saw blade sharpening

[bobhenry]

Damn Danny you got a big table saw 60 " .

Are you cutting straight from the log !

We run 5 12" mitersaws 8 hard hours a day cutting plate and studs for our wall panels and a good sharpening service is a great savings. As all have said , buy a good quality blade and have it cared for when needed. I have been looking for a 12" at a decent price I am gonna have to break down and purchase one soon !

[RichAFix]

That brings a question to mind, I have never used a very expensive blade. For the casual user would I notice a big difference between a blade a cabinet maker would use and a big box store blade?

I am all for quality. I use my tools a lot. Would you notice a difference, no doubt. Is that difference worth the money is the better question. That is one only you can decide. You start running things like hard maple or even plywood and you will see huge difference. Never tears, never burns.

My most used blade is my Forrest Woodworker 2 - 40 tpi (about $100.00). Best all around blade money can buy in my opinion. I baby my blades, clean them every time I change blades (CMT blade/bit cleaner) and use Dricoat blade/bit lube each time I change blades.

Keep your blades clean/sharp and you will be amazed how good a good blade works for you.

[kennyrayandersen]

[There are two reasons that come to mind to buy a quality blade.
The quality of the cut and the safety of the procedure.
Cabinetmakers don't run a blade down to unserviceable for these reasons.
Those blades that come with most new saws, places like West Coast saws think your waisting your money resharpening them.
Save those for cuts where you know your going to hit something damaging but wear a face shield.
Buy what you like... my fingers, eyes and the quality of my work deserve the best. Danny

I would agree with Danny and add that a good blade really does last longer, gives a better cut, has less tear-out and generally is a pleasure to work with. However, if you rarely wood work, and all of your wood will be hid, you could probably get by with a Home Despot, or Low’s carbide blade. I think once you actually use even the bottom of the higher-end blades you will immediately see the difference and you’ll experience an Ah Ha moment.

[BILLYL]

I use my local cabinet shop. I do some work on occasion and he just puts my blades into his batch he sends out to a firm in Baltimore. Cost is reasonable. You may want to check to see if you have a local cabinet maker and find out where he sends his blades.


Bill

[aggie79]

One other comment about good blades - they can make your equipment safer. I have a hybrid table saw - 1 1/2 horsepower, belt drive. There is huge difference in the feed rate for a Forrest or Freud blade rather than a lesser priced blade. Not bogging the saw down and faster feed rate is safer in my book.

(I also recommend thin-kerf blades if you have a moderately-powered saw. I use a thin-kerf Woodworker II with blade stiffener as my everyday setup.)

[Roly Nelson]

I guess, after using a table saw for over 60 years, I can safely say that I have never had a blade sharpened. Years ago, prior to carbide tipped blades, I sharpened my own, either on a grinder or with a file, but those days are gone forever. Now I only buy carbide tipped blades, usually the 7 1/4" blades that are used in portable saws, ie, skil-saws.

My experience, after over 60 years of woodworking, has been, when the blade gets dull, I chuck it and go out and buy another. However, if I have to do some major cutting of particle board or plywood, I use one carbide blade to do the cutting, and if I want a thin cerf cut, I use a thin cerf blade, and never cut stuff, with my better blades, that have glue in it.

They make very high quality caribide blades that will give you an amazingly fine cut, so why spend the bucks to sharpen a huge blade, that never is used to it's full potential. Most of my cuts are in material less than 1 inch thick, so wearing out a high priced 10 inch blade, which is designed to cut 4x4s on a 45 degree angle, is a waste of time, (at least in my workshop).

Buy a thin kerf blade with a high tooth count for precision ripping and cross cuts, and use that cheaper knarly wider-kerf blade to do the heavy, glue-filled material cuts. Just my two cents, and perhaps I am too cheap to spend the bucks to sharpen a blade that I know is too big to do the jobs that I normally do with my table saw. Large diameters equal high tip-speeds, lots of noise and high cost. Smaller blades equal better control, less expence, less noise, less danger of kick-back and an all-around safer table saw experience I still can count all of my 10 fingers and plan to do so for at least another 40 years..........How's that for predictions?

Long live the economical table saw, complete with proper slides, push sticks and brand new, sharp blades, not of the 80 dollar variety.
Roly, just my 2 cents, which all may not agree with.