circular saw number of teeth

[sm_jamieson]

I have a Royobi EWS1150RS circular saw that came with a 170mm 12 tooth blade.

I need to cut down a chipboard kitchen carcass - soft material but needs a clean cut on one side (other side will be covered by end panels, etc).

My instinct is "12 teeth !", now go and look for another finer tooth blade (say 40 or more).

The included blade is this:

It says good for cutting laminate chipboard, etc. So will this blade be OK ? Are my insticts about number of teeth wrong due to the speed ?

Simon.

[polygonum_on_google]

Never used one with so few teeth! I got a 48-tooth 254mm blade with my mitre saw. Just bought an 80-tooth one so as to get even better cuts. I hope. Not yet tried it - and I tend to cut real timber (and ply, etc.) rather than laminate.

[ss]

This any help:

[sm_jamieson]

Well thats what I would have thought !

170mm diameter seems to be rare. Perhaps Ryobi is not so good for circular saws.

Anyway, 165mm is common, and only could affect cut depth by 2.5mm. Any problem using something like this:

[Brian Reay]

12 teeth does seem rather light but I must admit I?ve never counted the teeth on one.

Having said that, I?ve found the secret to cutting faced chipboard is a ?fence? to steady the saw and cutting face side down. You need to measure carefully to ensure the fence is positioned so the cut is in the right position, allowing for the blade cutting width etc. Cut steadily and not too fast. Generally both sides come out good with no chips but the face side is (almost) always perfect.

I always use a TCT blade.

[John Rumm]

Its a common style of blade tom come with a saw of that type.

Depends on what you mean by ok! Yes it will cut pretty much anything quickly, and will rip and crosscut (hence why you get one with the saw), but that does not mean it will make a neat job of it.

More teeth will give a slower smoother cut with less chip out.

Having said that there are things you can do you get a decent cut from even fairly coarse toothed blades:

Cut from the underside (chip out tends to happen where the teeth exit the wood).

Use a sawboard [1] the board protects the top surface of the side it covers.

Do a scoring cut [2]

[1] [2]

[tabbypurr]

+1. Coarse blades cut faster but rough. Triple chip blades give a better finish per number of teeth.

NT

[sm_jamieson]

Well just for feedback, this blade is doing a good job on kitchen worktop (sawn face down). Just remember to check the direction of rotation - this blade needed fitting with the label side into the saw. Although you would stupid not to notice if the teeth were facing the wrong way when you spun the thing up !

Simon.