I recently had a Timber Wolf 105x3/16" snap on me after relatively little use, it popped about 2" from the weld. I've even been detensioning the blade after ever use as they recommend. I bought two at the same time so I'm hoping #2 doesn't have the same fate. Still on the hunt for the right scroll cutting blade. I have a 1/8" width blade for when I want to get crazy but have yet to give it a try. There's a blade maker in my neighborhood and the first blade they made for me was fine though the second was just too short to fit on my saw and unfortunately they were dicks about it.
When I bought my new Laguna saw I must have paid too much for it, as they threw in a $250 carbide tip re-sawing blade... broke pretty fast. Pretty sure it wasn't me screwing up the setup, but who knows. I was pretty excited to have it as I normally would never consider spending that much on a bandsaw blade, but I kind of wonder if it was thrown in because they were defective or had a bad batch or something. Who knows. All I do know is this custom shop out of Brampton makes some nice blades... used it a few times, and it is nice and sharp and works very well.
Got the miter sled installed and put a few test boards through it... works really well! I've always had problems getting true angled cuts (90° or otherwise) with my chop saw, and this is going to help that in a big way. I have finally been able to properly size stock so that when I glued it up it was perfect... no wonky ends or even a half degree out-of-whackness... it just fits square and true now. I really wish I did this sooner!
I know this is crude compared to some if the awesome furniture you guys are doing. Here are some progress photos of my record breaking r/c sailboat. 8 of 10 frames glued down, strips of something will get bent on and glued before laying up fiberglass. And I think I may have actually figured out how to post a pic this time. https://photos.app.goo.gl/kfnQQf25bYMudZh12
Finished off some drawers for my workbench. Now I have someplace to keep my power tools and keep them somewhat dust free and easier to access, and provide some top, flat storage for tool boxes, etc. Something about doing a "shop project" that really cleanses the pallet for starting in on a new "real" project.
I'm pretty pathetic at this internet stuff. At least I got something to show up, even if it is those little X's, that's a better performance than my last attempt. Now have all my frames glued in place. I'm totally going to figure out to show off my work.
This post is one my greatest technical accomplishments. I've finally signed up for photo hosting instead of just trying to upload from my phone.
I installed 4 workshop lights today. All 48" with 4 bulbs each. I now have 16 bulbs of glorious 6500k daylight lighting in my basement workshop. What a difference being able to see makes!
I hear you... I've got a similar setup, along with two ceiling fans and a ceiling heater, and it makes a HUGE difference.
My basement stays at 62 in the winter and 66 in the summer, so I'm lucky. I'm hoping to get a 30' x 60' pre-fab building put up this summer, and that will be a car and woodworking shop all in one.
My shop's an addition on the back of the house and garage, with double doors from the shop into the garage. Shop is insulated and heated, the garage is kind of insulated, but no heat. If I'm working on something big in the winter, I can open the doors, crank the heat, turn on the ceiling fans, and the shop heater easily heats the garage. Very handy, especially for painting, big layups, curing, etc. Without the heater, the shop won't exactly freeze, but it won't be comfortable to work in.
My space stays in the low 60s in winter and 70s in summer and it is glorious. I'm thinking about copying my neighbor and using LED ropes to make a halo of light above my workbench. I just had my second Timber Wolf crack in the exact same way. Sharp as hell for 2-3 weeks' good work and then I can feel it thump-thump-thump from the crack out of nowhere. Other blades got dull at this point but never cracked and I just used them 'til I needed something sharper. Might be a harder steel? There's a local shop that makes custom blades- a rare thing but what I've got from them hasn't been exceptional and one blade was also given to me a good 1/4" short too. I may be running my saw hot and this is the consequence but I still want to see if the grass is greener with other types. Got a 1/8"x14 tooth Timber Wolf that I'll put on tomorrow morning for shits 'n gigs. I am still scroll cutting hardwoods as fast as possible, might take it easier on this one.
Let me know how it goes. I’ve switched my headspace to “cheap and disposable” from “expensive and long lasting”. The local place is about $20 a blade (115”) delivered. Cheaper for group deliveries. Working for me so far. I like having a wall full of replacements that I normally wouldn’t keep if they were crazy expensive.
The fun you can have with Harbor Freight roller stands. The best part is I'm keeping the rollers to build a rack for my planer. I used one stand to build a steering wheel holder for my PS4, this is my son's Raspberry Pi.
Tool review: You guys might laugh, but I bought this Ryobi 18v shop blower. It's BRILLIANT. 3 speeds, I use it for damn near everything. It's fantastic for cleaning all the sawdust off my tools when I'm done with them for the day, and on the low speed, it helps get whatever dust my collector didn't catch over to a corner to be vacuumed up. Definitely worth the money if you have the 18v Ryobi stuff.
Does anyone here get their table saw/mitre saw blades resharpened? Is it worth it? From the stuff I've read online it'll extend blade life by 3 or 4x.
I do. The local Busy Bee has "a guy" that they use. I just drop the old ones off there and then pick them up a week later.