Shopping for Timber Wolf Bandsaw Blades

By Jack Barnhill On July 30th, 2010

Timber Wolf and Wood Slicer Bandsaw Blades

When I ordered my new Grizzly bandsaw I knew that I would need some new blades to go with it.  I had used Timber Wolf blades on my old band saw and was very satisfied with their quality.  For my old bandsaw, I purchased the Timber Wolf blades at Woodcraft.  Doing that again would mean that the 4 blades that I wanted would cost me around $100 – $120.  That was more than I could afford along with the saw so I started looking around to see if I could find the Timber Wolf blades cheaper from another source.

Here’s what I found while searching for Timber Wolf blades.

 

Example blade specifications: 105” X ½” X 0.25”, 3PC

Woodcraft & Amazon:  $30.99
Grizzly Industrial:  $23.50 (Updated 2/13/12)
PS Wood Machines (Supplies Woodcraft who, in turn, sells through Amazon):  $22.90 (Updated 2/13/12)
Suffolk Machinery:  $21.30

Suffolk also has a one-time offer of a free silicon steel blade with the purchase of 3 other silicon steel blades.  Click here for the details.  (Updated 2/13/12:  It appears that Suffolk no longer offers the one-time free blade)

My 4 new Timber Wolf blades from Suffolk Machinery ended up costing me only $69.57 including shipping.

For re-sawing veneers, I also purchased a Wood Slicer blade from Highland Woodworking.  I couldn’t find the Wood Slicer blades anywhere else but Highland Woodworking.  I haven’t tested this blade yet but, if it’s as good as all of the reviews say, I’ll be very happy.  I’ll let you know the results as soon as I have a chance to try it out.

Lumber Cart Build – Part 1 – Building the Base

By Jack Barnhill On July 15th, 2010

A woodworking shop never has enough clamps or space and my shop is one of the smaller ones.  I built this lumber cart a while back to clear up some space in my small shop. The build is relatively straight forward starting with the base. I made mine from 2-4X8 sheets of 19/32” OSB and a couple of 2X4’s, some scrap ¾” plywood, and 4-3” locking casters.

 

Recommendations:

After building this cart and using it for a short while, here are a few recommendations on how I would make the cart better if I ever have to do it again.

• Use non-locking casters or only 2 locking casters in opposite corners. Even living here in earthquake country, I don’t think the casters need to be of the locking variety. It would take the “Big One” to make this thing move. If that happens, I’ve got bigger problems than figuring out how my lumber cart got moved. This would also reduce the cost slightly without affecting the functionality of the cart.
• Use 4” casters or larger. When the cart gets fully loaded, it is quite heavy making it a challenger to roll on the 3” casters that I used. 4” or larger casters would make it easier to roll, especially if you encounter a wood chip or power cord.
• Use 3/4” plywood instead of OSB if you can afford it. Placing screws on or near the edges would be more solid with plywood than with OSB.
• Install “handles” under the 3rd shelf from the top to aid in pulling cart. I did incorporate this recommendation into my cart after it was completed and, it does make it easier to start rolling out of a corner or from against a wall.

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New Bandsaw Purchase

By Jack Barnhill On July 15th, 2010

In May, 2010, I decided it was time to upgrade my bandsaw. It took about a month to sell my 10" Delta bandsaw and pull together the rest of the money for the new saw. In the middle of June I ordered a new Grizzly G0555P. That’s the Polar Bear version of Grizzly’s venerable G0555 Ultimate 14” Bandsaw in almost all white (the sides of the table are still Grizzly green).

At the same time I ordered the saw from Grizzly, I also ordered the 6” Riser Block Kit and the Heavy-Duty Mobile Base. And, I ordered 4 new 105” Timber Wolf bandsaw blades from Suffolk Machinery.  If you are a new customer, Suffolk has a Free Blade Offer.  Please let me know if they have discontinued the Free Blade Offer.

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