Thread: Varying quality of circular saw blades

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

I always say Leitz, Leuco or Dimar; industrial grade with a price to match, but the cut is beyond comparison.

Where is the best place to get these Elan?

Leitz and Leuco have online stores. We generally stick with Leuco and get them direct from the company sales rep, I don't know if they're available from other sources.

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

Leitz and Leuco have online stores. We generally stick with Leuco and get them direct from the company sales rep, I don't know if they're available from other sources.

That's great info Elan. Thanks.
I just had a look at the Leuco site and was amazed at the range of different types of blades they sell.
https://www.leuco.com/leuco/cms/EN/U...lar_Saw_Blades
Should I be looking for a trimming, chop, sizing or nf type?
Boy, what a choice!!
Just goes to show how little I knew about blades!

Trimming or sizing (NOT panel sizing) with "WS" tooth geometry look like they best suit drop saws. Chop is for automated docking saws, nf is for non-ferrous metals and panel sizing is mainly for beam saws and large stacks of board.

I also looked at the Leuco site and am more confused than ever.

So the question is for the brains trust here, what should I go for in 12" size for a panel saw?

Most of my current and anticipated future work is in hardwood (eucalyptus, casuarina and acacia), with some pine thrown in for toys and very little in plywood/particle board.

Any advice appreciated.

Our panel saw runs 300mm ATB 96T for both timber and board. Crosscuts are like glass, but it's way to many teeth for ripping; it works, but you have to really push the timber through. For ripping we run a 400mm ATB 48T and for deep ripping/resawing we run a 400mm ATB 32T and the finish off both blades is good enough to skip the thicknesser and go straight to the sander. Reducing the rpm for ripping also helps a lot if your saw has the option.

Thanks Elan.

ATB?

Edit: Found out what ATB meant. Thanks Mobyturns.

I have been using CMT, Freud/Diablo, Irwin, Makita and very recently purchased two DeWalt circular saw blades because of their ultra thin kerf design (Celtic knots etc). I mostly make cross cuts of quite small sections in a range of timbers and do a fair bit of ripping so I am looking for a glue quality joint straight off the saw. The CMT "Industrial Fine cut" in 80 tooth was my go to blade but I do not like the howl the blade makes. Now I tend to use the thin kerf 80 tooth Diablo it is not so noisy as the CMT and produces a better quality cut.

It is well worth the time to research and find the blade/s to suit your cutting preferences.

Saw Blade Glossary
Saw Blade Terminology | Central Saws

I still haven't tried the De Walts due to a slight change of plans today - a dead bait freezer with very thawed contents - yuk!

Well I managed to have a small play with the blades and do a comparison with the CMT, Freud/Diablo blades. As I said earlier I'm looking at two things, an excellent finish off the saw and a variety of kerf widths. I used QLD Silver Ash, Northern Silky Oak and standard clear pine as the test stock.

The Dewalts are both 60t one 2.2mm body stock and 216mm dia, the other 210mm 1.8mm stock, the CMT's 254mm 60 & 80 tooth "Industrial Fine Cut" 3.2mm & 2.5mm kerf, the Diablo 254mm 60T 2.5 mm kerf. I also use CMT's "Industrial Fine Cut" blades in other tooth counts and a thin kerf version however the 80T 3.2mm is my preferred blade.

The Diablo produces the best finish off the saw in both square and diagonal crosscuts, the CMT 80T in 3.2 & 2.5 kerfs, then the DeWalts, but all produce very acceptable results for my purposes. The effort on the saw drops very noticeably with the thinner kerfs and of course the smaller blade dia's. The difference between the Diablo and CMT's is not a lot however the Diablo easily wins out due to lower noise levels. The Dewalts offer a very reasonable cut for the price @ $49 & $39 where the Diablo is around $90 and the CMT's over $120. Surprisingly the CMT 3.5mm displayed the most blade wobble but then it has also seen a lot of use.

Just about to take the plunge today on a Leuco blade and, out of left field, it was suggested that I try AKE blades from Germany.

Never heard of them before.

Has anyone used them, and what opinion is there of them?

AKE is the German brand no one's heard of; it's all Leitz and Leuco.

When we upgraded our rip saw to a second hand Robland it came with an AKE 28T ATB blade. It's the only one I've used from them, but it's very nice.

Goodness, the maze of saw blade selection.

First you need to decided what you will be using it for, crosscuts rips or combos, and material. Then diameter and kerf.

Performance is determined by both tooth grind and blade flatness and construction. If your cheap blade runs true and doesn't buckle if it gets warm then a good sharpener may be able to improve your results signifigantly, so given you've bought a couple of blades it would be worth measuring runout and if acceptable taking them to a sharpening service.

My table saw came with a "green" crosscut blade. Never heard of them. The saw is taiwanese. The blade is fantastic and I've often tried to buy another. Quiet, remarkably accurate and gives a finish straight off the blade not only good enough for glue but requires no further work. I'm naughty and often use it for rips, with care.

I suppose you can fret over brands but I suspect if you buy a "name" brand blade you will get very good results. It's worth poking about on ebay etc as diablo for instance is sold in various places for various prices.

https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_...blade&_sacat=0


If you have bottomless pockets you could always try a forester...

https://www.forrestblades.com

Made by elves and fairies in a magical cloud kingdom they not only perform the cut but set up your saw and make you a cup of tea...

Well, I bought the AKE 300mm 72 ATB tooth blade today and it looks the goods, and should certainly be a step up from my 40 tooth combination blade.

The old 40 tooth blade is also being sharpened, and I will use it for more utilitarian and ripping jobs. But the AKE will be for more fine work.

Hopefully, time permitting, I will get to play with it over the next week or so.

Thanks all for the help in spending my money.

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

Blades absolutely vary in quality and the difference between a cheap one and a good one is miles apart.

I believe the technical term for brands like Toolstorm (and most anything else out of China) is "gahhhhbage". Go to a proper tool shop and buy yourself something half decent from a real brand.

Normally I would agree with that except for one thing. I needed a blade for my small Makita mitre saw and being an odd size I rang Henry Bros and they had a blade. When I received it the brand was some unknown Chinese made thing which did not impress me at all but I had to give it a go before complaining. Put simply it is the single best blade I have used on any mitre saw so it goes to show you can't judge a book by its cover.