Official Luthiers Forum!

Greetings,

Has anyone ever used the Laguna Shear Force Bandsaw Resaw Blade. From the description on their Website, the blade seems very similar to the thin kerf blade sold by Highland Hardware in Atlanta. Variable spaced teeth, low noise, thin kerf, etc. The two blades are very similar in cost, about $30.00 each for a 105 inch blade (Delta/Rockwell 14 inch with riser block).

I am interested because Laguna has a buy one get another free offer on ebay. That makes the blades cost about $15.00 each and seems like a great deal if they are any good.

Please advise.

Thanks
Ken Hageman

I bought and tried one and liked it enough to buy two more on the two for one deal. Pretty good value. You might want to check the Laguna web site because they had some free shipping deals as well as two for one.

Cheers,
Danny

The BOGO on ebay is a fair deal but I've found that Spectrum Supply actually has the best pricing. I have two of their Kerf Master blades and two of the Highland Woodworking (HWW) WoodSlicer. They are exactly the same blade and both are manufactured by Lenox. I suspect that the Shear Force blase is as well. HWW sells the wood slicer in the 161" size that I need for $49 and the same Lenox blade from Spectrum Supply cost me $22 so I got two for less than the price of the one at HWW. Their every day price for the 105" x 3/4" Kerf Master is $17. Wish I had known that before buying the WoodSlicer. I have been extremely pleased with the performance and longevity of these blades as resaw blades.

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Bill Hodge


One does not simply, own enough guitars!

Bill,

I looked up the "wood master" blade at "Spectrum Supply". I would bet you are correct that all three blades you mentioned are pretty much or exactly the same. I see that Spectrum has a wood master blade that is 5/8 inches with a .016 kerf. That is really thin. Do you have any experience with this thin kerf blade. I see all the other widths and even another 5/8 inch blade have the standard .21 thin kerf width.

Thanks
Ken

Howdy Ken,

I assume you meant the Kerf Master. I use the 3/4" Kerf Master with the .022" kerf on my 17" Extreme Grizzly and am convinced it's the same blade as the HWW WoodSlicer as well as the Laguna Shear Force. Lenox is the largest blade manufacturer in the US and possibly the world (not sure about the world though). I do plan to use the .015" kerf on my 14" JET but have not tried it yet. I'm sure it would work great since these are low tension blades. There may be others in the forum who have already tried the .015" kerf. The 3/4" .022 leaves a wonderfully smooth straight cut when set up properly and I've found I can slice at a much faster speed with far less heat build up. I've found these to last 3 - 4 times longer than the standard carbon steel blades, and when resawing bolts of Sitka and other high resin or oily woods the blades don't get clogged or the buildup that hinders performance like thicker blades do. At the price, it's quite the bargain IMO.

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Bill Hodge


One does not simply, own enough guitars!

Bill,
.015, are you sure. That is a 1/64". There is a blade that will cut a 1/64" kerf ?
Where have I been, I want one.
Link

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Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.

Howdy Link,

Yep it's in the link (no pun intended ) that I posted above for Spectrum Supply. They have some drop down menus for selecting the blade size and length there. It's about $17 for a 105" and $22 for a 161". They will custom size for your specific need. Such a deal! Actually I mis-stated the size it's a .016 not a .015.

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Bill Hodge


One does not simply, own enough guitars!

I think the .16" refers to the blade thickness not the kerf.

It's .016 and that spec is the thickness, true. However, with the design of these specific blades, the kerf is only .002 to .003 more. So minute a difference it's laughable. I have checked this with my calipers both on the .022 blade and in the cut. Regardless of technical specifics, it doesn't get any thinner a kerf with a bandsaw blade (at least that I've found).

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Bill Hodge


One does not simply, own enough guitars!

Thanks' for the info.I realized I left out a zero after I posted. I'm surprised that the set of the teeth is that small as the woodslicer adds .009" to the .022" bade thickness.

Yes the Wood Slicer does add a bit more. That's why I switched recently to the Lenox from Spectrum. (that and the price diff. )

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Bill Hodge


One does not simply, own enough guitars!

I'm ordering a couple today, thank's for the heads up!

One thing that I must note and correct myself on a bit is that on softer woods, it will take a slightly thicker kerf (+.004) than it does on the harder varieties of wood. I don't really know the physics behind it but I believe we have a physicist or two in the OLF who could explain that if they wanted.

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Bill Hodge


One does not simply, own enough guitars!

Thanks to everyone for their input. I have the Shear Force blades on there way, but will try the Kerf Master next time around.

Ken