Circular Saw Blades

[Richard Findley]

Hi Guys,

I want a new blade for my table saw. I was looking at one of these:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-...in-Kerf-General-Purpose-Saw-Blades-365903.htm

They are thin kerf which means they will cut easier and have a 30mm bore as my saw needs, but there is a problem...

The mounting on my saw has a locating pin next to the threaded spindle to help secure the blade in place but these blade don't have a hole for it. My question is: can I simply drill a hole on my pillar drill to fit the mounting on my saw or will this weaken or in some way compromise the quality of the blade???

Any thoughts would be welcome,

Cheers,

Richard

 

[JonnyD]

I would have thought you could drill the blade but would need a decent sharp drill bit. You would also need a thinner riving knife as well.

jon

 

[iajon69]

It depends on the quality of the blade as to what it will be like to drill. I've drilled a few pin holes in blades and it can be a right pain.

You really need to drill 2 holes in the blade as well - opposite each other to keep the blade balanced.

You need a decent drill bit, cutting compound and a fair bit of patience!
Personally I would think that it's not worth the effort and you would be better off looking for a blade with the pin holes already in.

Oh, and as Jon suggested - don't forget the riving knife.

Ian

 

[Streepips]

Very inadvisable to try and drill the locating pin hole yourself. You risk compromising the balance of the blade, the structural integrity of the blade and ultimately your own safety.
Any saw doctor will do this for you, if you don`t know of one then go to any timber yard, joiners shop or machine shop and ask for your blade to be collected when the saw doctor calls. These are usually weekly so it will be back a week to the day.The cost? Probably a couple of quid,so not worth the risk doing it yourself.
As JonnyD says,you also have to consider your riving knife thickness.

Also bear in mind that the thinner a blade is the less mass there is for heat dissipation and it will overheat a lot faster than a standard blade, especially if you are cutting timbers like oak

 

[Digit]

10 inch Freud blades I find are superior to CMT, come with two holes and a 30 mill shaft hole.

Roy.

 

[compo]

For what's it's worth, I agree with Roy.
The Freud blades are very good, you wont be disappointed and saves you the hassle.

Sean

 

[Richard Findley]

Thanks for your thoughts guys.

A couple more questions...

Where's the best place to buy a Freud blade?
What's the difference between me drilling a hole and a saw doc doing it?

The riving knife's not a problem as it tapers to a point behind the blade.

Also, the saw is pretty old (1960's!?) and all of the existing blades, I think there are 4 or 5 all only have a single hole so how important is the 2 hole thing??

Thanks again,

Richard

 

[Digit]

Couple of points there Richard. There is no difference in who drills the holes as long as whoever drills them does so in the correct position.
Any decent tool supplier will stock Freud blades and reducing bushes where needed.
The taper on the riving knife is irrelevant , if the knife is wider than the kerf the timber can jamb.
Frankly I very much doubt that the absence of a second hole that close to the centre of mass is of any import at all.

Roy.