I need help buying blades for miter saw and table saw.

I am a weekend warrior DIY guy. Not a furniture maker. I am going to be installing some 3/4" oak hardwood floors in a week or so.

I wanted to get a good blade for some clean cuts.

I have a 12" sears compound miter saw And a sears portable table saw 10"

I was at Sears today buying a new shop vac filter and noticed they had blades on sale.

2 12" Sears Professional Blades were $60 That is a 80 and 44 tooth. The 10" blades were $40 for a 40 and 60 tooth.

They are both marked as thin kerf type.

From reading online, it shows I should be using this type for an underpowered saw. How do I know if I have an underpowered saw. I have been using the cheap blades that came with the saw and there was never any stalling. Just splinters on the cuts.

Did I waste my money on these blades? Or buy the wrong type because of the thin kerf

Reply to
theedudenator
Loading thread data ...

Don't worry about the thin kerf, worry about how the blades cut. The best thing you did for yourself is buy the blade at a place like Sears where they will take the blade back if it doesn't perform in a satisfactory manner.

Here's your best test.

Put the blade on your saw and test it with the material you intend to cut. Try a few straight cuts, then a couple of miters. Remember to put the piece you are cutting in the miter box upside down to reduce splintering.

Do you like the quality of the cut? Did you have troubles with the saw bogging down? Cut a couple of straight miters (this of course assumes you have tuned up your miter box!) and put the two together as you would see them on your floor. Good?

If you liked what you saw and didn't have troubles with the miter saw, then keep the blade(s).

A while back I was stuck and couldn't find a new 12" blade to cut oversize crown, big enough I couldn't nest it in the box. I was pushing to get finished but was having problems with my cuts as the long crosscuts weren't coming out smooth as the blade was dull. All I could get was a 12" DeWalt blade, a 80 tooth thing with yellow coating around the teeth.

I wasn't expecting much since it was DeWalt. But to my great surprise it worked pretty well. On the long compound miters, there >was< a little blade movement (common in thin kerf blades) if I pressed the cut, but if I took my time and let the blade chew through it did pretty well. Almost no splintering, and good clean cuts. A pretty good blade for $50 or so at the big orange box.

If you have troubles with the blade, take it back and get yourself a Freud blade. Bang for the buck they are are tough to beat. You can buy better blades, no doubt. But for about $75 a blade you can get a great, coated blade that will razor off that oak like you wouldn't believe. Check this one out:

formatting link
This is a crosscut blade. Thin kerf blades are not generally speaking not your first choice, especially one like the Freud above, for ripping.

For your ripping, get a different blade, one that is either marked as a multipurpose (they do everything OK, but nothing in a superior fashion) or a rip blade.

Remember on your blades, you get what you pay for (hopefully!). Get a good blade and keep it clean in your miter saw and it will last a long, long time and give you a lot of great cuts.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

They are recommended for "underpowered" saws because they cut a thinner kerf, each cut turning less wood into sawdust and therefore requiring less power to make the cut. If your saw isn't bogging down using a regular kerf blade, it isn't underpowered. If it is, a thin kerf blade "might", just "might" with no guarantees, prevent the bogging down.

For what it's worth, I use thin kerf blades almost exclusively and my TS is a 10" 3HP cabinet saw that is far from being underpowered for my needs. Don't worry about overpowered/underpowered. If the thin kerf blade does the job for you, go for it.

Tom Veatch Wichita, KS USA

Reply to
Tom Veatch

Don't worry about the thin kerf, worry about how the blades cut. The best thing you did for yourself is buy the blade at a place like Sears where they will take the blade back if it doesn't perform in a satisfactory manner.

Here's your best test.

Put the blade on your saw and test it with the material you intend to cut. Try a few straight cuts, then a couple of miters. Remember to put the piece you are cutting in the miter box upside down to reduce splintering.

Do you like the quality of the cut? Did you have troubles with the saw bogging down? Cut a couple of straight miters (this of course assumes you have tuned up your miter box!) and put the two together as you would see them on your floor. Good?

If you liked what you saw and didn't have troubles with the miter saw, then keep the blade(s).

A while back I was stuck and couldn't find a new 12" blade to cut oversize crown, big enough I couldn't nest it in the box. I was pushing to get finished but was having problems with my cuts as the long crosscuts weren't coming out smooth as the blade was dull. All I could get was a 12" DeWalt blade, a 80 tooth thing with yellow coating around the teeth.

I wasn't expecting much since it was DeWalt. But to my great surprise it worked pretty well. On the long compound miters, there >was< a little blade movement (common in thin kerf blades) if I pressed the cut, but if I took my time and let the blade chew through it did pretty well. Almost no splintering, and good clean cuts. A pretty good blade for $50 or so at the big orange box.

If you have troubles with the blade, take it back and get yourself a Freud blade. Bang for the buck they are are tough to beat. You can buy better blades, no doubt. But for about $75 a blade you can get a great, coated blade that will razor off that oak like you wouldn't believe. Check this one out:

formatting link
This is a crosscut blade. Thin kerf blades are not generally speaking not your first choice, especially one like the Freud above, for ripping.

For your ripping, get a different blade, one that is either marked as a multipurpose (they do everything OK, but nothing in a superior fashion) or a rip blade.

Remember on your blades, you get what you pay for (hopefully!). Get a good blade and keep it clean in your miter saw and it will last a long, long time and give you a lot of great cuts.

Robert

Good info. But.... I find that in a miter saw, I get a better cut (no splinters) with the material "good side up". Same with a radial arm saw.

Max

Reply to
Max

I agree with you for radial arm and for "chop saw" miter saws. With sliders, if you pull the slider out, lower the blade and push it through the work, good side down is the way to go.

In either case, best results (less tendency to splinter) is on the side where the saw tooth enters the work. More tendency to splinter where the tooth exits the cut.

Tom Veatch Wichita, KS USA

Reply to
Tom Veatch

Exactly. Which is why I am scratching my head over Max's experience.

My miter saws works exactly like a circular saw. So does my radial saw. Once they are through the material's thickness, they are cutting up, with the teeth making the clean cut from bottom to top. Hence the clean cut on the good side down, and the splinters coming up where the blade exits the wood.

It would be the reverse for the table saw, though.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

Thanks for all the help I will be trying out the new 12" 8- tooth on some crown molding later this week.

Reply to
theedudenator

It's been a while since I've used a RAS, but as I recall, the blade spun such that the edge closest to the operator moves down. If the saw is used by making the cut on the pull stroke, then the blade is moving down as it enters the cut. In that case I'd expect the least splintering on the upper surface. If it's used like I use my slider, cutting on the push stroke, the blade is moving up or very nearly parallel to the surface as it enters the cut and I'd expect the cleaner cut on the bottom side.

My only experience with a non-sliding miter saw is with abrasive wheels on metal cutting chop saws so I can't speak from any experience with type of saw cutting wood. But as I envision it, with that type saw, I'd expect that part of the work closest to the fence to see a cleaner cut on the bottom and any part of the work on the operator side of the blade center to see a cleaner cut on the top surface.

Of course, that's all theoretical, and the only thing that really counts is what you experience with your saw, using your techniques. (BTW, the "you" in that sentence is the generic "you" and not intended to be any specific individual.)

Tom Veatch Wichita, KS USA

Reply to
Tom Veatch

Oh no....

An 8 tooth?

Up or down, I am afraid it won't matter which if you get an 8 tooth blade! ;^)

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

Oh no....

An 8 tooth?

***********************************************

I saw that too. I figured (hoped) it was a typo.

I think that would be the dinosaur blade!

Reply to
Lee Michaels

SFWIW, I have a 10", 8T, carbide tipped, Sears & Rubbish blade from long ago.

Think of it as a powered hatchet.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

I ment my new 80tooth blade

Reply to
theedudenator

I have that same blade, and used it for years, still have it. I also have a 12 tooth that I've used for years. These are great for rough work, they cut with far less effort than a 40/60 tooth. No good for a miter saw or plywood, but if you have a jointer, they work well for ripping rough lumber on the TS.

It is a dinosaur blade though, when I went to replace it, couldn't find one, thats why I have the 12 tooth blade. Not sure if they still make that one either?

Reply to
Jack Stein

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.