Pbmaster11 Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 I might be picking up a 10" contractors table saw just to get my tool collection started. Questions on saw blades. I have read the saw blades 101 page and received great info but would like all of your opinions. 10" table saw - Best blade for my buck? I do not have a big budget. I still am a college student so my financial resources are not flowing constantly in. 10" miter saw (I think) - best blade for my buck? What about a dado blade? can i put a 6" or 8" blade on my 10" table saw? Best blade for my buck?\ Sharpening? Steps for sharpening saw blades? Is this possible? The tools I will be purchasing have older blades. I will be going to look at them at 1pm central time. Would sharpening be an option or recommending buying a new blade? Side question- I have had my miter saw (chop saw?) since i was very young (12-13 years old) and when i was younger I hit a bad piece of wood. It deflected into the blade and had bent the blade just a slight bit. I am not sure if it was the blade or the arbor on the saw. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeanJackson Posted December 4, 2010 Report Share Posted December 4, 2010 Best bang for the (limited) buck? Go to Amazon, Freud Diablo blades aren't bad. For the table saw, pick up a 40 tooth. For the chop/miter saw, probably a 80-tooth. As an upgrade, get a second blade for the table saw, a 24-tooth thin-kerf rip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Pants Posted December 5, 2010 Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 With respect to the dado blades, yes you can put a 6 or 8" dado on a 10" saw. Dado stacks generally come in 8" sizes as it is since you're putting more load on the saw. Some small saws recommend only using a 6" dado stack, so bear that in mind as it will depend on how powerful the saws motor is. As for a good economical one, I've not had much luck with cheap dado stacks, they tend to do okay when going with the grain, but tearout badly when going against. Freud makes a set for $100 that may not be too bad on tearout (I've never used it, but Freud generally makes good blades), I wouldn't really go cheaper than that though. Sharpening sawblades depends on a few criteria, both cost/benefit and quality of the blade. Given that you're looking at budget blades I'm not sure if they'd be worth using a sharpening service (its not something you'd want to attempt yourself). With the miter saw, you'll want to check the runout. Get a cheap dial-indicater and magnetic base. Set it up on one side of the blade and find where there's any deflection. Mark that point with a sharpie. Remove the blade and reverse it (you're not making cuts so the blade being backwards isn't a problem). Repeat the check with the dial-indicator. If the blade deflection is in the same place (if it deflected inwards the first time, it should now deflect outwards at the same mark), the blade is bad. Replace it. If the runout is in the same place and in the same direction the arbor's bent. Not sure what could be done on that, but its more likely the blade would be the culprit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onboard Posted December 5, 2010 Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 On August 13th KnotScott replied to a post by Renzo titled “Table Saw Blade?”. It’s on Page 2, reply #27 (just scroll down). The reply is very thorough. In that reply, at the beginning of the second paragraph, KnotScott has a link (“Blade selection…”) to a post he made on LumberJocks titled “Tips for picking a saw blade”. A very extensive article. I know this does not answer your miter saw blade question, but I hope these two posts will help regarding the tablesaw. I might be picking up a 10" contractors table saw just to get my tool collection started. Questions on saw blades. I have read the saw blades 101 page and received great info but would like all of your opinions. 10" table saw - Best blade for my buck? I do not have a big budget. I still am a college student so my financial resources are not flowing constantly in. 10" miter saw (I think) - best blade for my buck? What about a dado blade? can i put a 6" or 8" blade on my 10" table saw? Best blade for my buck?\ Sharpening? Steps for sharpening saw blades? Is this possible? The tools I will be purchasing have older blades. I will be going to look at them at 1pm central time. Would sharpening be an option or recommending buying a new blade? Side question- I have had my miter saw (chop saw?) since i was very young (12-13 years old) and when i was younger I hit a bad piece of wood. It deflected into the blade and had bent the blade just a slight bit. I am not sure if it was the blade or the arbor on the saw. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jHop Posted December 5, 2010 Report Share Posted December 5, 2010 the local Woodcraft had the Forrest rep in this weekend. As I work weekends, I was very fortunate to catch him as he was setting up Friday on an unplanned trip (on my part) into the store. I know that you're worried about finances, but it might be worth it to you to save up to purchase one of their blades. The reason I bring up the rep, though, is that he asked whether my table saw was a direct drive (motor hooked up directly to the saw/arbor) or belt driven, in response to my question about dado stacks. His logic was a matter of clearance for the blades (the belt driven allows for a little more clearance), and got me thinking about how deep a dado I actually plan on cutting. That said, I'm actually leaning back to the 6" dado set (I have a 10" contractor), given I don't make very many dadoes more than 1/2" deep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Pants Posted December 6, 2010 Report Share Posted December 6, 2010 A lot depends as well on the maximum cutting height of the saw. My first table saw was a little direct drive unit, and Delta (it was a TS-300) recommended no more than a 6" stack. Problem was a 6" stack wouldn't come more than 1/8" above the table which made it pretty useless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Trace Posted December 7, 2010 Report Share Posted December 7, 2010 Buying tools and the requsite accessories is sometimes a crapshoot. I have a well equiped shop with very few expensive tools. I buy good but not top of the line blades for my table saw. The last purchase of blades were Ryobi's in a two pack, $9.95 per pack. They are very sharp and have held up well. I have a hard time justifying $85.00 for a saw blade. As for a miter saw, I would recomend a DeWalt 12", again not the top of the products available. With a 60 tooth blade, and a light touch, the saw is as good as it gets. Most problems with the blades in a miter saw come from trying to cut too quickly. Dado blades are again, much the same. I would stay away from the "wobble" blades and go with an 8" stacked set. I do build some furhiture and make a lot of trim pieces from red and white oak. I think the more expensive blades are good, but being fairly frugal (cheap) I keep my costs down where I can, but never skimp in the hand tools where cost usually reflects quality. Do the homework before buying. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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