Darren66 Posted June 6, 2013 Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 Hi, I have a Makita MLT100 portable table saw, I've been using the supplied blade, knowing no better! I have cleaned it but it doesn't cut quite as easily as it used to. The 260mm blade has a 1.8mm body and a 2.3mm kerf with 40 teeth at 20deg. The local supplier recommends a 60 tooth (5deg) blade 2mm body, 3.2mm kerf. I have questioned this as the riving knife on the saw is 2mm thick. They advise this is fine, and that the motor load and wastage will be slightly higher with the blade they offer. As I'm primarily interested in making furniture, is the 60 tooth blade...going to be the better choice? I think it will be rare that I use the maximum blade height of 93mm. Or should I consider a thin kerf blade even if slightly smaller 250/254mm? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knotscott Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 A 3.2mm kerf blade is the equivalent of a 1/8" full kerf blade. A 60T full kerf blade is a lot for a jobsite saw to spin for anything but crosscuts and ply. I'd think it'd have a much easier time spinning a 3/32" equivalent TK (2.2mm?).....40T to 50T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 Darren on your saw a 3.2mm blade will be fine. A good general purpose blade for ripping and cross cutting from 30 to 40 TPI at 254 to 260mm diameter will suffice for furniture making and your saw has more than enough grunt. Have a look at Axminster.co.uk at their Axcaliber range. An ATB blade or even one that has every third tooth a flat bottom would be great to cut tenon shoulders, but not essential, with the addition of a tenoning jig. The fact that the machine has a riving knife of 2mm enables you to use both the full kerf and narrow kerf blades and is a bonus. The blade normally supplied with a saw, regardless of make, is generally of lower quality and should best be used as a wall decoration. You could even try a Woodworker II blade if you have the cash but they are about a 1/3 to 1/2 the price of the entire saw! Again Axminster sell them too. What diameter is the arbor on that saw? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren66 Posted June 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 Knotscot thanks I am a little worried about stressing it, it's rated 1500w which I'm pretty sure makes it 2hp. Terry, the arbors 30mm. And thanks I was a little worried about the blade and riving knife being the same thickness. I've been looking at a number of sites (including Axminster) and thinking a 40 tooth blade might be good. Are the Freud blades any good? I bought a rip 1 for my circular saw and it seemed good but I have little to compare it too! And is 2mm the standard blade thickness for a full kerf blade? Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 Knotscot thanks I am a little worried about stressing it, it's rated 1500w which I'm pretty sure makes it 2hp. Terry, the arbors 30mm. And thanks I was a little worried about the blade and riving knife being the same thickness. I've been looking at a number of sites (including Axminster) and thinking a 40 tooth blade might be good. Are the Freud blades any good? I bought a rip 1 for my circular saw and it seemed good but I have little to compare it too! And is 2mm the standard blade thickness for a full kerf blade? Thanks again. I'm not able to measure mine at the moment as I'm on holiday but i would say probably so. Maybe somebody else could concur. I can see your concerns about the riving knife and blade core being the same thickness with the possibility of binding with reaction wood. However the riving knife is contacted after the work has left the blade. The kerf will still be open but held open by the knife. If you are cutting a 25mm thick board the blade would only be about 1 tooth higher than this, about 40mm above the table. The actual length of blade exposed would probably be no more than 125 to 150mm on a 260mm diameter blade. I don't think that the timber would move enough over that relatively short distance to bind on the blade before it came into contact with the riving knife. In fact the knife covers most of the rising part of the blade where kickback starts. Of course on every cut you still need to have your wits about you, make sure you stand to the left of the blade, use a push stick (Marcs one in TWW store is great BTW) and listen to make sure the motor isn't bogging down. From the specs I see it is a 2HP motor with soft start. We can't run dado blades on many TS's in the UK so it is not an issue being 2HP. It really is powerful enough for most applications. As long as you are not burying the blade full depth in a 6" thick slab of oak Freud are indeed fantastic blades and are well worth the investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knotscott Posted June 8, 2013 Report Share Posted June 8, 2013 1500 watts would make it 2 horsepower if the motor is 100% efficient. It's more likely between 60-70% efficient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren66 Posted June 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2013 Terry, Knotscott, thanks very much really helpful replies. I think I've found a good compromise for now, a Freud Pro LP30M, 250mm, 40 teeth, combination blade, with a 2.8mm kerf and as far as I can find out a 1.86mm blade. I'll let you know how well it works! Might consider a Freud Pro Fusion next time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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