Replies

1. 
   mudman | Jun 04, 2006 08:19am | #1

   A "real" ripping blade is flat toothed, has a positive hooked tooth and has around 20 teeth. The thicker the lumber the fewer teeth. The more teeth the smoother it cuts. The problem with these blades is that ripping is ALL the can do. They make a mess out of ply and they tearout crosscuts real bad as well. Typically those blades are more prone to kick back as well, although the modern designs lessen this. All the major blade makers offer ripping blades. If you need to rip a lot of lumber, that is a great way to do it. But then so is the bandsaw.

   Mike

   Pardon my spelling,

   Mike

   Make sure that your next project is beyond your skill and requires tools you don't have. You won't regret it.

2. 
   tinkerer2 | Jun 04, 2006 08:24am | #2

   I bought the Craftsman RAS in 1962 and the blade probably a year later.  I"m not sure whether it was a rip, crosscut or combination.  It has been so long ago but I think it left a rather rough cut.  I don't remember there being too many carbide blades back then.  It must still be in my collection so I'll try it one of these days.  I don't think the RAS is fit for ripping but I have a table saw now.  I was thinking of using it for cutting up slabs for firewood.

1. 
   mrbird90 | Jun 05, 2006 01:52am | #3

   I forgot to mention I was using the blade on a table saw. I never liked ripping with the ras.

1. 
   Knotscott | Jun 05, 2006 03:13am | #4

   There are several things that effect the aggressiveness of a rip....tooth count is one of them. Typically fewer than 20T on a 10" starts giving pretty rough cuts, but I'd imagine an 8T-10T blade would really fly through thick stuff. Hook angle and tooth grind can also effect how aggressive the cut is....a steeper hook is more aggressive, and flat top teeth are the most effecient at removing chips. Kerf thickness, runout, sharpness, surface friction, wood stress, wood flatness, and blade cleanliness also factor in.

3. 
   PADDYDAHAT | Jun 05, 2006 08:47am | #5

   Bird, I have an old SEARS ras (when they made them with the very heavy rear post) and had a 24 tooth rip that cut old salty marine salvage red oak 3" + with no problem. Just don't stand in front of the stick! BE CAREFUL  if it skews it WILL launch it real quick. all the best , Pat

4. 
   RickL | Jun 05, 2006 02:43pm | #6

   They make pallet wood ripping blades that are 8 teeth and a flat topped grind with a positive hook. Obviously less teeth are less expensive to put carbide on. Less teeth takes less power to cut with as well so for a contractor saw this would be the way to go instead of a bigger motor.

   If your blade has aternate bevels on the teeth then it's not a real rip blade. Most likely just a cheap blade.

1. 
   mrbird90 | Jun 05, 2006 07:51pm | #7

   Blade is flat topped, no alternating teeth. Bet is was a real cheap blade, most likely made for cutting light metals.

1. 
   RickL | Jun 05, 2006 09:05pm | #8

   Absolutely not designed for cutting metals. It's a cheap rip blade. Non-ferrous blades are triple chip and a lot more teeth and negative hook. Flat top grind means dedicated rip blade and that few teeth would be comparable to a pallet wood type rip blade for rough fast ripping.