Saw blade for a Radial Arm Saw

[Selwyn]

I have a dewalt RAS with a 250mm 30 tooth blade in and its gone a bit blunt.

I only crosscut so I think i'm happy enough to buy a blade with more teeth - any recommendations?

I don't really want to pay as much as £40 which is what Cutting solutions/freud/ dewalt will sell them for.

Anyone used Draper expert blades? Titan? Silverline? (oo-er) - there is a Trend one on ebay for £25 which would be the limit I'd want to spend.

Its not use day in day out

I do have a 40 tooth 254mm blade from cutting solutions which I no longer use for the bench saw - that is bound to be a step up from the 30 tooth so would it be just as good to put that in instead (will need to get it sharpened!)

 

[marcros]

i have used silverline on a table saw. they do a job, and when it came to sharpen, there wasnt enough carbide to be able to. It was ok, performance wise, but I was not making finishing cuts, but I couldnt say that it did a bad job.

You need a negative rake blade on a RAS- do draper expert and silverline make such things? They may do, but I would be surprised that there would be enough demand to satisfy their market model of selling lots of volume, cheap. I think my blade was for a circular saw but it was ok for the ts.

One thing that I will say is that £40 spent at cutting solutions will be much cheaper in the long run because you will be able to have it sharpened over and over and over. You will get a top quality blade from there. If you dont want to spend £40 on it, then fair enough. lesser blades will do the job, even if they dont last quite as long and you cant have them sharpened as many times. I would expect trend blades to be reasonable based on their other products. I have not used one though.

I bought a set of the 3 silverline blades for about £15. I would probably pay a bit more next time and get a single decent blade.

 

[Steve Maskery]

£40 is a bargain. Do yourself a favour.

 

[wallace]

I think the blade you mentioned £40, might not be meant for a RAS. Like already said you need one with a negative rake to stop climb cut

 

[Myfordman]

Don't replace, sharpen it!!

Take the blade to a saw doctor and get it sharpened for 25-30p per tip approx

 

[deema]

A RAS should have a negative racked blade as already stated, equally anything slightly blunt is a big no no for these animals. I would whole heartedly recommend that you buy the very best blade that there is, ignore the cost, buy quality, if you can't afford it don't use it. Sorry if this sounds a little mellow dramatic, but a twisted or flexing blade on a RAS is the sort of thing that cuts fleshy bits off and that few quid saved looks rather different when viewed from within A&E.

I would whole heartedly recommend two if not three good blades. One in the saw, one waiting to be used if the one being used shows any signs of being blunt and one being sharpened. It's usually the blunt blade that bites.

 

[Selwyn]

Don't replace, sharpen it!!

Take the blade to a saw doctor and get it sharpened for 25-30p per tip approx

but the current one is a 30 tooth dewalt. I was thinking more teeth would provide a better cut?

 

[Selwyn]

How about this as a compromise?

http://www.tool-net.co.uk/p-314710/tren ... oCt-Hw_wcB

 

[deema]

The Trend has a positive rake on the teeth and is for a table saw. The cutting edge of the teeth need to slope the other way to stop the blade pulling itself into the stuff as you cut. Using a blade for a table saw you will inevitably have the saw suddenly rush towards you as you are cutting, you cannot control, it, or stop it, anything in the way gets cut.

Do not cut by pushing the saw towards the fence, the stuff will be picked up and thrown out at some point, if your holding the stuff, depending on which direction it gets thrown depends on whether your hand goes into the blade. You will not be able to react in time to save skin, sinew and bone.

A higher tooth count is better for cross cutting, but it needs to be matched to the thickness of stuff your cutting. Too thick and too higher tooth count can cause the blade gullets to become overloaded and stop cutting properly. This can cause the blade to jam / kick back.

 

[Selwyn]

so can you recommend a good all round blade for me please deema?

Thanks

 

[doorframe]

Maybe consider making your own sharpening machine, along with buying a couple of blades. A member on here made a brilliant one recently. It's been on my to-make list for years.

I've got 24 tooth Freud Pro on the TS and won't use anything else on that for general ripping. In the various SCMS's I've got Dewalt, Titan, Silverline and others. The Dewalt kept it's edge slightly longer than the cheaper blades, and has slightly more meat on the tips than the cheaper blades, so may resharpen a couple more times.

As stated, you need a -ve rake on the RAS. Silverline do an 80 tooth -ve rake for aluminium which I use now and then on the TS to cut melamine, but I've not used it enough to tell it's longevity. I don't know if 80 teeth is too many for the RAS.

 

[deema]

Which RAS model do you have? A 10" blade to me seems unusual for a RAS. Is it perhaps a Mitre saw with a slide?

What typically do you cut and how thick is the material typically.

 

[blackrodd]

How about this as a compromise?

http://www.tool-net.co.uk/p-314710/tren ... oCt-Hw_wcB

Reading the Trend blurb, It's a decent compromise cross cut, that is from a decent company, so it should serve you're purpose at a cheap price.
Regards Rodders

 

[JSW]

Just a heads up, but B&Q have a clearance going on at the moment, my local store (Bradford Thornbury) has a range of Bosch blades from 165,180,250,254,305 (from memory) with varying TPI and bores.

I picked up a 305 x 100 TPI, 30mm bore the other day, and just nipped back now for another, plus a 254 x 40 TPI.

8 quid apiece, if it helps anyone.

I know it's a lot of TPI for a bench saw, but I mounted the 305 diam. in my heavily modified DEWALT Sawking, and that baby sings to you when she fires up, cleanest cut I've ever had going through 3" poplar, very slowly.

 

[Selwyn]

Which RAS model do you have? A 10" blade to me seems unusual for a RAS. Is it perhaps a Mitre saw with a slide?

What typically do you cut and how thick is the material typically.

Hi,

Its a dewalt 1751 ras. Is it meant to have a 254mm one in?

Typically I crosscut hardwoods and a little bit of mdf and ply. I'd say from 1" to 3" thick (3" would be rare).

 

[Alexfn]

Hi guys..i thought had an old account on this site but couldn't log on so just signed up to throw in my pennys worth

I have a flooring company and we are cutting solid hardwood all day and go through a lot of blades. I thought id save some cash and started buying those negative rake silverline blades. The truth is they are junk they cut fine in the beginning but last about 1/10 the time of a quality blade thats 4 times the price

 

[powertools]

Hi guys..i thought had an old account on this site but couldn't log on so just signed up to throw in my pennys worth

I have a flooring company and we are cutting solid hardwood all day and go through a lot of blades. I thought id save some cash and started buying those negative rake silverline blades. The truth is they are junk they cut fine in the beginning but last about 1/10 the time of a quality blade thats 4 times the price

I have to say that I am a bit surprised that anybody running a professional company using saws all day cutting hard wood would even consider using blades at the price point of the Silverline ones.
As a serious hobby woodworker I only use Silverline blades of all types in all my saws and have to say they are amazing value for money.

 

[Alexfn]

Well when you are running a business you have to try keep expenditure down on consumables. Im surprised anyone whos used one for a week thinks they are value for money..freud blades are value for money

 

[doorframe]

£ for £, Freud are unbeatable. I'm only a hobbyist, so a Silverline that's only used twice a year,and subsequently lasts years, and cost less than a tenner, is OK by me.

I have a RAS waiting for renovation/rebuild, and I anticipate it getting plenty of use, so I'll probably go for a -ve rake Freud if it comes in at under £30, but any more and it'll be a cheapie, as long as my sharpener is built by then.