While it's true that almost every new tablesaw and mitre saw comes from the factory with some kind of blade, not all blades are created equal. Far from it. Understanding the options for aftermarket blades will help you to purchase the best one and optimize the performance and safety of your saw.
Stock saw blades are a lot like the tires on new cars. Manufacturers know that no one buys a car because it has great tires, and the same thinking seems to apply to blades, because few saws come equipped with high-quality blades.
Most new saws come from the factory with carbide-tipped blades, although the quality is low to medium. The big advantage with carbide blades is they stay sharp more than 10 times as long as high-speed steel, and the good ones cut amazingly well. Replacing the blade that came with your saw isn't cheap, but it's worth it. Even the price of a $100 blade fades when you realize you could get more than a decade of exceptional service before the blade can't be professionally sharpened anymore. Bite the bullet and buy the best.
When it comes to tablesaw blade upgrades, you have three types to choose from. There are fine-tooth designs for crosscutting solid woods, veneered sheet goods and melamine; there are multi-purpose combination blades for reasonable performance cutting both along and across wood grain; and there are ripping blades that allow even a portable benchtop saw to sail through two-inch-thick oak.
The first upgrade most workshoppers should look at is a combination model. The best designs typically have 50 teeth around a 10" blade, with the teeth arranged in groups of five. Between these groups is a deep indentation in the body of the blade called a “gullet.” Periodic gullets such as these, coupled with groups of closely spaced teeth, are the key features that give a combination blade the versatility to handle medium rip cuts while also delivering moderately smooth results on sheet goods.
There comes a point when the ripping capacity of a combination blade isn't enough. This is where a dedicated ripping blade helps. It has fewer teeth than the combo blade and a lot more gullet capacity, allowing the blade to chew through thick hardwood like a hungry beaver.
Most sliding compound mitre saws and chopsaws have a lot to gain from a blade upgrade. While you might tolerate rough rip cuts on your tablesaw, there comes a time when you really want an ultra-smooth cross cut on moulding or trim. Unfortunately, stock chopsaw blades almost never live up to the tool's potential because they're too coarse. Buy a good 80-tooth mitre saw blade, and you can also use it on your tablesaw.
0 Comment