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.
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.
0 Comment