Thread: Is 120 tooth saw blade too much?

Originally Posted by Ed..

and also if there would be that much of a difference between the 100 vs 120 tooth blade?

120 will be marginally slower and if you push it there's an increased chance you will create burn marks on the wood.

Circular saws are a complicated science, having said that, in general terms the more teeth the cleaner the cut, I know a picture framer who uses a 140 tooth blade in his machine

My drop saw is 10" and the standard blade is 60 tooth. However, I fitted an 80 tooth blade and it yields a superior cut.

To extrapolate those toothings to a 12" blade is pretty simple: it's a direct comparison between the diameters, so
60 tooth for 10" is equivalent to 12/10*60 = 72 tooth for a 12" blade
80 tooth for 10" is equivalent to 12/10*80 = 96 tooth for a 12" blade

I doubt that I'd be willing to spend nearly double the dough to go from 100 to 120 in your case. It would be more expensive to resharpen as well.

I reckon anything over 96T is overkill for a 12" blade, especially in a drop saw

Thanks for the replies, looks like the 100 tooth gets the nod, has anyone used the Berrent's brand of saws? Are they any good or is it just a waste of money?

At $45 I would expect it to be junk. A decent blade with 96 teeth starts around $150

Ed, I'm afraid Elan is right. You get what you pay for with tools, and never more than with TT blades. Cheap blades have thin/small tungsten tips which are good for perhaps 1 or 2 resharpens (and the first of those will happen sooner than on a more expensive blade). Decent blades have nice thick TT which is also of a better quality (the tungsten carbide).

However, if you are going to be cutting up crap (as we do from time to time, with the potential of nails in it) then one of these blades may be very appropriate, but only at a lower tooth count.

In other words, a cheap blade with a higher tooth count won't necessarily give you a better cut than a decent blade with a lower tooth count.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Cheap blades have thin/small tungsten tips which are good for perhaps 1 or 2 resharpens.

If they don't just fall out. Had that happen once on a "European" made blade, I know which part of Europe it wasn't made in...

Originally Posted by Ed..

Hi, I have a Bosch Optiline 12" 60 tooth carbide saw in my Bosch 12" sliding bevel compound saw and while it cuts quite cleanly for most of the time I am thinking of changing the blade to a 120 tooth or a 100 tooth blade and was wandering if the 120 tooth blade would be overkill.

There is more to it than tooth count.
I'm somewhat surprised that Elan didn't share his knowledge regarding tooth shape and rake angle.

this page on Freud's site Explore | Sawblades but suggests that depending on the finish you want and what you are cutting, 72 teeth and a 5 degree negative rake may be optimal OR the preferred blade may be 96 teeth and a 10 degree positive rake

Wood work is just a hobby for me with an occasional project here and there, so resharpening blades isn't a problem for me as nowadays I do not do enough woodwork to dull the blades, in fact I have only had to resharpen a blade once and that was because a tooth had a chip in it, so any blade I have will outlast me with the amount of work it will do. (Transitioning to the grey nomad life in two years).

That's the reason I asked about whether or not to go for the Bosch 120T vs a cheapo 100T at half the price, just wasn't sure if the 120T would be too many teeth or if I should just save some money and opt for the cheaper option. Cutting slowly probably shouldn't be an issue provided it doesn't cause burning which I suspected that the 120T might do.

The timber I predominantly use is all hardwoods ie; iron bark, tallow wood, lemon scented gum.

Perhaps investigate sharpening the blade currently in the saw.
It is likely sufficiently dull to no longer be cutting well.

Hi Ian, the 60 tooth blade currently in it is new, less than 10 minutes cutting timber. The reason I was looking for another blade is that when I used it to cut some timber it had a little bit of tear out which normally I wouldn't worry about, as it really was a tiny amount but as I intend to do some pic frames with it, it might be noticeable so figured a blade with some more teeth would eliminate it.

You could try taping the cut with masking tape to control the spelching.

Cutting thin material like picture framing is about the only thing I'd recommend a negative rake blade for. For cutting hardwoods over 19mm thick a positive rake angle blade is definitely the way to go. Although you can be lucky from time to time and happen upon a bargain what others have said about getting what you pay for does tend to be true. I've got a 100 tooth 10" blade bought many moons ago that is a complete piece of s#$%e. It doesn't have a brand on it, I really don't know why I haven't thrown it out.