Carbide Bandsaw blades

[ss50th]

I was watching the Woodsmith Shop on the local PBS station yesterday and they discussed band saw tune up. I found the following link to their past episodes:

http://www.woodsmithshop.com/episodes/downloads/

After getting to the page, scroll down to episode 105, select it and then select band saw tune up for a PDF file. On page five of the file there is a tip on tensioning the blade by pushing on it. Haven't tried it yet and am not sure if it is applicable to carbide blades.

[mountainbreeze]

I read that and (being the engineer that I am) I had to laugh at the phrase "Now push on the side of the blade." To obtain the target deflection of 0.25", all I have to do is push just the right amount!

[BigSky]

Interesting article about different ways of quickly cutting mortises and tenons.

http://www.woodworkersinstitute.com/page.asp?p=1413

"I have changed over to a tungsten carbide-tipped blade very similar to that on a circular saw blade. These are a lot more expensive but the finish is quite unbelievable. Check the tension on your bandsaw. If you are reading the scale on a machine fitted with a carbide-tipped blade it will be under-tensioned so have it checked properly. Mine was only one-tenth of the tension required. Set up the guides accurately. They need to be very close to the side of the blade but not quite touching."

Your thoughts?

I thought that carbide tipped bandsaw blades sounded like a good deal until I saw the price. I certainly can't afford them.

http://www.toolcenter.com/CARBIDE_TIPPE ... ASTER.html