1.25" vs. 1.5" bands.

[Dave Shepard]

I've got a couple of 1.5" Turbos to try. What are the pros and cons of 1.25" and 1.5" (all .055" thick)? I had a few 1.5" 13° years ago, and they sawed knotty wood very flat and fast. I'm hoping the Turbos are the same. I'm guessing cost is the only real difference.

[Magicman]

I have two 1.5" X .045 Turbo 7's to try if I ever get a roundtoit.  Maybe this topic will motivate me to at least take them out of the box. 

[Southside]

So when I bought my 70 I ordered 6 boxes of 1.5" bands to go with it. I was talked into changing those over to 1.25", big mistake, huge. Eventually got some 1.5" and what a difference, then went to 1.75" and for what I do that's the ticket. 

Each time I got better performance, longer run life and overall improved lumber quality. All turbo profile. 

[WV Sawmiller]

SS,

   That's very interesting. What do you think makes the difference? The difference in thickness (I assume the 1.5's are .055 while the 1.25s are .042) or the difference in the width? Are you running them on your 35 or just on the 70?

[Southside]

I think the extra backbone keeps the band flatter and with more material disappates heat better. Obviously that will only go so far, but I can definitely see when I put a 1.5" on and saw like it's a 1.75", guaranteed to over run it at some point. 

The 35 is only used as a resaw now so it hardly sees anything wider than 8" so still have 1.25" on there. I did run some 1.5" for a bit on it and didn't notice a difference, but with what it's doing didn't expect to either. 

[YellowHammer]

I've switched to the 1.5" x .055 and I wouldn't go back to anything else.  I can saw pine to hickory with them.  No more band issues.  

I've never tried 1.5" x .045 Turbos.  I did use some 1.25" x .045 Turbos and wasn't impressed.

I went to the thicker, wider bands, same profile, and it was like night and day.  I use the 1.5" roller guides.  

[Magicman]

I had very poor/limited blade life with .055's before breaking on my LT40 with the 19" bandwheels.    This was during the sawing project for Willie Steele (wwsjr) and there were 3 LT40's and an LT50 and we all broke .055  blades.  They were new and never even got dull before they broke.  Maybe it was a bad batch of blades.  ??

Obviously .055's should be the go-to on the LT70 or any mill with larger bandwheels.

I got the 1.5 X .045's out this morning and will try them on my next sawing.

[Larry]

I tried the 1-1/2" .055's on my TK with 19" wheels and they usually broke after the first sharpening.

Kasco came out with a 1-1/2" .050 band with nearly the same tooth profile as the WM turbo.  That was the ticked for me.  I get almost the same life as 1-1/4" .045's.  I get more production per hour with less defect.  Its actually hard to get a wave out of one with my horsepower.  I'm not easy on bands, lots of 32" live edge cuts for slabs.

The Kasco 1-1/2" .050 was a big improvement for me.

[Dave Shepard]

I get about four Re-Sharps out of the. 055"x1.25" on my LT40 Super. The 1.5" bands are a few bucks more, but if they saw flatter I'm ok with that. 

You are not supposed to run an .055" until it's dull. The recommendation is two hours or 800 feet. The gullet cracks have to get ground out or they break.

[YellowHammer]

I also get very good fatigue life with the .055 Kascos, and get almost if not exactly the same as with the WM Silvertips.  I like them a lot.  

I simply do not run Double Hards anymore, they break too easy, too quickly, and cause too much damage to my band wheel belts when they do.  I've paid way too much money for them, and I've been since running Silver Tips for years.  I was at one of Jakes Projects some years ago when I first learned about his use of them, and I have been using them since.  Considering he saws more than a couple million bdft per year, that's good enough for me.  I have since confirmed with my own usage that they are cheaper, last longer, cut as flat and fast, so for me its a no brainer at about 30% less cost.     

With the debarker giving clean wood to bite into, I can't tell a difference as far as sharpness life between the DH's and the Silvertips.  

[Bruno of NH]

I don't use the double hard bands anymore.
I get better life out of the silver tips. 
On the .055 x 1.5 I get 5 sharpenings on them.
If I run them to long they will 
snap.
You can buy the silver tips from many places as well.
Woodmizer sells the coil stock.

[Southside]

Absolutely X3 on the Silvertips.  

[caveman]

We have been having good success with regular Kasco 7°, 1.5", .050's.  We run them into metal before they break.  They stay sharp for us longer than the 4°'s and cut flat in hickory, live oak and heart pine.  We have not run Silver Tips.  A few weeks ago we adjusted the mill to run some of the many 1.25" blades we have.  After a little while we went back to 1.5's.  We have a bunch of 1.25's but they will likely rust in the box as long as we can get 1.5's.  

WM could have moved the front support on the mill a little further forward to facilitate blade changes.  Those with Lt 28's, 35's and 70's have it made when changing blades.

[Patrick NC]

I tried some standard 7° bands in 1.5x.045. Didn't see any difference.  Probably because of my lower power (23hp). I do see a difference between  .042 and .045. .045 cuts straighter longer. 

[barbender]

I do think part of my breakage issue with the .055" blades could be that they keep cutting straight when they are actually dull, and if it's cutting straight I just keeps a cuttin'. I'll have to try changing my ways😁

[D6c]

Was wondering about trying some 1 1/2" bands on my old '87 LT40 (20 hp) but wasn't sure if the guide rollers are comparable to newer machines.
My rollers measure 7/8" wide...are they wide enough?  There's limited space around guards so 1 1/2" blades may be difficult to install.
Not sure blade tension is up to the level of new machines either.
Sawing almost all hardwoods.  (Oak, walnut, ash mostly) I have trouble with blades dipping through knots unless they're super sharp.

Thinking of buying a BMS-250 sharpener but have been struggling with what bands to settle on.
I got talked into buying a box of 5° blades but I don't really care for them.  Seems like they cut slow, take a lot of power, to cut and dull fairly quickly.

I've tried some bi-metal turbo 7's. (which are nearly 1 3/8" wide) They stay sharp lots longer but are pretty expensive.
Most of the old blades I have laying around that were bought with the machine are 10° but there weren't a lot of choices back then.

Any recommendations for this older low hp machine?  Would love to upgrade engines but probably not for a while.

[barbender]

I'd probably stick with the 1.25" blades and invest in the sharpener.

[Southside]

It takes more HP, well torque, to pull a wider band. I don't think under 40 HP a 1.5" would do well in aggressive cutting situations.

[Magicman]

I got the 1.5 X .045's out this morning and will try them on my next sawing.

OK as promised, today I finally did it.  I have had two 1½ X .045 X 7° Turbo's since December of last year and never had or took the time to put them on the sawmill.

The blade was running 1/8th" ahead of the blade guide flange so I did not adjust them.  I know, kinda close but I took a chance and I should not have been concerned.  I did not change the blade guides to 1½"

I sawed 1464bf of framing lumber with no problem and no knot waves.



Here are some 2"-3" knots that I sailed through at the beginning of my sawing and


 
here is a ~5" X 10" knot that I breezed through at the end of the sawing.



still with no blade marks nor knot wave.  

So, my opinion?  Without question this was the best sawing blade that I have ever had on the sawmill and since I have the 40hp turbo Diesel engine which is plenty of grunt, I see no reason not to convert to this as my go-to blade.  I will not even consider the .055 blades with my 19" bandwheels.

I would certainly also consider and probably buy the box of Silvertips @ $215 for a box of 10:

Box of 10
(#B37674158739S)
0.045 x 1 1/2 x 158;739°
Tooth Spacing: 7/8
Total:  $215.00

[Stephen1]

 I switched to the 1.5" .45 7/39T silver tips at the 1st of the summer. I purchased 20.  They performed all summer. I broke 4 last week after about 5-6 sharpenings. I lost 10 on nail strikes and have 6 to go. I ordered more 2 weeks ago. They are waiting for delivery from the USA head office. I like them a lot. 
I started to use my surplus BIMetal 1.25 7/39T again, work good in the smaller logs, but they have a rough time in big wide cuts so I am preserving the 1.5" for wide cuts and hopefully I get some new ones real soon.

[Southside]

Welcome aboard Magic Man.  Better late than never.   :D

[Lasershark]

I switched from 1.25 to 1.5" (10 degree) blades about 6 months ago and I'd never go back, the 1.25" blades seem very prone to deflection and I've ruined many cants by pushing those blades a little too far. The wider blade provides a stable, reliable platform for the mill and if I could just remember to lower my rear roller-bunk at the appropriate time, I'd waste a lot less wood than before! Slight change of topic: my Cooks Mfg setter and sharpener combo will be arriving after a 4 month backorder and I'll be giving my honest assessment of its functionality presently. 

[Stephen1]

Lasershark, switch to the 7/39T silver tip and you will be even happier. 

[Bruno of NH]

The silver tip turbo 7's are the best blade for nonfrozen logs.
I need to get ready for the winter switch to frost notch bands.

[Lasershark]

Lasershark, switch to the 7/39T silver tip and you will be even happier.

Is that the case even though I really only cut Douglas fir and cedar? Not too many hardwoods in my area... unless you count alder, which is a pretty pliant hardwood.