Thanks, What width blade do you have, I have 17" BS and wondered what the smallest width blade I can use?
At the moment I have a 3 tpi - 1/2" wide blade on it.
Mark, I don't think you're limited in terms of how narrow a blade you can use (narrow meaning measurement from front to back as the wood travels). Broadly speaking, the more teeth on the blade the better the finish the blade leaves on the wood, the narrower the blade the easier it is to cut curves and patterns on the BS. If all you're looking for is a better finish stick with a 1/2" blade and go for more TPI. If you're after doing serpentine cuts in pen blanks (or that sort of thing)you'll need to go a lot narrower. I use a 1/8" blade with 14TPI for that type of cut.
Narrower blades have to be under reduced tension, so the narrower you to the easier its going to be to go out of square with a cut. Hence why when resawing I use a 19" blade - the widest my BS will take and one that is operated under maximum tension. That way I can resaw an 8" thick piece of hardwood and have a perfectly straight cut.