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October 2004 - Perfect Teeth |
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A good blade puts power in your tablesaw |
A tablesaw was probably your first big shop purchase, and it’s
the tool you use for almost every project. Choosing the right
blade makes a huge difference in how well your tablesaw works:
a low-quality blade will give you low-quality results. Everyone
needs an all-purpose blade, and you will use it for most of
your tasks, but there are also specialty blades designed for
ripping, crosscutting or working with materials such as melamine,
laminate, MDF or particleboard. In general, the more teeth on
a blade, the longer the cut will take but the smoother the resulting
edges. |
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| BLADE
TALK |
All-purpose,
general-purpose blades
For rough crosscutting and ripping. Look for blades
with about 40 to 60 teeth.
ATB Alternate top bevel.
Refers to the grind of the blade’s teeth.
The ATB design helps maintain direction and a clean
cut.
Combination Sometimes
refers to teeth design—a combination of the
ATB and flat-top grinds—and sometimes to how
the blade is used, such as the general-purpose blade
used to rip and crosscut.
Cross-cutting blades
Sometimes called cut-off or finishing blades. Typically
have 60 to 80 teeth.
Flat top Refers to
shape of teeth grind.
Kerf The width of material
removed by the passage of the saw blade.
Ripping blades Also
called decking, framing or trim blades. Often have
24 teeth.
Specialty blades Intended
for laminates, melamine, particleboard or other
materials. Usually have 60 to 80 teeth.
TCG Triple chip grind.
Used to cut melamine and other chip-prone materials. |
| PRIME
CUTS |
Woodworking
demands cuts in many forms as we crosscut, rip,
bevel, trim, mitre, re-saw and dado our way to project
completion. Over the past 25 years, new technology
has provided us with a gamut of saw blade choices.
Proper blade choice
is paramount to good work—after all, it’s
the blade that does the cutting! Picture a dull,
gummed-up blade of the wrong configuration mounted
on the very best tablesaw—then compare it
with a sharp, clean blade with teeth for the task
mounted on any saw. I promise you happiness with
the latter.
Although I own a range
of tablesaw blades, I rely heavily on a top-quality,
full-body, 50- tooth combination blade. It does
about 90 per cent of my cutting chores in all types
of materials and stock thicknesses. I change it
if, for example, there’s plenty of fine crosscutting
at hand. Also, on a project with many rabbeted edges,
I like how a good dado blade performs.
There are four ways
to render a better cut easily from almost any blade.
The first is to control
the rate of feed. There’s a perfect “push”
speed for every material and blade that can only
come with some experience and common sense. My overall
observation is that many woodworkers cut too quickly.
Pushing too slow will cause burn marks, but with
experience, you will learn to see, feel and even
hear when the blade is doing the best job it can.
The second tip is
to keep it clean. Every material leaves some sort
of buildup of sap or glue on the blade, especially
on the sides of carbide tips where heat aids the
process. Any buildup of gum prevents the teeth from
cutting properly. Clean gummed-up blades with blade
and bit cleaner and an old toothbrush.
Third tip: replace
the throat plate in your saw tabletop with your
own plain plywood version. A zero-clearance insert
will almost eliminate chipping on the underside
of any type of wood or composite material. It also
reduces vibration as the teeth pass into and through
your stock.
And, finally, the
rip fence must be bang-on parallel with the blade.
The slightest off-set causes burnt and choppy cuts,
and, even worse, it’s an invitation to dangerous
kickbacks. —Gary
Walchuk |
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(left
to right) 1. One mark of quality is a blade
with carbide-tipped teeth, which are harder than high-speed
steel and last longer. This Craftex has 60 carbide-tipped combination
teeth (Model CT064, $28).
2. A good general-purpose
blade can both rip and crosscut, and it saves you the trouble
of switching blades in the middle of a job, like this Forrest
blade (12" Woodworker II, $171).
3. This Dimar
ripping blade has a chip limitation feature to prevent kickback,
and cooling holes help disperse heat (Model 10-24CL, $95).
4. Thicker blades
are better able to withstand distortion vs. thin-kerf blades.
Glue-line rip blades such as this one from Freud have a thick
kerf and they’re ideal for cutting dense, heavy stock
(Model LM74R010, $124).
5. A Teflon coating
on the blade will reduce friction and resin build-up, such as
on this cross-cutting blade from Kempston (Model 99330, $60).
6. Use a thin-kerf
blade to minimize the amount of stock lost (Freud TK806, $119).
7. Quick to set
up and economical, a wobble-style adjustable dado blade, such
as this one from Canwood, lets you turn the hub to change the
dado width (7" Model IZA CWD7X8, $40).
8. A stacking
dado set sandwiches chipper blades between the pair of outer
saw blades. Add or remove chipper blades to adjust the dado’s
width. It takes more time but produces cleaner grooves (8"
Forrest Dado King, $352).
9. For cutting
materials such as particleboard, melamine, MDF or laminate,
you’ll want a blade specific to your purpose with lots
of teeth, such as this 80-tooth blade intended for plastic from
General (Model 55-120, $63).
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