picking best blade

[peterob]

i have a lt28 with a 25hp motor new to sawing so any imput will be thankful,   i need to buy some blades  what is a good all round blade,  i  saw pine spruce cedar and some hardwood,  thanks peter 

[dgdrls]

Good evening Peterob,

Woodmizer has a good starting guide
http://www.woodmizer.com/us/Blades/SawmillBlades.aspx

You will find generally the harder the wood the less hook angle tends to perform better.

Congratulations on your new mill.

DGDrls

[BCsaw]

peterob, I won't tell you what you should buy. I will only tell you what I use. There are a lot more people on here with more years behind the saw that will comment as well.

I have a homebuilt mill, currently running with 13 hp. I use the Lenox Woodmaster C for all my sawing needs. It is 1 1/4" x .042 x 7/8 x 10°. I saw spruce, doug fir and balsam with a little bit of birch. I find these adequate and affordable for my needs.

FYI, because the spruce is so hard to keep the blades sharp, I am going to experiment this winter with a 3/4 TS and 7°. A lot of sawyers claim better performance from these blades in spruce.

Some experimentation may be in your future to find what you and your saw "like".

My 2 cents! Good luck and happy sawing. ;D

[Delawhere Jack]

I run a 24HP mill and use 9 degree bands for everything. I saw almost entirely hardwood with a little pine now and then. You could go to 10 or 11 (do they make 11's?) since your sawing mostly softwoods. They'll still work in hardwoods. With 25HP, I wouldn't be overly concerned about the optimum tooth angle. The HP will be more of a limiting factor than the tooth.

(There Jake, I admitted it......My mill is under powered...   :D)

[mikeb1079]

i think "most" guys run 10 degree bands for overall sawing...some switch to 7's or 4's as the logs get harder or dryer.

[YellowHammer]

I used mostly 9° and 7° then started sharpening, and settled on 8° as a good compromise, or at least as good as either.  I'd say that pretty much any name brand blade or style will work fine, but get an assortment and it won't take long to find out which one works best for you.
YH

[Magicman]

I use 10° blades for the great majority of my sawing.  I do have a few 4° blades tucked back for White Oak/Hickory.  I did try some 7° but I never saw a reason to switch from the 10°.

[losttheplot]

Choose one you can easily/economically  get sharpened.

[WoodenHead]

I generally use 10 degree for softwoods (white pine and cedar) and some of the softer hardwoods (basswood, aspen, walnut) and 9 degree for the harder woods.  I've used 9 or 10 degree for ash.  I use the 9 degree for pine in the spring/fall/winter, particularly when the logs are half frozen.  I should say that I'm running an LT40 with a  28HP Kohler gas engine.

[Chuck White]

I have never bought anything other than 10° 1¼" Wood-Mizer DoubleHards.

I have on occasion set my sharpener for a different hook (8°) for something special!