Did I obsolete half my saw blades?

JimD

Jim
Senior User
Full kerf is working much better with the 2.3 mm riving knife on my PCS. Cherry still is burning slightly sometimes but nothing like it was when I was struggling to get the wood past the infringing riving knife and thin kerf blade. The blade I put on is an old Freud 50 tooth that was resharpened once by Ridge - it came back better than new. But it is a bit worn. Probably should put on the infinity and see what it does this time. It's only made a few cuts.

I prefer full kerf too but when your saw doesn't want to power it through the wood a thin kerf can be a very practical solution. If I had a 3hp or larger motor, I wouldn't use a thin kerf much if at all. I think they may wobble a little too sometimes but I think the current generation of thin kerf work better than the ones I used 20 years ago. I'm really impressed with the Freud Fusion.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
It's totally up to you, but I think you're better off keeping everything standard.

Personally, I would never use a table saw without a splitter or riving knife. I never had a saw with one or used one for 25 years. So for Jeff, his experience doesn't mean anything, tho I've had a few kickbacks and I'll tell you they are not fun.

Its not the thick stuff, its the 1/4" plywood that'll get you.

1/8 :)

Think I'll just stay thick for now. I may watch for some .085 plate, but not holding my breath. So many other things to complete my shop upgrade. If I sound al lover the place, it is because part of my retirement and moving was a budget to step up the shop. Just now getting to it. So, I AM all over the place.
So far:
12 inch benchtop DB to a 17 inch Delta ( not thrilled with it)
Ridgid contractor TS to a Harvey 3 HP. Thrilled so far
10 inch Delta benchtop BS to a Harvey C-14. Again, thrilled.
Jet 1100 DC to a , well when it gets here, 5 HP ClearView
Added ClearView cyclone to my Fein vac
Happy with my 6 inch joiner. I was not thinking about a helical head until yesterday when I ran some plywood glued together through it. Blades trashed.
Delta lunchbox planer will get replaced by, you might guess, DeWalt 735 with spiral head.
Started thinking about a MIDI lathe, but reviews leave me a bit cold.

In addition, reviewing everything from sand paper, marking and layout, glues, and about everything else. Kind of happy with the WorkSharp.
 

Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
Agreed. What I will do if I want to use a thin blade is use a 7-1/4 or 8"they seem able to manage with a lot less chatter

I almost never use a thin kerf blade. The thin blades tend to flutter/wobble when they hit a knot, especially if you are cutting thru the edge of a knot. A standard kerf (.125) stays straight. I said almost never because sometimes I rip soft straight grain, knot free material like cyprus when milling canoe strips and I will use a thin kerf then to save wood.
 

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