For those of you with more powerful table saws (and maybe those without), do you use full kerf blades? If so, how frequently, is it rarely/occasionally/often/always?
Thanks, and my apologies in advance if this topic is a perennial firestarter in woodworking circles.
Neal
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I have had a 5hp tablesaw for quite a few years and use almost exclusively 1/8" kerf blades - I switch between a 40t or 48t multipurpose blade, a plywood blade, and a flat ground blade fairly frequently and it is nice to know that my fence measurements will be the same across them all. I do have a thin kerf rip blade I use periodically when I am ripping things like construction materials, but that isn't often.
Before this tablesaw I had a lower hp one (maybe 1-1/2hp?) and used almost exclusively thin kerf blades which did help a LOT when cutting thicker hardwoods. I don't have any real proof, but I would say subjectively that full kerf blades hold their sharpness better and are a bit stiffer so cut a bit cleaner... But wouldn't argue against using thin kerf ones!
3HP sawstop here and I go back and forth. Some of my blades are from my old underpowered saw, but I use the thick & thin blades interchangably. I rip on the left side of the blade when I want to use the ruler on the fence rail.
I abandoned full kerf blades long ago, as they really didn't work well in an underpowered saw. It just wasn't worth using anything besides thin kerf.
I've only been using a 3hp saw for about a week, exclusively with a full 1/8 blade. It cuts easier than my old 1-1/2 saw with a thin kerf.
I use a 40t combination blade for pretty much everything. I have a rip blade, but only use it for joinery because it leaves a flat bottom kerf.
It surprised me how much heftier a 1/8 blade was than a 3/32.
Pretty much exclusively 1/8” kerf blades. As the others have said better cut quality with less deflection. If I’m ripping material where I don’t want to lose 1/8” worth of stock I’ll go to the bandsaw. On the other hand when on a job site or using a contractor style saw I only use thin kerf blades.
I run all full curve. I do a lot of joinery on the tablesaw and have all my blades made with a .125 inch kerf. This means even if I don’t change to a task specific blade my measurements and jigs are always ready to go.
5HP full kerf blades always.
I own nothing but full kerf blades with a 3 hp Unisaw.
Full kerf only. I use the band saw for thinner cuts.
I bought a pile of blades with the saw tho, so my choice dictated more by sales dude than choice.
I have 4hp saw and it will, rarely, bog down in really dense hardwood.
Thin kerf saw blades for re-sawing have been around for a long time, in the early eighties we had several self feed, fixed arbor rip saws sizing to width 5000 board feet per day of hard maple glue line quality with them. They are all I use on my unisaw, on the 1958 radial arm saw I went old school and use a 14 inches, 5/32 inch kerf for crosscut.
I use full kerf exclusively on my 3HP Sawstop. I can use a single zero clearance insert with all of them, and the kerf in my crosscut sleds is a reliable indicator of where the cut will be to align the piece for cutting no matter which side of the sled I'm using. The fence measuring tape on the saw is always dead on on both sides of the saw, as are the tapes and stops on my crosscut sled.
The consistency means I never have to think about whether I can rely on the fence or sled scale...it's always correct. I find that I am also more likely to take the minute to put the optimum blade on the saw for any given cut or material because there are no other steps required...no changing the insert, or remembering that the scale will be off a hair, etc, etc.
As others have said, I do heavy ripping on the bandsaw, so have never felt the need to move to thin kerf due to lack of saw power. If I wanted to use thin kerf on a saw with less power, I would likely use only thin kerf blades of the same kerf, for the reasons above.
Full kerf on every thing (3 and 1 3/4 HP) including miter saw (especially miter saw)
Full kerf only.
About 4 years ago I was exactly where John C2 is today. After learning that a 3hp will kick back MUCH harder and faster than a 1hp and learning how to setup a good fence, I now know what a real glue line is coming off of a 1/8 inch kerf blade.
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John will learn, we are all trying to get him to the right path. They're really cute when they are so young! About a year ago we convinced him there was more to life than pocket screws.
Hey!!!
Heh.
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