Stuck this on Breaktime and thought if might fit on Knots as well…
Off and on I’ve had a ‘discussion’ with a neighbor over his tablesaw blade. He is of the opinion that a cheap steel blade will last nearly forever. For clean pieces of wood (no nails/staples/etc), I wouldn’t trade in my carbide blades, and I’ve told him its worth spending a few $$ to get a decent one (not expensive, just decent $40-80 range).
Last weekend I heard his saw whinning away and went over and watched him make some cuts for a bookshelf. His ts has plenty of power, but that dull steel blade is like using a butter knife to cut leather. He was having to physically apply a great deal of force just to get the thing to cut. In my book, that is WAAAy unsafe (it might not cut wood, but it will still take your fingers off).
So when he went to make a second cut on a plank, I told him I’d do it on my ts. The combination cut carbide blade on my saw has quite a bit of wear on it, but compared to his worn steel blade, the carbide through the plank was a hot knife through butter.
I took a pic of each cut and merged them into one pic. See if you can tell which cut is which.
For what it was worth, I think he was planning on going out this week and picking up a Freud blade.
Replies
oops, forgot to attach the pic.
Never lend that neighbor any of your tools.
I'd move....
Something may come flying through your wall...LOLHi, I'm Len and I'm a Toolaholic...
Some will spend hours tring to get the burnt wood finish!
Some will spend hours tring to get the burnt wood finish!
Not to mention texture. Rough and grooved.
jt8
Did that with some butternut on my first el-cheapo TS. Took a while to plane off the burn.
Ordered a Systimatic blade the next day. Best investment I've made, the el-cheapo actually managed to cut wood instead of burning it.
Leon Jester, Roanoke VA
Q: How do you know when a politician is lying?
A: His lips are moving.
Funny how some just don't get it. When I bought my first table saw, a Jet contractor saw, it came with a steel blade and a really crappy gaurd and splitter. I took both out of the box and tossed them in the garbage can much to the dismay of my wife and friend. They couldn't believe I was going to throw out a brand new blade and gaurd. Told the friend he was welcome to them. He took the blade but always seemed to bring over stuff that needs to be cut well over to use my saw. He told me it seemed to have alot more power. I eventually talked him into a buying a moderate priced carbide blade and he told me it was like doubling the HP of his saw.
When I first started doing interior trim on the houses I built, I always used a freshly sharpened steel blade, not carbide. The cut is better than excellent. Problem I had was I would go through 5 to 10 blades a day trying to keep the same quality of cut. I had almost 100 blades I would cycle through the sharpening service (they'd stop bt the job daily).
Today's carbide blades are lot better than the ones I bought 25 years ago, but they do not give the same cut as a freshly sharpened steel blade, they just last ALOT longer.
My current jointer/planer has Tersa blades. I can buy three types: carbide, HSS and chrome. When I have to mill a tough wood and get a very fine finish, I throw a set of HSS blades in. The carbide blades will last longer, but there is a noticably better difference in the finish with the HSS._________________________________
Michael in San Jose
"In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted." Bertrand Russell
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled