After-market circular saw blades - help!!!

[MrJay]

Got me a shiny new table saw from the emporium of quality that is B&Q; I'll post a mini review once I'm a bit more familiar with it. One thing that is immediately apparent is that the blade is a bit pants (that or there are some user competency issues that need addressing) and leaves scorch marks and glazes on everything it touches.

So I'm in the market for an after market 10" blade. Axminster stocks a thin kerf blade which costs rather more than I'd like, but the promise of less dust, waste and stress on the saw sounds advantageous to me, though I'm noticing that it's only considered fair for rip cutting; should I be looking at something entirely different?

Jay

 

[wrightclan]

Mr. Jay,

I presume you're looking at the 42 tooth blade. You should not use the 60 or 80 tooth blade (also listed on that page) for any ripping. The 42 tooth blade will be a fair compromise between ripping and cross-cutting. I have not used CMT blades, but have heard favourable reviews. I have used Freud thin-kerf combination blades, and have had good results. You may find Freud blades on e-bay for slightly less money, otherwise from retailers, I suspect they will be slightly more than Axminster's CMT prices.

As far as the scorch marks are concerned, there could be a few causes. A poor or dull blade, feed-rate too slow, inaccurate set-up (blade is not parallel to mitre slot and fence).

Brad

 

[George_N]

Not sure I'd go with a thin kerf blade for general use, I would prefer a less flexible standard blade. You also have to consider the thickness of your riving knife which may not be compatible with the thin saw kerf. As Brad says, CMT and Freud blades are generally well regarded.

 

[wrightclan]

Not sure I'd go with a thin kerf blade for general use, I would prefer a less flexible standard blade. You also have to consider the thickness of your riving knife which may not be compatible with the thin saw kerf. As Brad says, CMT and Freud blades are generally well regarded.

For my saw, or any reasonably powerful saw, I would agree. But for many benchtops, such as Mr. Jay's Ryobi, a thin-kerf can be useful, in requiring less power. If flexibility is a problem (not found it to be a significant problem for general use with the Freud), you can always add a blade stiffener. Also, on a benchtop, the cheapo blades usually have rather thin teeth anyway, so the riving knife may not be a problem.

Brad

 

[MrJay]

eak!!! Glad I asked.

So how wide does a riving knife need to be? Mine is somewhere between 2.5mm and 3mm, the standard blade is 3.2mm and the thin kerf 1.7mm. Assuming the riving knife wants to be a shade slimmer than the kerf then I'm going to want the standard blade...

 

[Philly]

Mr Jay
I have a CMT thin kerf blade for my saw. It cuts very nicely!
Call Axminster and make sure you get one that is suitable for a table saw, not a mitre saw.
You certainly will notice the difference - most blades that come with the machine are complete pants (as you have noticed!)
Cheers
Philly

 

[stevel]

I have the standard 3.2mm CMT blades, both 24 and 60 tooth. My saw is a Scheppach 2010, 1800watts and they don't struggle to cut anything I've tried sofar so they should be fine for your Ryobi. They both give an excellent finish.

Steve

 

[MrJay]

Thanks chaps. I've ordered a standard kerf spinning blade of doom to match my chunky riving knife.
Jay.