best bandsaw blade for bowl blanks

[Ivan Stancioff]

I am in the middle of processing green maple bowl blanks but am having a difficult time cutting them in the round with my 18" Jet 1-1/2 HP bandsaw with a 1/" 4 TPI blade. The blade builds up on one side (left) with caked on debris causing the blade to wander. Any thoughts on size of blade or how to keep it clean

 

[Jim Reynolds]

Please consider giving up on round and just knock the corners off. Straight cuts are easier on blades.

 

[Kent Reisdorph]

my 18" Jet 1-1/2 HP bandsaw with a 1/" 4 TPI blade.

What is your blade width? If it's 1", a narrower blade will make a difference. If you meant to type 1/2" then I've got nothing.

 

[robo hippy]

1/2 inch 3 tpi Lennox Diemaster. Great for cutting circles. Not as good for cutting slabs though. 4 tpi is a bit too many teeth per inch to get good chip/shaving clearance. 1/2 inch blade cuts circles down to 5 inch diameter no problem.

robo hippy

 

[Dean Center]

2 things I do that help, though they don't solve the problem entirely:
1. Spray the blade with a non-stick cooking spray prior to cutting. cheap is fine. It's the inside of the curve that gets most of the gunk, and it might not be necessary to spray the other side. This does cause some gunk to build up in the upper blade guide area.
2. Since some gunk will build up anyway, I take a waste piece of reasonably hard wood and place it against the spinning blade, on the inside/left side of the blade, behind the gullets. This will scrape off fresh, soft gunk, especially if you have used the non-stick spray. I have also simply cut a piece of dry, hard wood, but scraping seems to be more effective.

 

[hockenbery]

What @Dean Center said.
I use either a 1/2” 4tpi or 3/8 4 tpi.
A dry wood scrap block will knock off the gunk.

 

[Bill Alston]

Please consider giving up on round and just knock the corners off. Straight cuts are easier on blades.

Absolutely! I’ve been saying this for ages. Quite why some folks seem determined to produce perfectly round blanks amazes me. Isn’t that what a lathe is for?

As for blades I use 3/8” with three or four TPI. But honestly, if I need to cut a blank and there’s a half inch blade on the machine I’ll use that.