saw blades?

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fender3x · #1 Post by **fender3x** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 7:13 pm

I just got a small, cheap bench saw. It has a Delta carbide 40 tooth 10" blade on it. I have tried making a few cuts into CDX, and it works fine for that... Still it is older and used, and I am wondering what I should replace it with, if I need to do that soon?

Are the "industrial carbide" blades from Harbor Freight OK? Do I need 60 or 80 teeth?

Advice will be much appreciated.

LelandCrooks · #2 Post by **LelandCrooks** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 8:41 pm

Buy a good blade. Don't scrimp. Makes all the difference in the world. I put a diablo 60t on my antique 9" saw and it cuts bbirch like butter. No tear out, no splintering, just smooth sweet cuts.

Find a sharpener in your area. For 5 or 10 bucks he can make an expensive blade cut like new. But it will be a long long time before you need it, if you are careful not to hit anything but wood.

Frankenspeakers · #3 Post by **Frankenspeakers** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 8:42 pm

40 teeth is about the minimum for a decent cut in plywood or MDF. (If you get a new blade, use the old blade to cut MDF with, it will dull the blade fast.

) Others have had good luck with Harbor Freight blades. More teeth is better- gives you a smoother cut. Those blades with less than 40 teeth are for rough cutting and framing where you don't care about the quality of the cut. Might think about getting a sled for your saw (see Bill's plans

) it can be very handy for making straight and square cuts. I came across some IPE (ee-pay) 3/4" stock to use on the runners of the sled I'm building- natives call it "ironwood" should last me into the next century.

Art Coates · #4 Post by **Art Coates** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 11:04 pm

There may be better blades - but I've used a Freud F410 (40T, 10") for 2 years now cutting plywood, MDF, pine, oak, and even knicked some screws and nails with it in the process. Still gives a clean "sanded edge" with little or no splinters. Its the best I've found in an "all in one" wood/ply/mdf blade and not terribly expensive either. Also, make sure the blade/fence are square, parallel and check the arbor for any play. It's dangerous for one, and secondly, no blade can make a smooth cut if the saw isn't set up true and solidly holding the blade in line.

bgavin · #5 Post by **bgavin** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 11:47 am

I use the 60-tooth carbide blades from Harbor Freight with good success. I buy several when they run a sale, as this is much less cost and hassle than finding a sharpener in high-rent Kaleeforneea.

fender3x · #6 Post by **fender3x** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 2:23 pm

This is very helpful. Thanks!

I plan to make a bill-style sled. I built a half sled from plans I found on the internet, just as a test...and to use as a cut off sled for a couple of final honeydos that I need to complete before getting to my T39 build. Will build Bill's full sized sled before starting that project!

Lawrence Langford · Mon Oct 16, 2006 11:17 pm

LelandCrooks wrote:Buy a good blade. Don't scrimp. Makes all the difference in the world. I put a diablo 60t on my antique 9" saw and it cuts bbirch like butter. No tear out, no splintering, just smooth sweet cuts.

The cuts are extremely clean with the diablo. There several good brands, i just wouldn't go with anything less than 60t. just my .02

azaural · #8 Post by **azaural** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 9:54 am

If you are on a limited budget, leaf thru the sales here. I've bought 4 Amana blades from these guys. Probably run 20 sheets of MDF/PLY thru my 60 tooth still cuts like butta.

http://www.carbide.com/catalog/regularspecials.cfm

fender3x · #9 Post by **fender3x** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 1:52 pm

Those are impressive discounts...but I have to think that maybe bgavin is onto something if these things do OK: I picked up two these this morning...

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=38543

Will report back if it turns out that they suck