Blade for Compound, sliding miter saw

[swalker]

About 30 years ago I purchased a Hitachi compound sliding miter saw.

The blade that came with the saw would not cut a 22.5 degree perfectly and I when I talked to the company about it they suggested I change the blade to another style. I did and it worked.

I can't remember the style but I think it was designated as a ATB type or something like that.

Anybody have a clue as to what type blade I need for a replacement?

Sorry to be so vague but I think a little mad-cow has kicked in. Or maybe part-timers.

[krw]

Replace it with another ATB (Alternate Top Bevel)? Most blades are ATB. Since the idea is to cut the wood completely, it doesn't matter what the cut looks like. An ATB blade has a bevel on the even teeth and an opposite bevel on the odd teeth.

OTOH, if you're not cutting the wood all the way through (a dado or plough), the shape of the bottom of the cut matters, so a flat grind is used.

[Leon]

I had no idea sliders were around that long ago. ;~)

ATBR Alternating right and left bevel and a flat raker

[John McGaw]

12" saw? I use a 12" Forrest Chopmaster in my Dewalt saw and I've never regretted the choke-inducing $165 cost. Well maybe just a little...

Seriously, it produces what could be called a polished cut and shows no tendency to wander. It is an 80-tooth ATB.

[Electric Comet]

seems to me that binding would make a blade not do well at that angle but maybe it is a combination of blade material and tooth design and lack of stress relief that contributes

my recent experiences with freud blades points to the stress relief on the blade face that allows the blade to cut so smoothly and with less effort

always thought that blade thickness was the key to less warping and binding but the freud blades are thin that i have used

[krw]

"You only cry once."

[swalker]

Thanks for the ad vice.

It might not have been quite 30 years but it will be close.

This is an 8 inch saw which I think was the biggest slider Hitachi made at the time. An excellent saw which I have been very careful with. I should have had the blade sharpened sooner but no one around me does sharpening. Woodcraft has a guy that does it and I will make the 50 mile drive to them. I will also buy a new blade from somewhere. Have had good luck with Freud for my table saw.

Makes me wish for the days when I lived east of San Francisco and there was an local oriental guy who would sharpen blades for $3 and for a dollar more would balance them and then true them within .003" side to side.

I moved to AL in '76 and inquired about having a blade balanced and trued they looked at me as if I had lost my mind. Said they never heard of such.

Happy New Year to all.

[krw]

Hitachi was the go-to slider for many years. It's small, by today's standards, but a nice piece of hardware. Forrest will sharpen blades. I believe Ridge will, as well. Either of these would bring the blade back to new.

Check Forrest and Ridge Carbide. There are a number of other places advertised on the web who will do it, as well. I'd spring for Forrest or Ridge, though.

Where in AL? There is a Woodcraft in Birmingham. I lived in the Auburn area for three years. Either Birmingham or Atlanta were in an easy day-trip's range.

To you and yours, too!