1" carbide blade for resaw, down to a 1/4" for sharp turns. Carbide is always best but it is not available in the narrower blades

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Like Joe said, “...depends...”

I’d suggest looking at Olson or what Woodcraft has to offer.

Personally I like a skip tooth blade. They typically don’t come very fine but for me, they are much more manageable when trying to saw smooth curves. The surface may not be glass smooth but the curve is, if that makes sense.

Of course YMMV.

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

++ on skip tooth blades, they cut much smoother, less chip buildup and heat

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Thanks for the info. I won't be trying to do any resawing on a 10" Band saw with a tiny blade. Just an all purpose blade kind of. I do a lot of rough cuts on Elec body blanks and misc neck details.

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Yeah, a 10" craftsman is pretty small. I use to have one been when I found it necessary to do re-saw I finally gave up and bought a 16" with a 1-1/2HP motor. I did like the saw, if I had room in my shop I would have kept it with a 1/4" 4-TPI Skip tooth blade. It sure would have come in handy.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

I have a little 10 incher for basic shop chores. Use two different blades mainly. 1/8" & 3/8". I find the Olsen ones to be about the best as far as holding an edge and not breaking. Starrett aren't bad but it depends on the quality of the braze that holds them together. IME the braze is where these blades fail, due to the small wheels i believe.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

I had the same saw, it’s actually a Rikon 10-305 with craftsman’s name on it. 1/3 hp motor is too undersized for resawing but it was a good saw for most other things. I used Timberwolf 1/4 inch 3-4 tooth per inch blades for general use. It cut through most anything with it. Prob about 20 dollars a blade in the 70.5 inch length. I’ve since moved on to a Jet steel frame 14 inch with a 1-3/4 hp motor and 13 inch resaw capacity. It’s really absolutely no comparison. If you can in anyway swing the $$ for at least a 14 inch saw, it’s well worth the investment.

I have that saw too. It was my first bandsaw and is surprising good for its size. I was able to use a 1/2" 3-4 hook tooth blade to resaw to its full capacity (4 5/8" IIRC) in African mahogany. But just barely. In fact my first few instruments were designed around it's resaw capacity and have 9" lower bout width.

For making quick cuts around the shop, slicing up binding logs and cutting out curves in thinnish stock, it is pretty darned good. I keep a 1/4" blade on it. I used to just buy the craftsman blades at Sears but they don't seem to have them on the shelves anymore. I'm on my last one so I'm following closely here.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Seems lots of folks have this Craftsman saw. I agree with the posts above, it's a very useful tool for me, and it was, at the time I bought mine, the cheapest usable bandsaw I could find. I am lucky to live five miles away from a custom saw shop, and any blade i think of I can have made up and the prices are competitive with mailorder vendors.

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Peter Havriluk

That's my saw too, and I generally use a 1/4", 6 tpi to 1//4" 18tpi blades depending on what I'm doing. If I'm cutting purflings, I use the higher tooth count. Less tearout. I have tried a lot of different brands of blades, and haven't really found a favorite. Don't like Timberwolf much. Bought some Powertec blades off Amazon recently that were thinner and cut really nice. They even had a 24 tooth that is great for purflings and thin parts.

My best attachment purchase for that saw was a Carter guide bearing attachment that has one slotted guide bearing that the blade rides in. I never take it off. It does reduce the height capacity a little, but it makes blade changing a snap with no adjustments needed other than tracking since all the other guide bearings are off or moved out of range. It allows for much tighter curve cutting capabilities.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Waddy, I'm all ears about the blade guide conversion you mentioned. Do you know where I could look for one? Thanks!

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Peter Havriluk