laguna MBAND14BX110-175 Manual page 40

Width.
The dimension from the back of the blade to the front of the teeth. The wider the blade, the
stiffer the blade and the straighter the cut. This is usually called beam strength. But wide
blades cannot cut small radiuses.
The narrower the blade, the more flexible the blade and the greater the tendency the blade
has to wander. These have low-beam strength, but can cut small radiuses. Blades are
available from 1/8" up for your machine.
Kerf.
The width of the saw cut. The larger the kerf, the smaller the radius that can be cut, the
greater the amount of wood the blade has to be removed by the blade and the greater the
horse power that is needed because the blade is doing more work. The greater the kerf, the
larger the amount of wood that is being wasted by the cut.
Hook or Rake.
The cutting angle or shape of the tooth. The greater the angle, the more aggressive the tooth
and the faster the cut. But the faster the cut, the faster the tooth will blunt, and the poorer will
be the surface finish the cut will have. Aggressive blades are suitable for soft woods but will
not last when cutting hard woods. The smaller the angle, the less aggressive the tooth, the
slower the cut and the harder must be the wood that the blade is suitable to cut. Hook teeth
have a progressive cutting angle and take the form of a progressive radius. They are used for
fast cutting where finish is not important. Rake teeth have a flat cutting angle and are used for
a fine surface finish of the cut.
Gullet.
The area in which the sawdust has to be transported through the wood, the larger the
tooth (pitch) the bigger the gullet is.
Relief.
The angle from the tip of the tooth back. The greater the angle, the more aggressive
the tooth but the weaker the tooth.
Beam Strength.
This is the ability of the blade to resist bending backwards. The wider the blade, the stronger
the beam strength; therefore, a 1" blade has far greater beam strength than a 1/8" blade and
will cut straighter and is more suitable for resawing.
Blade Selection.
As you have seen from the previous section, there are a great number of variables. The blade
selection that you will make will greatly depend on the type of work that you intend to do with
your machine. If you have experience with the bandsaw, you will probably have a good idea
of the blades that are suitable for you. If you lack the experience or are unsure of the type of
work you will be doing with your machine, we recommend that you purchase a selection
similar to that listed below, which is a good general selection and will allow you to tackle most
jobs. As you gain experience, you will settle on the blades that suit you.
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