Woodstock W1673 - Manual (Page 34)

33
Blade Selection
Figure 55. Types of blade teeth.
Type Of Cut Width Teeth Blade Type Bandsaw Speed
Sharp Curves Small Fine Raker 2300 F.P.M.
Gradual Curves Medium Medium Skip 2300 F.P.M.
Ripping (less than 1 3 ⁄
4
") Large Medium Hook 2300 F.P.M.
Ripping (more than 1 3 ⁄
4
") Large Coarse Hook 3300 F.P.M.
Crosscutting (less than 1") Large Fine Raker 3300 F.P.M.
Crosscutting (more than 1") Large Medium Raker 3300 F.P.M.
Resawing (all sizes) Large Coarse Hook 3300 F.P.M.
Round Stock Medium Medium Raker 3300 F.P.M.
Blade Width
As a general rule, large blades provide more
support for thick stock and allow you to cut
straighter. Small blades provide maximum con-
trol for cutting tight curves, but are not a good
choice for cutting straight cuts and do not have
the strength for thick stock. Medium blades are
excellent for gradual curves and perform well
for cutting round stock, but they are not meant
to perform the jobs of large or small blades.
Many people are tempted to only use a medium
blade so they never have to change blades. Use
the right blade for the right job, and you will
get better results.
Blade Teeth
Blade teeth come coarse, medium and fine.
Coarse teeth cut softer woods and thick stock
more efficiently, but they do not leave a fine
finish. Fine teeth are good for cutting hard
woods and leave a fine finish. Medium teeth,
naturally, achieve a balance between efficient
cutting, while leaving a moderate finish.
Blade selection should be taken into considera-
tion for each type of cut. No matter what selec-
tion you are using, you should always feed the
workpiece into the blade at a slow and even
pace.
Blade Type
Figure 55 shows three major blade types:
Raker, Hook and Skip.
Raker (standard) blades
usually have many teeth per inch (T.P.I.) and
each tooth is flat along the tip. These type of
blades leave an excellent finish but cannot clear
sawdust very efficiently because of teeth prox-
imity.
Skip blades are essentially a raker blade
missing every other tooth. These blades clear
sawdust efficiently but do not leave as fine of a
finish as a raker.
Hook blades are not flat along
the tip; instead, they have curved profile to give
a more aggressive “bite” into the material. Their
spacing is similar to that of a skip blade, so they
clear sawdust quite efficiently. This makes these
types of blades good for cutting thick stock.