square tooth saw blade

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SurreyBod

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Can anyone recommend a decent square tooth saw ("flat top grind" - I think that's the technical term)?

Its for a DW745 table saw. Looking to cut down on the sanding that I'm doing on lap joints etc
 
Sorry, I cannot help with the recommendation. I also struggle to see how the saw blade choice saves sanding?
 
> Sorry, I cannot help with the recommendation. I also struggle to see how the saw blade choice saves sanding?

If you use a table saw to make multiple adjacent cuts you can very effectively create the recess for a lap joint - or for lots of other joints. Together with a decent jig you can do a set of identical cuts in multiple pieces without having to reset the blade. Problem with multiple adjacent cuts is that the cut surface takes the characteristics of the blade tip. For example if your blade ended in a sharp triangle then you'd get a set of grooves in the recess.

This picture shows some of the variations:
http://www.forrestblades.com/images/imp ... iagram.png

Most of the time the surface left isn't important but sometimes it is which is why I'm exploring the FTG option
 
Have you thought of doing this on a router table, much easier and a flat lap joint no finishing required.

Mike
 
I've considered it - and its probably the better tool.

BUT - I have a much better table saw than I have router table which was the deciding factor. I've only done one set (yesterday) and was toying with the "how to do it better" option. Project over Christmas is probably to build a router table extension onto the DW745 that will enable me to use the decent fence for both.
 
Unless you are doing loads of them what is wrong with a chisel? You then do not even need to saw every blade width you could saw every 6mm or so and then chisel the waste out. The downside of a flat tooth is that the speltching will be hideous. If you are doing loads of them I would make a router jig
 
Hello,

A lap joint requires cross cuts, but you won't find a cross cut blade with a flat top grind, only rip saw blades have flat top grinds.

Similarly, grooving blades are a rip cut, so won't do what you need. They are really too small a diameter for 10 inch saws anyway.

I would invest some time in making a decent router table, once you have it, it will be a boon for lots of other work as well as what you need for lap joints.

Otherwise,. a simple jig to guide a hand held plunge router is easy to make and is effective for lap joints and tenon cheeks too.

When I started woodworking, I thought a dado set or grooving blade would be useful for a TS, but, like everyone outside of America, found hat TS arbours are too short to accommodate them. 30 odd years later, I find I have never needed one and the is ALWAYS a better, safer and more efficient method of doing what I thought a dado set would do for me. I would learn to find alternative ways of making lap joints than the TS.

Mike.
 
When i worked making caravans, the big Wadkin crosscut had a trenching head put in it for all the half laps in the framework. I suppose it's the same thing as a Dado Cutter but for crosscutting. Scary bloody thing it was.
 
skipdiver":1gmcftov said:
When i worked making caravans, the big Wadkin crosscut had a trenching head put in it for all the half laps in the framework. I suppose it's the same thing as a Dado Cutter but for crosscutting. Scary bloody thing it was.
Yes but they had scribing cutters on either edge to stop the speltching
 
Hi, despite what was said earlier, a grooving blade *could* be a solution for you. A few things to bear in mind:

- They tend to be smaller blades (like 150mm), so result in a much shallower max depth of cut
- because they're smaller blades, you need to be 100% certain that the blade is completely clear at all heights
- because they're flat, they will cause massive tear out on a cross cut unless you use a sacrificial fence

I wouldn't recommend using one unless you're confident with a tablesaw :)
 
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