Thread: circular saw blades

Rev

I do not know whether we can get Forrest blades here. I'd love to know as well. The other blade with a good reputation (in the mags) is Freud (no, not Sigmund ...). Also unknown here?

In the absence of these blades, the mind turns to alternatives. I assume that the reason that Forrest and Freud are so good is that they are machined more carefully and their tolerances are better. If that is the case, how much better would blades such as CMT perform if they were professionally sharpened? Can we expect sharpening services to be capable of such expertise?

My only experience in this area are my own saw blades (unknown brands). I have been very satisfied with the results. However, I do not have a reference against which to judge these results objectively. Who can comment here? Is it possible to turn a pig's ear into a silk purse?!!

One last point. I bought a cheap ($85 AUD including shipping) 8" dado set on USA eBay. They perform OK but could be better. I am thinking of getting these sharpened professionally, not only sharp but also sized. If this works, then it would benefit everyone who desires a dado set but is put off by the price of good ones. Again, any comments?

Regards from Perth

Derek

I bought a Freud blade when I bought my saw (Woodworkers Warehouse). I guess their counterparts in WA (Power Tools & Machinery Sales in Bayswater) might be a place to try. It is a very nice blade, by the way, but not cheap ($105).

P.S. Yes, they do have them.
http://www.ptms.com.au/cgi-bin/PTMst...3BSaws&start=0

I've just gotten a CMT ITK which produces a very good cut out of the packet. I'd be surprised if there would be any real difference between this and any of the others mentioned. Surely they don't hone them on the first rays of morning sun to get a finer edge?

Freud blades can be purchased from Major Woodworking Equipment in Padstow NSW
email [email protected]

Forest will also ship blades, you need to get a quote on Postage prior to ordering. Heres their website:



http://www.forrestblades.com

thanks for the comments.
The Forrest works out very expensive to import;
A Local cabinet maker swears by Linbide Elite blades from Kiwiland- they seem to be pretty well priced so I might give one of these a go.
rev

Rev,

I have also got a Linbide blade (40T) as an alternative blade for my cabinet saw, and whilst I have only used it a couple of times so far it seems quite good. A recommendation from a professional is usually good advice, so give it a go.

Following on from my previous post, does anyone have experience of having a saw blade professionally sharpened, and what was your opinion of the results?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Hi there,

I'm looking to bring to market some very high quality German-made circular saw blades in Australia. Is there anyone who thinks they'd be willing to pay a higher price for blades that offer extreme quality?

Thanks,
D'Avery

D'Avery

There are certainly people willing to pay for quality. The question to you is a "higher price" compared to what?

Originally Posted by derekcohen

Following on from my previous post, does anyone have experience of having a saw blade professionally sharpened, and what was your opinion of the results?

Some time ago I had a couple of blades sharpened by Diamond Edge in Welshpool and they did an excellent job, did not remove too much of the tooth and they weren't that expensive - I also got some jointer blades done there - also good.

I recently called them and the prices had jumped a fair bit , <30 teeth costs $17.60 - up to $35.50 for a 100 tooth triple chip blade.

I get my saw blades (300mm) and jointer / planer blades 410mm supplied and sharpened by Leuco in Sydney Tel 02 9773 5001. They provide an excellent service and the quality of blades and sharpening is superlative. However the "purchase" price of these is not low.

To properly evaluate the true "cost" of a blade you would have to assess many variables such as ; the total surface area cut, type of wood, speed of cut etc. and similar for the quality of cut.

I can not say I have done such evaluations, but I do know I am getting quality based simply on the quality of cuts from the machines. I hate sanding with a passion and look for a machine finish which usually only needs a few very light cuts from a handplane, or 320 / 400 grit sanding before finishing

Additionally, I have spent a lot of time in the tuning / maintenance of my machines to avoid any problems these may create, such as blade vibration, causing a poor cut.

ps I would also recommend Bandsaw blades from Henry Bros 02 9627 5486

Life is too short to suffer poor tools or poor wine !

Regards

The freud & the Flai blades are some of the best blades on the market at the moment, they both have a range of blades that come with a teflon coating(freud its red, flai is Blue).Both companies make there blades in Italy & have similar features like the ultra fine micro grain tungsten carbide tips giving you longer life by wearing slower.
Flai has a blade called 'the mustang'-perfect for cutting wood, wood derivatives, nail embedded wood, plexiglas, plastics, non-ferrous metals, mild steel and Corian®.

Its available in the following sizes
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=564 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=riga_testo vAlign=top height=17>Code</TD><TD class=riga_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_testo vAlign=top>D</TD><TD class=riga_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_testo vAlign=top>B/b</TD><TD class=riga_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_testo vAlign=top>d</TD><TD class=riga_testo vAlign=top> </TD><TD class=riga_testo vAlign=top align=left>F.tr.-Ch</TD><TD class=riga_testo vAlign=top>Z</TD><TD class=riga_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_testo vAlign=top>P</TD><TD class=riga_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_testo vAlign=top>a</TD><TD class=riga_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_testo vAlign=top>rif.</TD><TD class=riga_testo> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=riga_sotto_testo vAlign=center noWrap height=17>L MSG 160 028 020 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>160 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>2,4/1,8 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>20 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>28 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>18 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=riga_sotto_testo vAlign=center noWrap height=17>L MSG 190 034 030 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>190 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>2,6/2,0 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>30 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>34 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>18 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=riga_sotto_testo vAlign=center noWrap height=17>L MSG 230 044 030 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>230 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>2,6/2,0 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>30 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>44 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>16 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=riga_sotto_testo vAlign=center noWrap height=17>L MSG 254 050 030 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>254 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>2,8/2,2 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>30 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>50 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>16 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=riga_sotto_testo vAlign=center noWrap height=17>L MSG 305 060 030 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>305 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>2,8/2,2 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>30 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>60 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo>16 </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD><TD class=riga_sotto_testo> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

I can vouch for the Flai Mustang blade. Had a great pile of crate timber to cut recently and, because of the possibility of nails still there, I used a Flai Mustang from Northwood Tools. Colin told me they gave a glueline finish and that's certainly true. So smooth it's almost unbelievable.
Another blade for my tablesaw is a CMT thin kerf, and it's performance is very good, but not quite the finish of the Mustang.