rgdaniel Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 Hi folks, Recently, our local tool guy (the guy who fixed my table saw) suggested that if I found my saw to be a bit under powered (it's a Steel City 1.75 HP cabinet saw, running at 120) I should try using a circular saw blade. The idea being they are thinner, and therefore less resistance going through the wood. So I removed my decently sharp and somewhat pricey Woodworker II combo blade, and installed a fresh circular saw blade, el-cheapo brand from Canadian Tire, and oh my gawd what a difference... the cheapo blade slices through 8/4 maple as easily as... well as easily as that same blade crosscuts 8/4 maple when it's in the circular saw... i.e. "like buttah"... For the price of sharpening the WWII I can buy another 3-pack of circular saw blades... and experience little or no burning, which seemed to be an unavoidable cost of doing business with the primo blade, depending on the wood... So, what's the downside here? Cheers, Bob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flairwoodworks Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 I do this quite often, especially when cutting dirty lumber. The thinner blades are more flexible and not as reliable to cut plumb so I would not use them for joinery in most cases. The other downside, of course, is reduced depth of cut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 Haven't tried it myself yet, but have seen it done. Lots of info on it here: http://woodgears.ca/shop-tricks/skillsaw_blade.html If you haven't seen that guy's site yet, prepare yourself for several hundred hours of interested clicking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateswoodworks Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 I also do it for reclaimed lumber as they are a lot cheaper that the 10". For this I like the Freud 7 1/4 Diablo as they do a lot longer than any other blade I have tried. I suggest that I buy you a few Diablo's and swap you for your WW2 blade Seriously though, you don't have to drop down to a small blade and I wouldn't if I were you unless it is a situation of excessive wear and possible wear to a good blade. For normal use get yourself a decent thin kerf blade, this is what I did until I bought my Steel City 3hp saw, now I run regular kerf. Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneslinger Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 Yup. I keep a 7 1/4" diablo on mine. Put on the 10" only if blade can't cover a bevel cut. I've heard of stacking 3-4 of em and doing really clean dados but I haven't had guts to try it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darnell Hagen Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 I normally don't use a thin kerf, I don't like the way they flutter, and my TS has the horses to push a full 1/8" wide. However, I do keep a Diabolo with a nice tight zero-clearance insert for ripping ebony and other pricey stock, keeping my cash from getting sucked up the dust collector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgdaniel Posted August 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2011 Thanks folks... not getting email notification of replies, so just seeing these now... I do have a thin kerf ripping blade, which I like for it's flat tooth design, makes nice flat bottom grooves for miter splines, for example... but it also labours with some woods, like the 8/4 maple... the circ saw blades are probably HALF the thickness of the thin kerf blade... I mean seriously thin... but yeah, I think I'll use it for rough stock and rough dimensioning, then use the WWII to accurately sneak up on final dimensions... just wanted to make sure I wasn't getting bad advice about using it at all... thanks again, cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jHop Posted August 12, 2011 Report Share Posted August 12, 2011 I keep a Diablo in the circular saw 95 percent of the time. Since I break down lumber with the circular saw first (unless I had my Wheaties that morning), I've never had a problem before. (then again, I've never tackled 8/4 before...) I prefer the 40 tooth combination blade for most things; I'd skip the 24 altogether. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knotscott Posted August 12, 2011 Report Share Posted August 12, 2011 The 7-1/4" blades have a different attack angle in the wood than a 10" blade, which in effect makes the blade act like it has a steeper hook angle. That's good for improving the feed rate, but not as good for tear out at the exit of the cut, so most 7-1/4" blades won't cut as a cleanly as the same design in a 10". The upside, as you've discovered, is that they're much easier to spin, and much thinner, so are easier on your motor. Also, most 7-1/4" blades tend to not be made to the same standards as a premium 10" blade, generally having lower grade carbide and much less of it, less attention to the tensioning of the steel, and likely lower grade steel.... that's a generalization...there are exceptions. That doesn't mean that a 7-1/4" blade can't have it's place in a 10" table saw, but I don't consider them a total replacement for a decent 10" blade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ediazf Posted August 12, 2011 Report Share Posted August 12, 2011 Haven't tried it myself yet, but have seen it done. Lots of info on it here: http://woodgears.ca/...lsaw_blade.html If you haven't seen that guy's site yet, prepare yourself for several hundred hours of interested clicking! hundred? thousands! hahaha mathias is THE man 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgdaniel Posted August 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2011 Thanks, all good points! It's the easier on the motor part that got me interested in the first place... but the potential for flying carbide projectiles suggests I should at least look for better quality circ saw blades...and yes, switch back to my trusty WWII for accuracy in final dimensioning and joinery... The 7-1/4" blades have a different attack angle in the wood than a 10" blade, which in effect makes the blade act like it has a steeper hook angle. That's good for improving the feed rate, but not as good for tear out at the exit of the cut, so most 7-1/4" blades won't cut as a cleanly as the same design in a 10". The upside, as you've discovered, is that they're much easier to spin, and much thinner, so are easier on your motor. Also, most 7-1/4" blades tend to not be made to the same standards as a premium 10" blade, generally having lower grade carbide and much less of it, less attention to the tensioning of the steel, and likely lower grade steel.... that's a generalization...there are exceptions. That doesn't mean that a 7-1/4" blade can't have it's place in a 10" table saw, but I don't consider them a total replacement for a decent 10" blade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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