what blades for different trees?

[Durf700]

thanks in advance for your help guys!  

I have some cherry, black walnut , spruce and butternut that I will start to mill up soon..  up to now all I've milled is hemlock which I use 10 degree blades on.  

what should I be using for the other trees listed above?

thanks
Jeremy

[Ianab]

Generally the harder the wood, the lower the tooth angle.

10 deg tend to work best with softwoods like pine / hemlock
7 deg is a more general purpose and should suit the cherry / walnut etc. Butternut is fairly soft, so maybe experiment with that one. 
Spruce is an unusual case, although it's a softwood it has very hard knots that can cause the blade to deflect as it hits them. Folks seem to get better results from 4 deg bands (or a "frozen hardwood" profile). These might not technically cut as fast in softwood, but you make up for it by not having to slow for the knots or getting reject boards 

Exactly what's best depends on your mill / log size / horsepower etc, but if you start experimenting with those options you will be close to the right combination. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   I am standardizing on 4 degree. Spruce is soft but the knots are hard and with a larger hook angle the blade tends to want to climb.  4 degree also works best for me in hard wood like oak or ash or such. Try some and see what you think.

[Durf700]

this may be a stupid question.. but I have about 50 or 60 10 degree blades.  can they be adjusted to different degrees or do I need to buy new blades?  also, I have a new box of woodmizer blades that came with my first mill that I havent used yet.. the sticker is faded and I cant read what they were.  I though the seller told me they were 3 degree but I dont know how to tell or if that is even correct.  he gave them to me for free so I just took them since they were new in woodmizer box. 

[Southside]

You can't really change the profile of those 10's in any economic fashion.   As far as the other box goes, for about $15 you can pick up a Woodmizer band profile tool and it will identify the angle of the bands you have.  Every Woodmizer band has a serial number laser engraved onto it.  Get the number off of one of the bands and give them a call, they will be able to tell you what you have. 

FWIW I run Turbo 7's on my 35 and they do excellent.  Have a friend with a 40 with and he swears by the new 747's, so you might want to try a couple of each and see how you like them. 

[Magicman]

One thing is for sure, it's not a 3° blade.


 
Wood-Mizer sells a gauge to identify the teeth.  I added the paint; white for 10°, green for 4°, and red for 7°.  The other two are something odd that I never used.  The section of blade in the background is a Turbo7°.  

[Banjo picker]

I use 8 degree for everything.  I tried 10 a longtime ago.  If you have enough horsepower and the mill is set up right.... I don't have a problem with 8s and it keeps every thing simple in the sharpening shed.  I know some of you will disagree.....that's your right. I am just saying what I do.  Banjo

[Durf700]

not to change the subject.. but is there a good way to clean up blades that are either a bit rusty or have build up on them? the seller I purchased my LT 35 from gave me a pile of blades and I would like to clean them up so they look better.  I think he was cutting alot of larch with them.

[Magicman]

A log will promptly clean them.  ;D

I have not used anything other than Turbo7° in quite a while.

[terrifictimbersllc]

Post a photo of the unknown profile alongside a 10 degree blade (same photo) it will be fun guessing what it is. 

[47sawdust]

I have a 24hp Honda on my Lt30.I run 4° blades on every species you mention.Slow down your feed rate on the spruce.
The saw shop I use has modified the hook angle on all my blades to 4°.
I made a hook angle gauge for 4° and 10° with scrap plywood and a chop saw set to the appropriate angle.

[YellowHammer]

If you want the bands resharpened to the same profile, send them in to Resharp and they will inspect, cull and recondition any bands that are salvageable.  If not, as said, the easiest and fastest way to clean them is to put them on and take a cut or two with them.

I've reprofiled lots of bands, it takes about 3X the time as a normal sharpening, but can be done, it just takes time.