Thread: Best 7 1/4 Blade

Originally Posted by mag

I am interested in purchasing a cheap 7 1/4 saw and setting it up as a dedicated ripping saw with a guide similar to the Jointability.

My queston is whether anyone has any knowledge of a good 7 1/4 blade for cutting melamine.

Mag, I don't want to rain on your parade here, but how good is your saw? Have you checked it for arbor float? If it is moving in and out then the quality of the blade won't make much difference in melamine - it'll chip out anyway.

If the saw is ok, try to find a triple chip by Makita or CMT, though I am not sure if either make them.

Groggy, Havn't purchased the saw yet, will check all that when I can find a decent blade. (At a decent price)

Originally Posted by mag

Groggy, Havn't purchased the saw yet, will check all that when I can find a decent blade. (At a decent price)

Often those two factors dont go together too well... decent blade/decent price etc. But if you think of "decent price" as pertaining to value for money and solid results, than just about any decent blade has a decent price

But, 7 1/4" blades aren't terribly expensive so even a good one should not break the bank. Stick to the known industrial brands, and as Groggy said, look for a triple chip blade if you can get one in the 7 1/4" size. I have an Irwin Industrial 10" Triple Chip blade (marked as being for metal cutting), but it works great for melamine cutting.

As I recall, Triton make a decent triple chip blade for a 7-1/4". I bought one several years ago.

Regards from Perth

Derek

I'm using a triton triple cut (Professional Cut) 48 teeth blade on a Ryobi 1350 ($79) 185mm saw. Cuts well with no chipping on one side but no matter what height I adjust the blade I still get some chipping on one side. Usually I overcut and then use an electric plane to clean off the edges. But I must say the triton blade is much better than the Ryobi 24 tooth blade supplied (not a fair comparison - no. of teeth) Hills Clearance Centre have lots of them at $40 each (I recently bought another after using my first triton blade (cost $ from bunnings) to cut thru about 30sheets of melamine). The Ryobi blade is useful for ripping hardwood though. One guy at a hardware store said you should use an 80teeth metal cutting blade to cut chipboard, but I'm not forking out $90 just to try that theory.

The guys are right. just make sure that you do have a good saw adn the blade is at least 48 tooth. I find cmt are the best . more expensive but worth it. I have a mate you cuts all my melamine for me annd he said what al2 suggested. Just cut the wood about 5mm long and use an electric planer to clean up. The underside usually comes up cleanest so use that as your top.
You can also get jigsaw blades which have their teeth in the opposite direction to normal blades which cut on the downstroke. Ive used them and no chipping at all amazingly. Just need a guide for the jigsaw.
stef

Thanks everyone for the input.

I'll go and see if I can find a triton blade as suggested.

I am currently using a 12" triple chip on my table saw and it gives excellent results, especially after making the biesemeyer fence copy discussed on this forum. On that subjetc I purchased a 12" CMT fine cutoff blade before I built the fence to try and get chip free results from my old fence.

After I built the fence I hardly use that blade anymore as the triple chip works great.