Every woodworker needs three table saw blades.

a lot of folks never changed the saw blade that came with their saw every cut is made with the same blade and they think that that's fine because after all it's cutting the wood but eventually they begin to notice the quality of their cuts is affecting the quality of their projects and they get frustrated with their table saws sometimes they get a lot of chip out other times they may get a lot of blade marks or scorching or their saw seems to lack power to cut through a thick piece of wood they blame their old saw it's old it's cheap the motor is too small may as well just quit until you can afford a new saw all of those things may be true some saws are old cheap or underpowered but before you drop five six hundred or even more on a new saw consider your blades could it be that you simply aren't using the right blade for the job choosing the right blade can make all the difference in your saw's performance and the projects you make with it now i do have my favorite brand of blades and i'm not going to tell you the quality doesn't matter it does but even the finest brand won't perform well if the design of the blade itself isn't suited to the task at hand and that is what this video is about choosing the right blade type no matter what brand you prefer not all saw blade types are the same different blades are made for different purposes if you want to take your work up a notch you should know when to swap out the blade to a different type so you can get the results you need let's start with the old standby the general purpose or combination blade this is probably the type of blade you have on your saw right now just about every brand makes one and just about every woodworker uses one as you can tell from the name therefore general purpose woodworking including making a combination of rips with the grain and cross cuts across the grain but while the terms general purpose and combination have blurred in recent years there traditionally is a difference between the two types of blade a general purpose blade usually features 40 atb alternate top beveled teeth this means that the tops are ground at angles that alternate from the right to the left creating rows of sharp knife-like points that score the fibers on both sides of the kerf this type of pointed tooth is really effective in cutting across the grain and it does an okay job cutting with the grain a combination blade has the same 40 pointed atb teeth but also has another 10 teeth that are ground flat across the top these flat chisel-like teeth cut more efficiently with the grain than the pointed knife like teeth so while a general purpose blade can make decent cross cuts and okay rips a combination blade can make decent cross cuts and decent rips at least traditionally like i said the names have been blurred for the average woodworker who cuts a lot of three-quarter inch soft woods the difference between a traditional general purpose and a combination blade can be pretty subtle combo blades seem to produce a slightly cleaner rip cut while general purpose blades seem to cut a little more efficiently because they have fewer teeth which means larger gullets for cleaning the dust from the curve either blade will do the job for a large percentage of your cuts which is pretty handy because nobody wants to swap blades all the time but as with anything in life a jack of all trades is often a master of none general purpose and combination blades may be great for most cuts but there are times when you really should consider a different type of blade if you want results that are better than just decent for example let's say you're working with some good veneered plywood such as building some cabinets while plywood is made of layers that alternate in green direction so i suppose technically every cut is both a rip and a cross cut the grain on the outer layers always flows in one direction down the length of the sheet your combination blade will do a good job ripping with that grain but it won't do as well cutting across it the chip out may be subtle especially if you're using a zero clearance insert to close up the gap around the blade but you're just not going to get crisp cuts across the grain and plywood with a combination blade instead consider a good quality 80 tooth alternating bevel blade this has almost twice as many teeth as a combination blade and every one of them is pointed like a knife to cleanly sever the delicate fibers on your plywood's outer veneer you will get much better results in good plywood with an 80 tooth alternating bevel blade and because this blade is so effective at cutting across the grain it's also an excellent choice for delicate cross cuts in solid woods such as miters and moldings i take good care of my 80 tooth blade i don't use it to cut two by fours in osb i want it to be clean and sharp so i can use it when crisp cross cuts really matter another time when you may consider an alternative to a combination blade is when you're ripping thick or hard materials as i briefly mentioned before the more teeth on a blade the cleaner it will cut but the less efficiently it will remove the sawdust from the kerf general purpose and combination blades seek to balance between clean cuts and efficient cuts and it works pretty well for most three-quarter inch thick materials but as your material gets thicker more sawdust has to be removed to do that efficiently you need fewer teeth so you have more space between them to carry the dust away otherwise that dust will cause the heat to build up and that will scorch the wood and create more vibrations that will leave blade marks that have to be sanded away later a 24 tooth blade is designed for fast efficient rips the large gullets between the teeth will keep the curve free from dust when you're ripping through thick woods and its ability to cut faster will also produce fewer burn marks on scorched prone woods like maple cherry and walnut even in three quarter inch thicknesses you don't have to use this blade for all your rip cuts but if you're getting a lot of blade marks or scorching a 24 tooth rip blade may solve your problem now nobody likes to swap blades it's a pain especially if you have to do it several times during the course of a project but if your cuts are only decent your project will only be decent i know blades aren't cheap especially good quality ones you can spend 100 bucks a piece or more but that costs pales in comparison to the hardwood that you're going to buy for all the projects that you're going to make with these three blades don't hack up that nice hardwood use the right tool for the job these three blades make up the essential set for all woodworkers a 40 to 50 tooth general purpose blade or combination blade for everyday rips and cross cuts an 80 tooth alternating bevel blade for good plywood and making delicate cross cuts and solid materials and a 24 tooth rip blade for ripping thick materials or for any hardwood that's prone to scorching if your saw isn't cutting as it should replace your blades before you replace your saw if that doesn't solve the problem then consider a table saw tune-up you may be surprised what you can do with an old saw once you set it up with the right blades and a good fence below this video i'll put some links to the blades i recommend and to some more videos about specialty blade types that we didn't cover here as well as to a comprehensive tutorial about how to tune up your table saw see you next time rich carbide is the best cut secret in woodworking i kid you not their saw blades are second to none both in quality and performance and they're less expensive than the other ultra premium brands do yourself a favor use the link and the discount code below this video you will never go back to cheap blades again wait don't go yet if you're new here please subscribe and remember to ring the bell i would really appreciate that give us a thumbs up or better yet leave us a comment i always read them and be sure to check out the latest issue of stumpy nubs woodworking journal it's always packed with tips tricks and tutorials designed to make you a better woodworker

Channel: Stumpy Nubs

Views: 242,581

Keywords: woodworking, stumpy nubs, tips, workbench, table saw, scroll saw, drill press, quick tip, band saw, bandsaw, lumber, hack, hand plane, sharpening, tormek, worksharp, diamond stone, water stone, wood turning, bowls, lathe

Id: OSQJ0247ifY

Length: 8min 4sec (484 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 20 2020