Blade for my Saw(s)

[djtecthreat]

Well I just got home (building them at my father's house) and I burned up another Dewalt blade in my circular saw.

I know "Dewalt" isn't a good brand of blade, but considering the light work I'm doing (1/2" Ply!) it should do just fine. No.


I bought one with lots of teeth that is for "Plywood, Plastics, and Laminates" What went wrong?

What blade should I be using on my 7-1/4" Circular-Saw and 10" Table Saw? I didn't want to spend hundreds on a blade, so I got the Dewalt thinking it would work.

[DJPhatman]

What to look for is a blade that has a relatively high tooth count (60 or higher) and are carbide teeth. There are many makers of good quality blades, some are Irwin, Avanti, Freud, etc.

Here is a great article about how to pick a blade and what to look for.

BTW, the plywood/plastics and laminates blade you burnt up was actually better used for cutting piezos, not 1/2" plywood. Steel just can't keep a sharp edge cutting through the glues and such that make up plywood. It eats up carbide blades a lot faster, too, but the carbide blades can be resharpened.

[Harley]

I didn't want to spend hundreds on a blade, so I got the Dewalt thinking it would work.

But it didn't.

To get a good long lasting blade, you have to spend quite a bit of money - there's no getting away from it.

I bought a top quality multi=tooth blade for my RAS a while back and it cost $NZ300 ( about $US220 at the time ). It cuts through ply like butter again, and again, and again, and again....you get the picture.

The first thing I change whenever a get a power saw of any style is the blade.

[LelandCrooks]

In a circular saw you shouldn't need to spend more than $20 or $30 for a good 40 tooth carbide. Even a 20 tooth will be okay, but will splinter the edge of your cut.

The high count tooth blade you bought is meant for thin materials. Two things to do to aid in the cutting of sheet goods. 1: blade depth should just clear the bottom of the cut material. Less binding, less heat. 2: If splintering is a problem, cover your cut line with masking tape. Cut through the tape. Works like a champ.

[dheafey]

In a circular saw you shouldn't need to spend more than $20 or $30 for a good 40 tooth carbide. Even a 20 tooth will be okay, but will splinter the edge of your cut.

The high count tooth blade you bought is meant for thin materials. Two things to do to aid in the cutting of sheet goods. 1: blade depth should just clear the bottom of the cut material. Less binding, less heat. 2: If splintering is a problem, cover your cut line with masking tape. Cut through the tape. Works like a champ.

+1 on everything! A 40 tooth carbide works great and will last a long time. It's a wider kurf than the one you're using, so you'll need to account for that. Again, +1 on the tape idea. I prefer painter's tape as it comes off easy, but masking tape will work well, too.

[SoundInMotionDJ]

I use an 80 tooth Irwin Marathon blade for my table saw and miter saw. I don't even know what's in the circ saw right now...and I really don't care. The circ saw is for rough takedown only.

The 80 tooth Irwin Marathon blade was about $50. For the $$$, I highly recommend that blade for any of your work with 1/2" material.

--Stan Graves

[bgavin]

I must be the low-buck puppy. I use Harbor Freight carbide blades and throw them away when they get dull.

[djtecthreat]

So I should be looking for something with 40 or more teeth and carbide? I know for certain the one I have is steel, that would explain for the weak cut strength in the wood.

The circ saw is very good (at least was before I beat it up last night with my crappy blade) It's a Milwaukee Tilt-lok.

[djohnson573]

This is what I'm using:

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=p ... lpage=none

Cuts like it is going through butter.

[dheafey]

So I should be looking for something with 40 or more teeth and carbide? I know for certain the one I have is steel, that would explain for the weak cut strength in the wood.

The circ saw is very good (at least was before I beat it up last night with my crappy blade) It's a Milwaukee Tilt-lok.

Yeah, 40 tooth (at a minimum) and carbide should do the trick. DJPhatman's link above is a great read - very informative.

[djtecthreat]

This is what I'm using:

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=p ... lpage=none

Cuts like it is going through butter.

What are you cutting? I'm butchering 1/2" Arauco.

Any splintering or splitting?

[djohnson573]

This is what I'm using:

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=p ... lpage=none

Cuts like it is going through butter.

What are you cutting? I'm butchering 1/2" Arauco.

Any splintering or splitting?

I have been building all the doodads e.g. panel jig, panel cutting table, work bench, etc using some 3/4 birch ply I had lying around. It has performed really well on that with no splintering or splitting. It was my first experience with a "thin kerf" blade and I was a little skeptical, but others here had recommended this blade and I was pleasantly surprised. It takes less pressure or force to keep the saw moving along that the stock blade I was using before. The saw is a Makita.

Weather permitting, I plan to start breaking down some 1/2 Arauco this weekend and will let you know if I have any issues.

[djtecthreat]

I picked one up today on my way home, and I'm heading to the shop now to do some more work, i'll post my results as well.

[djtecthreat]

This blade is actually really good. As mentioned "butter" comes to mind as it's sliding through the 1/2" Arauco. Highly recommended for the circular saw guys that don't want to spend a lot of a blade like my self.

[DJPhatman]

I picked one up today on my way home, and I'm heading to the shop now to do some more work, i'll post my results as well.

Which one did you pick up?