cutting blank

I have a craftsman 14" bandsaw, where is the best place to buy blades for it (93 1/2")? I would think a wider blade, maybe 3/4" would work fine for trimming the blank down? flinch

Sears and a 1/2" blade works well. :thumbsup:

When you are building on a blank do you fit the barrel and then the lock to the barrel or fit the lock first and then the barrel to the lock? Or does it matter?

timberwolf has the very bestblades. Honest...

It makes it easier to do the barrel and breech plug first to know where the touch hole will be where you want it. :thumbsup:

www.grizzlytools.com has that exact size for you.
For straight line ripping try 3/4 inch, it will track better.
If you need to do any contour cutting step down to a 3/8 inch blade, it will curve better.
Keep a good tension on your blade, with the bearings back and side tight enough on the blade to stop it from wandering, and you will do a good job.
Best Regards

Old Ford

thanks, flinch

Have used my "Jet" 14" bandsaw to cut a number of blanks and found a 1/2" x 3TPI to be very versatile and it really cuts the hard maple as fast as I can push. Shortly I'm buying a set of steel guides from Woodcraft because those standard plastic impregnated guides don't allow sawing 1/16" or less outside the line. The less wood that remains after sawing allots more time for fussier things than "hogging" off excess wood. As far as the procedure of buiding a LR, the many "how to" books on the market go into very detailed steps and aren't that expensive....Fred

A little tip. Turn on the saw and take a sharpening stone to the back corners of your blade. It helps it make a tighter turn when cutting.

since you're going to the trouble of doing the stock from a blank, you can have custom length of pull, drop at heel, and cast off. so, since the length of pull train is driven by the trigger, and the trigger drives the lockplacement decision, decide the LoP ( and drop at heel) and inlet the lock, then you'll see where the barrel goes via the vent hole location, and everything will fall into place.

good luck!

msw