Newbie at woodworking, here.  My question involves table saw blades.  I have a 10-inch table saw.  I have read a number of books and articles but I have yet to find anything that SIMPLY tells me what blade is best to use with what wood I am cutting, i.e., soft, hard, medium, rough, etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated by this rookie.

Charlie

When it comes to saw blades there really is no one all fits all, and like most things, we all seem to have our favourites. In most cases the package the blade comes in will tell you (as will the dedicated manufacturer websites) the pros and cons of each different saw blade set -up. There is always some give and take unless you want to invest a good amount of money and time switching blades. A good 60 to 80 TPI blade is a good place to start when selecting a blade that will give minimum tear-out and an almost sand free cut. I've used DeWalt, Freud, & Avanti blades to name a few and had good results with all. A slow steady hand at passing the material through the blade is one key to a good cut. You will probably receive as many differing sugestions as there are members who will reply. What works well on one saw, in one craftsman's hands may not give identical results for the next person. I'm not sure if this has helped and added more confusion for you.

Excellent advice from Dewey.

There are some 'choosing a blade' type articles available on the web from reputable sources.  One of those reputable sources is Rockler who handles a number of quality products from various manufacturers.  Here is an article they provided on the very subject you asked about:

http://www.rockler.com/articles/saw...es-101.cfm

At the bottom of the article they mention Forrest blades and Freud blades.  Forrest (an EDIT.  I originally had mistakenly written 'Freud', which I did not intend.)  is generally considered the very best available but it is also the most expensive.

Make sure you follow the link at the bottom of that article and the follow-on link within that link.

http://www.rockler.com/articles/saw...-guide.cfm

One brand of blades that I have found to be excellent is Matsu****a thin kerf blades.  (Let’s hope this site allows that manufacturer’s name to go through un-editted.  The first time I typed it into a post, 4 of the last five letters were turned into asterisks by some kind of naughty word checker at the site.)  Those blades aren’t exactly cheap either.  Quality blades never are.

EDIT  ---  Well their naughty word editor is still working.  Those last five letters in reverse order are A, T, I, H, and S.  It is a Japanese company with a very Japanese sounding name. 

Bompa wrote:

One brand of blades that I have found to be excellent is Matsu****a thin kerf blades. (Let’s hope this site allows that manufacturer’s name to go through un-editted. The first time I typed it into a post, 4 of the last five letters were turned into asterisks by some kind of naughty word checker at the site.)

Bob, this is a family oriented site dontcha know! Let me go find you some soap to wash your mouth out with LOL!

Charlie,

Here's a link to wood-working site that has a bunch of information concerning table saws.

http://www.waterfront-woods.com/Art...blesaw.htm

This one provides information on blade selection for various types of saws.
http://www.rockler.com/articles/saw...-guide.cfm

Bompa and Craig:
I thank both of you for your informative sites on saws and blades. Bob I saved the article you posted for future reference. Craig I truly enjoyed the information the first site you posted had to offer. Your second site from rockler is the same one Bob posted. All members who use a power saw should read these articles and save them for future refference.
THANKS GUYS.

Both of the articles posted here have some very good safety tips on table saw use. However I do take exception to the blade height suggestion in the Waterfront Woods article (1.2.1.2). Setting the blade 1" to 1 1/2" above the work is an invitation to injury. I can replace a worn saw blade but can not replace a lost finger. I always use feather board hold-down devices when ripping to help prevent kick backs. Splitters and hold-downs used in conjunction with each other with minimize any possibility of a kick back. If you lose you concentration while cutting and the blade is set 1/4" above the work, you may get a nick from the blade but will not lose a finger.
I have been a cabinet maker for 35 years and have had only one accident about 15 years ago because I was distracted by a fellow worker. Nearly severed my middle finger and lost the tip of my thumb on my left hand. All because the blade was set too high.

I was taught back in High School Wood Shop class that the blade should be set to just a fraction above the Gullet of a blade. I too use feather boards, splitter and hold downs when using my table saw along with a push stick. I think a foot control ON/OFF switch would be of great help for safety sake.

Blade height...I've heard both and use both methods.

For thicker boards that are hardwood and all treated, I max out the blade height.

For thinner boards, and all plys, the blade is slightly higher than the workpiece.

Sometimes I use a feather board or push sticks of my own design. All depends upon the workpiece and how close my booger pickers are going to be getting to that blade.  Always eye protection (full face shield) and a disposable dust mask.  I wear the full faceshield because I've had some bad experiences with table saw kick-backs, once a lathe gouge flew at my face and once a grinding disk disentegrated when I was shaping a steel plate.


What we were taught may or may not be the best way.  My Dad taught me much of what I know about woodworking.  But he also told me that I should not drink water when eating popcorn because the kernels would expand in my gullet, and, if I ever needed to apply a tourniquet to loosen it every few minutes to get blood flowing to the limb below the wound.

We pick up different methods to do things as we grow older, get more comfortable with our tools (but never become complacent!), and so on.  I have a few measuring tapes that I've honed the clip edges.  When making drywall cuts, I measure the size I need and hold/pinch that mark on the measuring tape between my thumb and index finger or just lock the tape and then use the clip end to make the cut through the paper facing.  Why use a razor knife and snap string for every cut?  My Dad was in awe...my brother was wanting to know how I was making cuts so fast when he was barking out dimensions.

Craig, I greatly appreciate your response. Especially Not Becoming Too Complacent when using potentially dangerous equipment. Always use whatever safety devices you have when using power equipment. Over the years I've learned that experience is the best teacher.

Experience is the best teacher...vice someone nicknamed Stumpy.

I've taken and made notes to improve my skills (but mainly to remember how and why I did it) over the years.

I pick stuff up from this site, just watching folks building a house.  When I'm at a construction site, I observe and if given the opportunity interact with them (like masons/brick layers). 

Monkey see...monkey do I guess.  Speaking of monkeys...

Posted By Woodworks on 09-08-2010 08:42 AM
Both of the articles posted here have some very good safety tips on table saw use. However I do take exception to the blade height suggestion in the Waterfront Woods article (1.2.1.2). Setting the blade 1" to 1 1/2" above the work is an invitation to injury. I can replace a worn saw blade but can not replace a lost finger. I always use feather board hold-down devices when ripping to help prevent kick backs. Splitters and hold-downs used in conjunction with each other with minimize any possibility of a kick back. If you lose you concentration while cutting and the blade is set 1/4" above the work, you may get a nick from the blade but will not lose a finger.
I have been a cabinet maker for 35 years and have had only one accident about 15 years ago because I was distracted by a fellow worker. Nearly severed my middle finger and lost the tip of my thumb on my left hand. All because the blade was set too high.

I tend to agree here, with some reservation. Kind of a balancing act. The instructions that came with my Freud Fusion said to set blade height 1 to 1 1/2 teeth above the stock. I'm pretty sure this was in the interests of cut quality. The ATB grind has a shallower angle of attack to leave a smoother kerf. The point the article was making is that the force vector is also more horizontal resulting in a more violent kickback if (when) one does occur. A lower blade setting also increases the tendency for the stock to try to "climb" requiring more downforce on the stock. I personally am not to comfortable with 3 or so inches of snarling carbide whizzing around so I tend to follow Freuds suggestion and set the depth of cut to where I have just over 1 gullet showing. I then  use a lot of featherboards,  push sticks and half fences.

John you raise some good points, having a blade set too low is just as dangerous as being set too high, in that, as you mentioned, the climb factor. Often the stock we cut is not totally seated well on the table due to length, or, not having been jointed yet due to width. A piece of stock that climbs out of the blade will often be thrown back at the machine operator. for this reason I often have at least 3 to 4 teeth showing above the surface, with at least one showing the full gullet., Lazer cut and balanced blades tend to reduce material climbing to some extent, but we can never be too safe. Stay left of the material no matter how sure you are of making a complete through cut.