Thin Kerf Saw Blade Question

[Wilsoncb]

Recently I needed to cut some 3/4” melamine faced particle board so I thought why not try one of my thin kerf miter saw blades in my table saw. PB is pretty easy cutting so I wasn’t surprised it worked well. As usual, I needed to cut some hardwoods and didn’t feel like changing the blade. It went really well, perhaps better than my usual regular kerf blade. The only downside seems to be I would need to recalibrate my fence scale…and of course buy some new saw blades.

Here’s the question: why not use a thin kerf all the time?

 

[MarkDarby]

I do. No issues here.

 

[HMH]

Re: why not use thin kerf all the time - it really depends on your work. For smaller HP saws, it likely IS recommended to use a TK blade all the time, just to reduce the amount of work the blade/ motor is doing. That said, if you're routinely ripping dense/ thick/ funky grained hardwoods, a thin kerf blade MAY have more of a tendency to deflect/ vibrate in the cut, just due to the thinner plate strength, but conversely - if you're typically working w/ thin/ softer woods, and/or your intended level of precision isn't quite that high - you may not notice a difference at all. I personally run full kerf (1/8") blades, ultimately because I have them, and I can, but wouldn't be concerned about running a thin kerf if the need every arose.

 

[tvrgeek]

You do need to use a thin riving knife. Might want to make a new zero clearance strip. If less than a 3 HP saw, by all means. I found a slight improvement with a full kerf 60 crosscut Amana thick vs thin so I stay thick on my 3 HP saw. When I had my Ridgid contractor saw, I needed a thin rip for even a 2 x 4. I run an 80 thick Amana on my miter saw due to issues I had with a Freud wonder blade cutting curves on a compound miter.

Now, that may change as I do more hand work and don't rely on the saw for a glue or final dimension. Heck, I might even stoop to a combo blade!

My experience. Everyone may have different ones.

 

[Cuthriell]

I leave a 7-1/4 inch blade on my 3 HP saw except when cutting thick rough stock, which is normally cut outdoors on a band saw. The thin blade makes for less mess and surely works the motor less.

 

[riggsp]

I use thin kerf blades all the time...takes less power to turn it through dense woods.

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Why would you have to recalibrate your fence scale? On my Delta TS the blade goes on from the left end of the arbor and up against the arbor flange. The fence is to the right of the blade. The distance between the blade (i.e. the arbor flange) is still the same. The only difference is the thickness of the blade. If all your cuts are between the blade and the fence, it shouldn't make a difference. What am I missing?

 

[HMH]

Why would you have to recalibrate your fence scale? On my Delta TS the blade goes on from the left end of the arbor and up against the arbor flange. The fence is to the right of the blade. The distance between the blade (i.e. the arbor flange) is still the same. The only difference is the thickness of the blade. If all your cuts are between the blade and the fence, it shouldn't make a difference. What am I missing?

Hey Bill - that is the beauty of a right tilt saw for sure, (old Unisaws, Powermatics, and even the newer “Industrial” duty saws, etc). I love my Unisaw for that very reason. On newer left tilt saws, it’s the opposite though. The blade slides over the arbor from the right/ registers against the arbor washer on the left, and your fence registers the “variable” side of the blade/ dado stack/ etc. Basically, it’s a trade off between always having a dead-on fence setup on a right tilt saw, vs the ability to rip bevels w/o moving your fence to the opposite side of the blade. I really like my right tilt setup, as I rarely rip bevels.

 

[Wilsoncb]

What @HMH said. Which means I have to recalibrate my fence, but not my sled.

 

[Charlie Buchanan]

Thin-kerf blades with shop-made zero clearance throat plate is it for me. no reason to go back to full-width blades that I have found for my furniture projects.

 

[junquecol]

Only own one thin kerf blade, rest are full kerf. Never any problem on my 2.0 HP saw. Cuts everything I throw at it.

 

[Gofor]

I use both. Only time I had problems with the thin kerf was with deep cuts, especially rip cuts. The thin kerf will tend to follow the grain.

Example: I occasionally have need to resaw a board (<6" width) and my HF bandsaw is not really up to that task. I make a deep cut, flip the board end to end, and then make another deep cut, leaving a small (1/8") strip down the middle. I then split the boards and clean up the narrow strip that is left with a plane or sharp chisel. I have found a thin kerf blade will result in an uneven cut whether it is soft or hard wood, even at depths of less than 2". I have made different zero clearance inserts for the different width blades. My rip blades are all full kerf, but I do have a thin kerf combination blade.

 

[RichardH]

The only issue I have had with thin kerf blades was getting them aligned correctly to the splitter. I had a few cases where the wood I was cutting closed up on the splitter while cutting and got stuck but that was an older saw that was probably never designed for those kinds of blades. I have heard noise about thin kerf blades in a saw stop can have Issues if the brake goes off but I am not sure if that is true or just Internet rumors.

 

[riggsp]

Thin kerf blades are no problem for Sawstop saws...They do have a thin kerf riving knife available for use with TK blades.

 

[Warped Woodwerks]

The only time I've used thin left was with my DeWalt job site. In my 3hp table saw, full kerf, always. I have numerous different types of blades (ftg, melamine/plywood, etc.), for different styles of wood/cuts, but I don't think I'd ever use a thin in my TS. Now, if I was using a band saw .. "thin kerf" all day!