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Hello,

For the last 12 months or so I’ve been practicing resawing on cheap blades. I couldn’t convince myself to start out on a resaw king, etc... what I’ve primarily been using is something called the kerfmaster. I think the maker is Lenox, not sure. Here is a link: http://www.spectrumsupply.com/kerfmaster-2.aspx

My saw is a Rikon 14” that takes a 3/4” max blade so I can’t use the woodmaster which starts at 1”. I know some folks here have recommended the woodmaster as a resaw blade.

I use a high fence that is just two 6” tall pieces of ply attached to the factory fence.

I’ve also used the Timber Wolf 3/4” blade available from woodcraft. Mostly I’ve used these out of convenience. They carry the 111” blade I need in stock most of the time.

What I’ve experienced is that I can get about 10-12 cuts with the kerfmaster. Anything more then that starts to take more force and the blade starts to wander. The Timberwolf lasts just slightly longer, maybe 15 - 20 cuts, but is 3x the price. The kerfmaster is around 18 and the Timberwolf is 50.

Some questions:

1) Am I getting enough cuts out of these blades? I’m sure the species being cut matters. In my case it’s been mostly Sapele, Qtrsawn White Oak, Zebrawood and Padauk.

2) Will one of these carbide tipped blades like the resaw king last 8x the cheap kerfmaster since its 8x the price?

3) Any other carbide tipped blades besides the resaw long that you’ve had success with? My woodcraft carries a carbide blade from Starrett, but it’s the same price as the Laguna blade.

4) Any tips for setup that you’ve found yield more life in the blade?

Brad






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Unless you have access to a small dremel with a grinding wheel carbon steel blades are throwaways /There are various folks explaining how to sharpen these blades on youtube.

10-12 cuts, or 10-12 sets?

FWIW, I use the RK blade and find that about 10-12 sets is the max before it's duller than good. I've often been tempted to try the cheaper blades for comparison. But I have 4 RK's which get cycled which has to do for now.

I can't tell yet if the low yield is operator error or tool deficiencies. Not enough relevant experience. I have managed to get through everything I've needed too.

I'm also running a RK on a Laguna SUV-14 and so far I've cut over 120 sets on the same blade without re-sharpening. I'm able to really fly through the stock no problem. I've wondered whether good dust collection is required to clear the gullets. I've got a 3hp Oneida cyclone running 6" main ducting, necking down to 4" at each machine. Just a thought...

M

I've got a 5hp Oneida running 7" ducting so I don't think that's it.

I wonder where the difference lies?

Oh well... Worth a try..

Cuts. Based on your comment about 10-12 sets makes me think I should clarify my statements a bit.

If I have a 5/4 board for sides I can get usually 6 slices from it. Then another 6 slices from a board for backs. The blade is toast after that process. Sometimes during that process. So I guess a more correct statement is I can usually get 2-3 sets out of the cheaper blade before it’s taking too much force to push the board through and the blade starts to wander all over.

6 slices from a 5/4 board is probably less than what your doing. As I get better I’ll try to squeeze more out of the same board. For now, unfortunately, all that extra material is going out the dust port of the drum sander.


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Whoa. That’s 10x the yield from the same blade? Care to do a video tutorial of your setup?


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I've often wondered if setting up for drift properly might have something to do with it. I've seen lotsa YouTube howto's but don't actually know if it is set up right. I've had a few peeps peeping who've not noticed anything amiss, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

It's also possible that I'm being sharp snooty and that if you popped by you'd be like what gives man it's fine! Or if I popped down to use yours I'd be like dude wtf change your blade! That's subjective...

Brad, I aim for five pieces per inch, so six from a five four board is just right. I usually try to get eight four lumber, aiming to get five sets.

Same here. I find 3 cranks on the drift master perfect for getting 2 sets from the 13/16" stock I get from my local.

Michaels correct I had to readjust my laguna 2o in BS for a 1mm correction at the back end otherwise the cuts are off by 1mm end to end , using a woodmaster CT , the RK is in the wings Need to spring for that driftmaster fence !!!

I wonder if it's the fence making such a big difference.

Michael, how many do you build a year?

Ed,

No where near as many as you do. I've build about 35 instruments since 2012. I'll likely be building around 20 a year once I'm finished restoring my daughters home, 3-1/2 years into that so far.

M

Outside of a 'straight' job?

There are different Woodmaster blades. Not unlike you, I started with the cheaper Woodmaster B (because I wasn't ready to dump $$$ for the CT). This blade has a larger kerf than the Timberwolf (I used their AS/S blade, which seems to have changed to TPC), and is a good milling blade. I used it to resaw, and got better results than my 3" Stellite.

Once I installed the Woodmaster CT, I've never taken it off, other than to clean it. If I never tried this blade, I would stick with the Woodmaster B, and maybe throw on a Timberwolf VPC for higher grade hardwoods.

I shot this the other year when I swapped out to Carter guides.


This vid has been around, but it helped me.

I am experimenting with the Spectrum Kerfmaster blades like you. I discovered them last year and tried the 5/8", 0.016 " and 3/4" , 0.022". I am undecided on results. My skill seems to be the over riding factor. I thought the thin 5/8 would adjust better but when cutting a curly soft maple my fence adjustment went off and I got no good comparison. I have 2 slightly different 3/4" Timber wolf blades. Actually 1 new Timber wolf and 2 dull ones that I re-sharpen. I have found it takes about 15 min and cuts like a new blade.

I have a 14" Delta from 1997. I did upgrade to a 15.6 amp motor. I installed a beefed up spring in 2005 and was experimenting with tension effect. By 2012 I noticed something was wrong. I was using the Timberwolf 3/4" blades and doing fine. Cutting sapele, cherry and hard and soft maple. Every so often, bong and the blade would jump and hit a guide part and self destruct. Found out I had bent the upper shaft by over tension. Replaced the shaft and went back to standard spring. I was able to get the 3/4" Timberwolf to tension fine using the method described on their web site. I have about burned through a batch I got in 2011. I do like the price of the Spectrum Blades.

I have two beautiful Birdseye maple boards I am working up nerve to resaw. Also am drying some osage orange stock I milled from a log section last summer. 4 cuts on a 22" by 10" slab with a 3/8" green wood Timberwolf blade and it was shot.

What kind of life do you get out of the kerfmaster? I can try some of these add ons like a better spring and cool blocks, etc... to squeeze more life out of them, but I’m mostly curious if 3 sets is what I can expect or if I should be getting more. At 18 bucks each, I could see keeping on with them given the amount of resaw I do.

Appreciate the feedback!

Brad



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No,

In 2013 I shut down my family owned construction company that was established in 1979. We specialized mainly in historic restoration and rehabilitation. Now I work on my daughter's house and build guitars. The house which was built in 1918 is finally nearing completion, at which point I plan to be building 3/4 time. I'll spend the other 1/4 skiing, hiking, and maybe a little fishing.

Sounds amazing!

Resawing can be a difficult proposition. I have gotten better at it through the years. Now you might say I get fair results. It's not really a skill thing for me. It more a matter of buying better equipment and learning to do a better set up. I've watched the videos above several times last year and they did help.

Most of my improvement is because,

Went from a 12" craftsman bandsaw to a decent 16" jet. Your 14" saw should do a decent job with a 3/4" blade
Changed the guides to Carter
Replaced the tension spring
Bought a 1" Woodmaster CT blade (Big difference with the hard woods)
Worked on my setup, mainly to get 0 drift and the table square with the cut
While sawing I now use a featherboard holding the bottom of the wood against the fence, while I watch the top of the blade track on the wood. It is easy to push the top into or away from the fence to keep the cut straight. If I am pushing the number of pieces from a board, I like to make a pencil mark on the top to follow.

But then when I see the resaw being done on the bigger machines I know there is plenty of room to improve.

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