TS blades again

[Digit]

I've never tried sharpening them with a file Tuss. The normal method is with a 'cup' wheel fitted to the grinder and a jig that indexes the blade round tooth by tooth.
DIY jigs can be made if you want to go that route.

Roy.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

I am after a combination blade, with a bias to cross cutting.
I need a 10" blade. What should I buy ???
Rich

The important things to look for to do the jobs you're asking the blade to do is the tooth type, the number of teeth, the hook, and the bevel angle of each tooth.

Therefore, as you asked for a bias towards an ability to cross cut over ripping this is what you need to look for:

Tooth type- ATB (alternate top bevel) The steeper the bevel angle, the better is the ability to cross cut. The lower the bevel angle the better it is for ripping.
The greater the number off teeth on the rim the better the blade is for cross cutting. The opposite applies for ripping; less teeth equal better ripping.
Hook. Low hook angles, eg, 5- 10º are better for cross cutting. Higher hook angles are better for ripping, eg, 15-20º.
Higher bevel angles are best for cross cutting, eg, ~40º+. Low or non existent bevels are better for ripping, eg, 0- 10º. (A zero bevel tooth is called a flat top (FT) grind and it is specifically for ripping.)

With all the essential information in place what you need for your purpose is something like this on your 10" diameter sawblade:

36- to 44 teeth, 15- 20º hook and 10- 15º bevel on the ATB tooth pattern.

I'll leave you to decide on a brand, but CMT are pretty good and so are Freud, as are several other makes, some being perhaps better again. But these two brands are easy for the amateur woodworker to get through catalogues and the like and are very reliable quality wise, as are all brands really. As ever, you pay your money and get only what you pay for. There are seldom any bargains in the tool market. Slainte.

 

[Tusses]

As ever, you pay your money and get only what you pay for. There are seldom any bargains in the tool market. Slainte.

thanks for your advice - but sometimes you can pay for a 'name' rather than quality !.... festool springs to mind !

 

[Sgian Dubh]

sometimes you can pay for a 'name' rather than quality !.... festool springs to mind !

Hmm, I'm not sure I agree entirely. Festool's power tools are in a league with very few others. I've used a few Festool items, and it's my experience that they truly are better engineered than a lot of the lower priced tools designed to do a similar job.

Their routers for instance really are excellent I've found, and DeWalt are quite some way behind, but of course DeWalt are also quite some way behind in price.

I own DeWalt routers, but lust after Festool. Slainte.

 

[Tusses]

I recall it was the accessories that were more expensive (cant think exactly off the top of my head ) I was reading a review - and festool were selling something at around twice the price of another seller - but it was the same product !


I'll see if I can find what I was reading .

 

[Tusses]

I guess what I am trying to say ... I dont mind spending a bit more , only if I know its a better product !

 

[Tusses]

just found this ... saw blade sharpener

link

 

[iajon69]

just found this ... saw blade sharpener

link

I wouldn't waste your time or money on something like this! They are not accurate enough to sharpen properly and looking at the picture it's difficult to see how this machine will sharpen the fronts and the top angles on the blade.

Another reason for staying away from machines like this is the blades that you've been looking at are TCT (Tungsten Carbide Tipped) and to sharpen these you need a diamond grinding wheel. Dry grinding these creates a lot of very fine dust that is very hazardous to your health! Any decent sharpening machine is fully enclosed and uses water/fluid to keep the dust out of the air - and very expensive

A 40 tooth blade costs around £10.00 to be professionally sharpened.

The advice for Sgian Dubh is fantastic advice and yes Festool blades are expensive but they are very, very good and a lot better than Freud blades.
Freud blades are good and they are ideal for the majority of people but they don't compare to the really good quality blades such as Gomex, AKE, Stehle etc. Even the Trend Waveform blades are better quality than the Freud ones - Freud do have an industrial range as well though.

The Freud, CMT blades are decent blades are more than suitable for what you are doing but the really good quality blades are more expensive but you get a better quality blade that will last longer and can be sharpened more because of the better quality tungsten used in the manufacturing of the blade

Ian

 

[Benchwayze]

Yeah! Freud for me too.. It's a Freudian thing for sure!

I do have some old carbon-steel blades that came with my 1971 Coronet Major. They purport to be made by Coronet, but I don't know if that is true or if they were just made for Coronet. Like all my circular saw blades, they are sharpened professionally. They cut just as well as a TCT saw, but they don't hold an edge for quite so long. But they are feasible to use and they cut cleanly and accurately.

John

 

[slemishwoodcrafts]

CMT Series 291 General Purpose Saw Blades

these are the blades I use in my Macallister TS. BEst choice I ever made. they leave a superbly clean cut and are much quieter in use than the previous choice.

BTW these have 49 teeth which leave a superbly clean finish when both ripping and crosscutting in solid wood and man made boards

regards,

michael

 

[Tusses]

Excellent input from all so far ! Thanks !

I am thinking about using some the carbon steel blades that came with it - see how they cut.

Its all too easy to get caught up in buying new toys !!!

I have taken some pictures of the ones I have - please let me know what you all think

They range from 20 to 100 teeth ! 20,36,44,50,100 with some combination blades too.

Makes printed on them are

R.H Walker and Sons
Dewalt (how long have they been about ??? )
H.K.Porter (Canada) Disston
Spear and Jackson
Wadkin
Nordik

 

[Digit]

As I pointed out earlier, carbon steel blades take a better edge than carbide does, they will simply wear more rapidly. If they are sharp, use 'em!

Roy.

 

[Tusses]

they are sharp. Ive just put a combi blade on and it cuts well

my problem is - as I have never had a 'quality' TCT blade - I dont know what to do when they need sharpening !

ditch them and go TCT or get them sharpened ?

The Table Saw manual shows how to sharpen the blades - how much are the files ? I could at least give it a go ! i

t says to draw the file 6 times on each tooth and gives the angles and set and hook and rake and lots of stuff I have heard of but not learned yet !

6 times a tooth doesn't sound like it would take that long ?

I'd like to at least learn how to do it - I like the old ways !
even when I end up getting a modern TCT - I could say I know how to use the old ones

 

[Digit]

Fair enough! The files that are normally used are sole as 'saw files', (now there's a surprise), they are triangular in section, double ended and come in various lengths and cuts.
A fairly fine cut is normally best unless the teeth are very blunt, regular dressing is much quicker and easier than than leaving it till they won't cut fresh air.
Tipped blades cut a wider kerf than the disc they are mounted on so a little bit of 'dishing' doen't effect them.
Not so with untipped blades. A 'dished' blade will jam and over heat and increase the chance of a kick back, so check before sharpening and dump any that are 'dished'.
Hold the blade in a woodworking vice, get yourself a comfortable stool or chair, and keep a count of the number of strokes of the file so that each tooth is treated the same.
That's it!

Roy.