Good tablesaw blade for crosscutting oak plywood?

[NoNameAtAll]

I'm having trouble finding a 10" table saw blade that will crosscut oak plywood without tearing up the vaneer along the cut. I used a Freud 80-tooth alternating bevel blade (TK806) that's specifically made for for this purpose, but it still tore up the vaneer somewhat. It's a brand spanking new blade, so I know it's not dull. This blade cost me about $50. Someone suggested the Freud F810 10" 80-Tooth Hyper-Finish Precision Crosscut Blade, which sells for about $100.

Is there actually that much of a difference between these two blades to justify such a huge price difference? If anyone can comment on either of the blades I mentioned or if you know of any blade that would suit my needs I'd appreciate the input. Thanks.

[Rob]

I use my Forrest Woodworker II with oak veneer plywood and have great results.

The blade is expensive. I think I paid $110 for it but it works great.

Rob

[KYHighlander]

you'll get some tearout with plywood, a zero clearance insert will help a lot, but cutting across the fibers is gonna tear some with out one.

[George]

There are some "standard" responses which do not involve purchasing a new blade.

First, consider scoring the line of cut with your utility knife. Make sure it's on the "good" side of the cut.

Make a scoring cut with the blade at 1/16 depth prior to the through cut.

Tape the line of cut so it doesn't split too badly.

These assume you are speaking of tearing on the insert side (as the teeth exit below).

If you're getting pickup on top, your problem could be blade non-parallel to miter groove, miter gage not at 90, or creep against the miter gage.

Practice these techniques on luan, which is cheaper and even more prone to splinter than oak.

[Steve]

I've found that raising my blade (80 tooth DeWalt fine crosscut) all the way helps minimize tearout on plywood. Must be something to do with the angle the teeth are cutting at.

Be extra carefull with all that blade showing.

Steve

[John Crea]

You were cutting good side down and with a zero clearance insert, right??

John

[Bob G.]

George posted the standard solutions...

Your 80 tooth blade should be fine....most chipping occurs as the blade exits the cut...so try to have the good surface pointing up when you make the cut.... Of Georges methods I like

This works extremely welll BUT requires 2 passes thru the saw and takes time raising and lowering the blade...

This is fast and masking tape is CHEAP....

If he is getting tear out on top (as the blade enters the cut)...you are right OR he has the blade set way way to low...

ON "GOOD" and expensive veneer I will use tape 199 percent of the time... one hundred and ninty percent equals all the time btw

Bob Griffiths

[NoNameAtAll]

Yes. Still had some tear-out on the down underside though. I'll try some of the other suggestions next time.

[Tim Carver]

You really need to make a scoring pass if you don't want to gamble.

If your saw has good smooth height adjustment gears, it should only take a couple of seconds to crank up from your scoring pass to nearly full height for your final pass. The only ptoblem is that you'll have to wave your splitter dismounted for the scoring pass. A bummer but not a big deal if you're doing lots of them.

Better yet, for crosscuts less than 12", use a SCMS. The scoring pass with an SCMS takes just a split second, and it's easy to do by hand without a depth stop. Plus, you can keep a good dedicated crosscut blade mounted, which helps too (you'll still need the scoring pass for veneers, though).

Tim Carver [e-mail]

[Upscale]

A question about taping. Do you find that the tape leaves any type of grunge on the blade after the cut? If so, do you recommend any particular types of tape or does simple masking tape do fine?

[Jim Polaski]

Have you tried scoring the ply before cutting? That's a technique I've been told can help avoid tearing of the veneer. I think you would just score the cut with a 1/6th in. depth pass then flip the board, raise the blade and do the finish cut for the whole board.

[Martik]

Try running tape along the length of the area to be cut.

[Jim Polaski]

nope, doesn't work well.

[Tim Carver]

No, you do not flip the board. You make both the scoring pass and the final pass with the same side down. I do this all the time, it is easy and it works great.

The down side is the place where tearout happens on a tablesaw, as the teeth exit the wood at the front of the cut. If you're really getting tearout on the up side, your saw blade is not parallel to the fence and you're getting the tearout at the back of the cut as the blade rises out of the saw. If this is your problem you need to tune your saw, a scoring pass will not help this problem.

Tim Carver [e-mail]