Thread: Need help with blade selection

Originally Posted by Wood Miser

I have a 14" Delta that I basically use for a quick cut. There's the occasional ripping of some 6/4 hardwood or some pen blank. I'm on my second blade, a Timberwolf 3/8", 6tpi, which is the stock blade that comes with the machine. Unfortunately, I ruined the latest blade by trying to cut some aluminum.

It's pretty difficult to ruin a blade cutting Al.
To prevent the Al galling on the teeth rub some hard wax along the cut line and onto the band and it should work.

That being said, it has always been a struggle cutting anything with both blades.
What I want is a blade that will provide a fairly smooth cut that can handle ripping maybe up to 4" hardwood. I want to be able to feed plywood without having to slowdown to prevent stalling.

I think you might be expecting too much from a small saw.
I would try 3TPI for ripping 4" hardwood as this will help clear the sawdust better but don't expect to go fast.

Finer teeth & lubrication of some sort will help with the aluminium. Also I assume that you are American as I am not aware of any other country that uses the strange terms of 6/4 only knew what you were on about 1 1/2" from reading old american magazines & such. Can be confusing to the uninitiated. By the way any blade for 4" hardwood will go through whatever thickness ply you cut -but will probably be fairly rough with the finish, however a blade that will cut say 3/4 ply fairly cleanly will not like 4" hardwood-or even pine that much either. No blade will give perfect results for such variation, can use less TPI on thinner Or more TPI on thicker -up to a point -slowly. But not both.

Is it an old made in the USA Delta?
I used one of those at Emma in 2000 and was most impressed.
Its a pity all the Asian copies were so badly made.
Put a riser kit on and get a few different blades and your set.
H.

Thanks for the feedback, would have responded sooner but was expecting a notification via email. Maybe this blade is salvageable, cut. ply okay but terribly slow and burns up hardwood. I'll pick up a 3 tpi this week and give it a go.

Hi Wood miser,

I would also go with a 3 TPI blade for ripping hardwood, but i would suggest its worth spending a few extra bucks to get a bi- metal blade, instead of a carbon one.
I have had great success with these and they last 2 or 3 times longer.
Cheers,

Originally Posted by Wood Miser

Thanks for the feedback, would have responded sooner but was expecting a notification via email. Maybe this blade is salvageable, cut. ply okay but terribly slow and burns up hardwood. I'll pick up a 3 tpi this week and give it a go.

Plywood and MDF are fantastic ways to destroy a good blade; the resins that hold them together are highly abrasive, even on HSS. If you need to cut ply, get some cheap blades specifically for that and save the good ones for timber.