Bandsaw blades - which ones for guitar work?

SteveF · August 2023

Thought I would start a separate thread for this one as it is more general and might benefit someone else down the line. My bandsaw has come with the following Starrett Woodpecker Premium blades included:

6mm x 0.5mm x 6 TPI Hook tooth
10mm x 0.55mm x 4 TPI hook tooth
13mm x 0.55mm x 4 TPI hook tooth
19mm x 0.7mm x 4 TPI hook tooth

I gather that wider is better for straight lines and resawing, but what is your advice on what would be the best general purpose blade for the majority of guitar work?

I guess the question is two-parts. Which of the included blades would be best to get on with initially, and should I be looking for something else? The blade is 2921mm long in case that makes a difference to any recommendations.

Complete bandsaw newbie here, so feel free to throw any other advice you see fit my way.

Roland · August 2023

6, 10, and 13mm is a pretty standard set of sizes. Each blade width has its minimum turning radius for sitting curves. For cutting out a body blank I’d use the 10mm to get round the horns, or 13mm if it’s hornless, and then finish off with a bobbin sander and/or router. Similar for neck headstock. 6mm would cut horns easily, but I’d be afraid about the blade wandering. I only use 6mm for curving cuts on bandsaw boxes.

Should you be looking for something else? Yes, simply because there are better blades than those which come with band saws. Supplier of choice is Tuffsaw. https://www.tuffsaws.co.uk/. My bandsaw came with a similar set of blades. I’ve the supplemented them with two 20mm blades. One with 3tpi for rough cutting, and one with 6tpi for fine cuts and veneers. Bigger blades give steadier cuts, but need more power.

SteveF · August 2023

Thanks @Roland. I have just been having a play on some scrap wood. I had set up the bandsaw initially with the big blade and just changed it to the 6mm. Was pleasantly surprised about how quick and easily a blade can be changed, tracked, tensioned and guided.

I see what you mean about the 6mm wandering. I didn’t find it too bad, but definitely easy to cross the line if I want to cut really close (I suspect I will leave it a bit wider until I have developed the skills a bit).

So if i was going to get a replacement 10mm, would you suggest finer than 4 TPI or given that I am likely to be finishing with the bobbin sander/router would that be enough?

Sporky · August 2023

You should typically have at least three teeth in the timber, so different TPI for different thicknesses of workpiece.

Too many teeth can mean cutting slower so you may need a few options.

PeteC · August 2023

+1 on the tuffsaw blades - they were a great improvement on the ones that came with my axminster bandsaw

SteveF · August 2023

Sporky said:

You should typically have at least three teeth in the timber, so different TPI for different thicknesses of workpiece.

Too many teeth can mean cutting slower so you may need a few options.

Ah ok, thanks. So 4TPI should be ok for the body and neck blank and maybe just need a 10-12 TPI (assuming that’s a thing) for trimming fingerboards etc?

A couple of recommendations for tuffsaw

elstoof · August 2023

You can get away with a wider blade if you’re smart with relief cuts, plus pillar drill out the most concave areas with a wide forstner bit

SteveF · August 2023

elstoof said:

You can get away with a wider blade if you’re smart with relief cuts, plus pillar drill out the most concave areas with a wide forstner bit

Had to do a bit of googling about relief cuts - makes sense.

GSPBASSES · August 2023

Couple of videos below showing how I cut round bodies, also taking a slice off of a half body blank. In the video I'm using a 9.5mm blade with 4 TPI, this size of blade copes with every think I need to cut on my bandsaw. However, I now have change to a 9.5 mm 6 TPI blade as this gives a much smoother finish when cutting slices off of blocks.

SteveF · August 2023

Decided to give a 10mm 6 TPI premium one from Tuffsaw a go. I had assumed that bandsaw blades would be much more expensive for some reason, so pleasantly surprised.

EDIT: I says 3/8" on the order, so might actually be 9.5mm I guess.

SteveF · August 2023

GSPBASSES said:

Couple of videos below showing how I cut round bodies, also taking a slice off of a half body blank. In the video I'm using a 9.5mm blade with 4 TPI, this size of blade copes with every think I need to cut on my bandsaw. However, I now have change to a 9.5 mm 6 TPI blade as this gives a much smoother finish when cutting slices off of blocks.

Skills. I am impressed how close to the line you can get it. I feel like I'd be chopping into the line if I went near that at the moment. Still, I can get a lot closer than I can with a jigsaw!

Sporky · August 2023

SteveF said:

Ah ok, thanks. So 4TPI should be ok for the body and neck blank and maybe just need a 10-12 TPI (assuming that’s a thing) for trimming fingerboards etc?

A couple of recommendations for tuffsaw

I think so.

And another recommendation for tuffsaws. Enormously helpful, and the blades aren't expensive.

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Bandsaw blades - which ones for guitar work?

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