Teeth per inch (TPI) is the number of tooth tips in one inch of blade. Fewer, larger teeth cut faster and carry more sawdust out of the cut; more, smaller teeth cut more slowly and leave a smoother surface. The right number depends mostly on how thick the material is.
The three-teeth rule.
The usual rule is to keep at least three teeth in the material at all times. With fewer, each tooth takes too big a bite: the blade grabs, the cut is rough, and teeth can break off. So the thinner the material, the finer the blade. To find the coarsest blade that keeps three teeth in the cut, divide 3 by the thickness in inches.
| TPI | Thinnest material with three teeth in the cut | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 in 25.4 mm | Resawing and heavy ripping |
| 6 | 1/2 in 12.7 mm | General-purpose cutting |
| 10 | 1/4 in 6.4 mm | Thin stock and curves |
| 14 | about 7/32 in 5.4 mm | Thinner material still |
The first three rows follow Fine Woodworking’s blade guide; the last applies the same rule.
The rule has a limit in the other direction. In thick material, many small teeth fill their gullets, the spaces between the teeth, with sawdust before they leave the cut. The blade slows down, heats up and can burn the wood. That is why resawing blades have so few teeth.
Tooth shapes.
The rake angle is the angle of the tooth’s cutting face. At 0° the face stands square to the blade; a positive angle leans it forward into the cut, so the tooth bites harder.
- Regular. Evenly spaced teeth with a 0° rake angle. Smooth, accurate cuts in all kinds of wood, and the usual form for blades with many teeth. The small gullets clog in heavy ripping.
- Skip. Also 0° rake, but with every other tooth left out, so the gullets are much larger and clear sawdust better. A smoother, less aggressive cut than hook teeth.
- Hook. A positive rake angle, often about 10°, with large gullets. It cuts aggressively and fast and leaves a rougher surface; a common choice for thick or hard wood.
Variable pitch.
Variable-pitch blades mix two tooth spacings along the blade and are sold with two figures, such as 10/14 TPI. The changing spacing reduces vibration and noise, and one blade covers a wider range of thicknesses. They are common on metal-cutting and portable band saw blades.
Cutting metal.
The three-teeth rule applies to metal too, and matters most with tube, angle and thin sheet, where the wall is thin even if the piece is large. Metal-cutting blades are usually bi-metal and finer than wood blades. Blade makers publish their own charts by material and wall thickness; use the blade maker’s chart, and the cutting speed your saw’s manual gives for the material.
Blade material.
Fine Woodworking’s rule of thumb: high-carbon steel for most woods, bi-metal for abrasive woods, and carbide for very hard species and for resawing. Bi-metal and carbide blades cost more and last longer.
What BenchRefill records.
TPI is a choice for the job, not a property of the machine, so our machine pages don’t give one. Where a manufacturer lists the blade supplied with the saw, the original specification shows it. JET lists the JWBS-9’s included blade as “59-1/2" x 1/4" x 0.013" - 6TPI”. What matters for fit is the loop length, and a width and thickness within the range your machine is documented for.
Find your machine’s blade size ↗︎Sources
- Roland Johnson, “Essential Bandsaw Blades”, Fine Woodworking #252, January/February 2016.
- Jody Garrett, “Choosing the Right Bandsaw Blade”, Woodcraft, updated April 2026.