Hello,
I'm a beginner woodworker and took the plunge to buy my first Forrest WWII table saw blade.
I was doing some research online for pros/cons with regards to buying a blade stabilizer. I noticed the various discussions in this newsgroup about noise reduction and cleaner cut benefits when stabilizers were used. I ran across the following Sept. 2006 research study from the Michigan Tech University which shed some light onto this issue, as well as general issues about table saw noise, which is beneficial to read. The paper is only 6 pages long.
- study was done on Craftsman 10-inch open stand contractor table saw
- main contributing noise frequency range is 2.5kHz to 8KHz
- motor and blade components contributed the most noise (quite obvious)
- adding stabilizers did not reduce noise level. In fact, it increased the noise level, both under no load and load condition (wood was cut)
- recommended a chasis with open-cell acoustic foam be added as best method in reducing noise to the table saw
- conclusion did state that the stabilizer did not reduce noise but they think that it may improve the cut quality (not tested). They also recommended further studies using diferent blade designs and other blade stabilizers to be more thorough
- in general I'm not too concerned with noise levels since I always wear hearing protection. This study was addressed specifically at the construction trade, where hearing loss is a common hazzard
I would agree with the last statement since they only tested one blade and one stabilizer. What was surprising was that adding in the stabilizers increases the noise level. Compare graphs 3 versus 4 and you'll see that even under no load conditions (no wood cutting), just adding on the stabilizers increased the noise level. But I'm skeptical since only one blade and one type of stabilizer was used.
I have not used stabilizers before therefore was curious if those who have good blades and good stabilizers find that adding increased or decreased the noise level?
For now, I will use my Forrest blade without stabilizers and then one day I'll add them in to see if the cut quality improves.
Cheers,
-Win