Thread: 12" Blade recommendation for Bosch Glide SCMS

I tend towards Australian made blades for Australian hardwoods. Two brands to look at are Austsaw (based in Cardiff NSW, close to me which is handy) and Opteco from Central saws. They're not cheap but you get what you pay for, and they're designed for pro use with longevity in mind. Plenty of meat on the tungsten teeth for resharpening.

I also have a Flai Mustang which I bought for my RAS, but works equally well on the Bosch. They're far from cheap, but cut beautifully. The neutral hook and triple chip grind give minimal tear out, and being a multi material blade handle most things you're likely to want to cut.

Originally Posted by richmond68

I tend towards Australian made blades for Australian hardwoods. Two brands to look at are Austsaw (based in Cardiff NSW, close to me which is handy) and Opteco from Central saws. They're not cheap but you get what you pay for, and they're designed for pro use with longevity in mind. Plenty of meat on the tungsten teeth for resharpening.

I also have a Flai Mustang which I bought for my RAS, but works equally well on the Bosch. They're far from cheap, but cut beautifully. The neutral hook and triple chip grind give minimal tear out, and being a multi material blade handle most things you're likely to want to cut.

Thanks Richmond68. I haven't heard of those two Aussie brands before, but I'll definitely keep an eye out for them. I bought a Flai rip blade with my Laguna Fusion but I haven't used it yet. The standard blade is serving me well so far, but it's good to know that you rate Flai blades.


Cheers,
Mike.

I have been on a similar exercise but for 10" table saws and did come across Austsaw, but not Opteco. Thank you for the tipoff. I have been using a range of CMT, Freud and Diablo blades. I'm yet to work out the pro's & con's of Freud v Diablo seems more a marketing tactic to me.

My guess is that Diablo is aimed at the tradie and weekend warriors who treat blades as disposable items. That in no way is a bad thing, it's cheaper to replace high tooth count blades than have them sharpened. But with Bosch owning Freud and all Bosch and Diablo blades made by Freud it's not real clear where they sit in the market . I've had good results with the Bosch Optiline blades on portable tools, the Diablo router bits seem decent, so I don't see branding as a reason to avoid them.

I would be cautious when selecting a thin kerf blade for a SCMS. The blade supplied with the GDL is a 2.8 kerf but only a 1.8 BMT, and is a bit too flexible given mitre saws have small arbor flanges which don't add much stiffness. The Flai is also a 2.8 kerf but 2.2 BMT, and the difference is noticeable even with the reducer to fit the 30mm bore to the inch arbor on my GDL. If all you cut are softwoods the original blade would be sufficient, but if you cut our dense hardwoods then a blade with a 2.2 BMT or more will be needed in my opinion.

Originally Posted by richmond68

My guess is that Diablo is aimed at the tradie and weekend warriors who treat blades as disposable items. That in no way is a bad thing, it's cheaper to replace high tooth count blades than have them sharpened. But with Bosch owning Freud and all Bosch and Diablo blades made by Freud it's not real clear where they sit in the market . I've had good results with the Bosch Optiline blades on portable tools, the Diablo router bits seem decent, so I don't see branding as a reason to avoid them.

I would be cautious when selecting a thin kerf blade for a SCMS. The blade supplied with the GDL is a 2.8 kerf but only a 1.8 BMT, and is a bit too flexible given mitre saws have small arbor flanges which don't add much stiffness. The Flai is also a 2.8 kerf but 2.2 BMT, and the difference is noticeable even with the reducer to fit the 30mm bore to the inch arbor on my GDL. If all you cut are softwoods the original blade would be sufficient, but if you cut our dense hardwoods then a blade with a 2.2 BMT or more will be needed in my opinion.

Thanks again, but what does BMT stand for ?

BMT is base metal thickness, or the thickness of the the blade as opposed to the kerf or cutting teeth. It's usually used to refer to sheet metal without any coatings, but saw blade manufacturers use it as well.

Originally Posted by richmond68

BMT is base metal thickness, or the thickness of the the blade as opposed to the kerf or cutting teeth. It's usually used to refer to sheet metal without any coatings, but saw blade manufacturers use it as well.

Thanks mate. To be honest, I've never paid much attention to the BMT but will do so now. I can see why it would be important especiaclly with 12inch blades.

Originally Posted by Belstaff1464

Thanks mate. To be honest, I've never paid much attention to the BMT but will do so now. I can see why it would be important especiaclly with 12inch blades.

This was handy - Saw Blade Terminology | Central Saws The Opteco blades 250mm & 305mmare 2.4 kerf with a 1.6mm plate thickness.

Makita Blu Mak. I use it on my Bosch 12" SCMS. Better than the Bosch blades, but more expensive at about $100. Can't miss them. Dark blue colour. Sold at Bunnings and others.

Regards
Paul

They don't look bad, and should flex less than the Bosch being 2mm BMT. 10° tooth rake is good. I think they're only available in 1 inch bore though, newer Bosch SCMS use 30mm.

My Bosch has 25mm bore so the Bkuemak is definitely an option but at $100 it brings it to the same price point as Freud blades.

One thing that I am very thankful for is that we have a good range of blades available now and in TCT. In the early 70's when Dad purchased the DeWalt RADS for the business there was not a lot of choice in blade technology and TCT blades were not common.

My Bosch glide saw came fitted with a 1" (25.4mm) arbor flange. Horrified at first, being the "old" measure surely meant the lack of availability of new blades. I could've changed to the more "conventional" 30mm size, but haven't felt the need as yet.

Delighted to find that there's large numbers of excellent quality blades available from North America at MUCH better prices than domestically or from the Continent. I'd ordered a spare blade with the saw, which had to be returned as it had the more usual 30mm hole. Could've (probably should've) just fitted a washer instead.

Never been a great fan of thin kerf blades in mains saws. Never saw the point. They're more the preserve of little cordless saws, where a narrow kerf equals greater cutting efficiency, speed and longer charge life. In big miter saws, the thinner plate works against accuracy in allowing rim float & wobble. A heavier plate & especially rim gives a lovely flywheel effect that positively eats through it's wider kerf, plus allowing much greater gyroscopic stabilisation for lovely smooth cuts. The higher the diameter, mass & rotation speed, the greater the gyro. effect.

So far, I've had excellent results from 96 & 100 tooth Amana blades, and fairly good results with 80t Oldham blades giving almost as good performance at substantially less price. The former in particular have delightfully smooth performance on (albeit softer) hardwoods like Blackwood, Myrtle & Sassafrass, the later seem to like Tas Oak better. If i was cutting Mallee root, Gidgee or something with the "softness" of Dolerite or Basalt, then I might have to reconsider my blade choice.

I'm told that Forrest are one of the very best Miter saw blades currently available, but a bit too expensive for my needs. I usually wouldn't spend more that $100 Aussie on a blade, freight inclusive. A Forrest would be twice this or more.

I'm not a great fan of Freud, having tried one on my Kapex. Not as good as the original Festo blade in my opinion, however this was a 260mm, not 300/305mm blade. I still have the original Bosch Optiline?? too, but they aren't as commonly available (no euro-sourced blades are) in a 1" arbor size.

Originally Posted by Ratbag

My Bosch glide saw came fitted with a 1" (25.4mm) arbor flange. Horrified at first, being the "old" measure surely meant the lack of availability of new blades. I could've changed to the more "conventional" 30mm size, but haven't felt the need as yet.

Delighted to find that there's large numbers of excellent quality blades available from North America at MUCH better prices than domestically or from the Continent. I'd ordered a spare blade with the saw, which had to be returned as it had the more usual 30mm hole. Could've (probably should've) just fitted a washer instead.

Never been a great fan of thin kerf blades in mains saws. Never saw the point. They're more the preserve of little cordless saws, where a narrow kerf equals greater cutting efficiency, speed and longer charge life. In big miter saws, the thinner plate works against accuracy in allowing rim float & wobble. A heavier plate & especially rim gives a lovely flywheel effect that positively eats through it's wider kerf, plus allowing much greater gyroscopic stabilisation for lovely smooth cuts. The higher the diameter, mass & rotation speed, the greater the gyro. effect.

So far, I've had excellent results from 96 & 100 tooth Amana blades, and fairly good results with 80t Oldham blades giving almost as good performance at substantially less price. The former in particular have delightfully smooth performance on (albeit softer) hardwoods like Blackwood, Myrtle & Sassafrass, the later seem to like Tas Oak better. If i was cutting Mallee root, Gidgee or something with the "softness" of Dolerite or Basalt, then I might have to reconsider my blade choice.

I'm told that Forrest are one of the very best Miter saw blades currently available, but a bit too expensive for my needs. I usually wouldn't spend more that $100 Aussie on a blade, freight inclusive. A Forrest would be twice this or more.

I'm not a great fan of Freud, having tried one on my Kapex. Not as good as the original Festo blade in my opinion, however this was a 260mm, not 300/305mm blade. I still have the original Bosch Optiline?? too, but they aren't as commonly available (no euro-sourced blades are) in a 1" arbor size.

That's about how much I want to pay for a blade.

The one advantage of thinner blades is less dust because less material is removed. That's now less of a factor for me because my saw is on the gravity stand making it so much easier to set it up outside. I still use a dust mask though. I'm now leaning towards thicker for the accuracy and the other reasons you mentioned. Thanks.