Circular and Miter saw blades. Best 4.5" circular saw blade, and for 10" miter saw?

Spud · Aug 14, 2018

Circular and Miter saw blades. Best 4.5" circular saw blade, and for 10" miter saw?

For my Porter-Cable 4.5" worm drive trim saw.
What's the best blade, for cutting plywood?
Do I need a blade with the highest tooth count per inch?

And what blade gives the most precise and highest quality cut for a miter saw. I have a 10" Makita sliding compound miter saw.
Makita USA - Product Details -LS116L

thermite · Aug 14, 2018

Spud said:
For my Porter-Cable 4.5" worm drive trim saw.
What's the best blade, for cutting plywood?
Do I need a blade with the highest tooth count per inch?

And what blade gives the most precise and highest quality cut for a miter saw. I have a 10" Makita sliding compound miter saw.
Makita USA - Product Details -LS116L

Every time I ever bought a Rolls-Royce grade blade, I've managed to FUBAR it early whilst not damaging cheaper ones. Past year or so, contractor and I have been using ignorant red Diablo or yellow Dewalts from Big Box. Cheap enough to hold several, put the appropriate type on for each tasking, and roll-in a fresh one now and then.

It ain't tool-steel yer cutting, nor marquetry, so "precise" is a relative term, anyway.

Spud · Aug 14, 2018

thermite said:
Every time I ever bought a Rolls-Royce grade blade, I've managed to FUBAR it early whilst not damaging cheaper ones. Past year or so, contractor and I have been using ignorant red Diablo or yellow Dewalts from Big Box. Cheap enough to hold several, put the appropriate type on for each tasking, and roll-in a fresh one now and then.

It ain't tool-steel yer cutting, nor marquetry, so "precise" is a relative term, anyway.

A blade that will give a nice clean but with minimal tear-out. A blade that deflects the least.
When I tried cutting up some 1/8" plywood with the Trim-saw, with the blades that previous contractor used, there was a lot of tear-outs and cut was jagged.

thermite · Aug 15, 2018

Spud said:
A blade that will give a nice clean but with minimal tear-out. A blade that deflects the least.
When I tried cutting up some 1/8" plywood with the Trim-saw, with the blades that previous contractor used, there was a lot of tear-outs and cut was jagged.

Blades that were used? Or brand he had used, but NEW?

Plywood.. used to do a LOT of it making cabinets, General rule was lots of teeth 'coz the veneering wasn't thick, even if the sum of plys was. Even so, the TYPE of blade and tooth, pus (pre-carbide days) whether it had a hollow-ground relief, mattered easily as much as tooth-count.

And then there are plywoods and other plywoods, plus which surface you are approaching and departing the cut from.

Some of it we just had to bandsaw to not mess up the edges of the cut.

Bandsaw teeth move in only one direction. Thinner it is, the more likely a circular saw will damage the surface veneer ply edges on exit.

2CW

Spud · Aug 15, 2018

thermite said:
Blades that were used? Or brand he had used, but NEW?

Plywood.. used to do a LOT of it making cabinets, General rule was lots of teeth 'coz the veneering wasn't thick, even if the sum of plys was. Even so, the TYPE of blade and tooth, pus (pre-carbide days) whether it had a hollow-ground relief, mattered easily as much as tooth-count.

And then there are plywoods and other plywoods, plus which surface you are approaching and departing the cut from.

Some of it we just had to bandsaw to not mess up the edges of the cut.

Bandsaw teeth move in only one direction. Thinner it is, the more likely a circular saw will damage the surface veneer ply edges on exit.

2CW

Bought saw at auction some years ago. The blades came with the saw. They were not new but in decent shape.

PeteM · Aug 15, 2018

Put the good face of plywood down when you're cutting, so the blade exits (and tears out) on the eventual back side.

That and a sharp blade will do you. Yes, the finer teeth ones are typically meant for plywood but even the general purpose carbide blades -- from a reputable supplier -- do pretty well, cut quicker, and stay sharp longer. The PC's thin Trim Saw blades generally do a pretty good job on cutting a sheet of plywood down to size, for either quick work or final cuts on a table saw.

One problem, if you're buying plywood from a place like Home Depot, is they'll source cheap plywood from China etc. where the face ply is paper thin. Look at it cross wise and it might tear.

thermite · Aug 15, 2018

Spud said:
Bought saw at auction some years ago. The blades came with the saw. They were not new but in decent shape.

Can't tell until you cut sumthin' with 'em.

But seriously 1/8th inch? That has always been challenging for either a circular saw or a recip. It is entering a cut and exiting it two different directions. Either the material or saw skews ever so slightly yah have an issue. That's part of why bandsaws are preferred over jig or sabre saws, too - so long as one CAN.

Get down into really thin veneers, the preference is no saw at all - seriously sharp knives, rather. See "marquetry".

Oh and "home depot" or the like plywood?

Try Albert Constantine & Son if you want good woods. They were already old when I was a young kid, Dad and I drooling over their catalog and wishing we could afford more!

Constantines History

stephen thomas · Aug 15, 2018

One of the best 12" blades i ever had for plywood came from Harbor Fright. Bought it on a whim and was astounded. But the teeth were so hard it chipped one time when i bumped it while installing. Later bumped it again and chipped another tooth.

I never had good luck with Freud, which many people like - near bottom of the barrel for my experience.

I've bought a rack of good blade for panel saw and TS's but can't for the life of me remember names at the moment.

And when they are new, yellow blades from the big box store cut about as well, maybe better. But they deflect more as they get dull, or if not perfectly aligned. & they are not made in the 14 - 20" diameters that fits most of the machines here (I often use 12 yellow blades on the 14-16 saws for plywood, though)

It seems to all be a crapshoot.

To minimize tearout with any blade, everything has to be aligned and inflexible.

smt

Spud · Aug 16, 2018

thermite said:
Can't tell until you cut sumthin' with 'em.

But seriously 1/8th inch? That has always been challenging for either a circular saw or a recip. It is entering a cut and exiting it two different directions. Either the material or saw skews ever so slightly yah have an issue. That's part of why bandsaws are preferred over jig or sabre saws, too - so long as one CAN.

Get down into really thin veneers, the preference is no saw at all - seriously sharp knives, rather. See "marquetry".

Oh and "home depot" or the like plywood?

Try Albert Constantine & Son if you want good woods. They were already old when I was a young kid, Dad and I drooling over their catalog and wishing we could afford more!

Constantines History

Yeah I got my plywood from Menards , Lowes or Home Depot. Menards is the biggest big-box home-improvement store around here, and usually a little cheaper than Home Depot.
Going to build a tall cupboard/drawer for room, and this time around I will source the materials from the dedicated lumber sellers .

thermite · Aug 16, 2018

Spud said:
Yeah I got my plywood from Menards , Lowes or Home Depot. Menards is the biggest big-box home-improvement store around here, and usually a little cheaper than Home Depot.
Going to build a tall cupboard/drawer for room, and this time around I will source the materials from the dedicated lumber sellers .

It really isn't that HARD to change your manner of working any given material so as to still take best advantage of less costly materials.

Truth - I consider doing that effectively every bit as much the mark of a highly skilled craftsman as he who can execute beauty - but ONLY in the most perfect of raw materials and with the most costly of specialized tools. That's like painting by numbers.

Crafting useful goods economically is much like cooking great meals from cheap cuts - or even leftovers.

Or even enjoying good sex.

Making the best of what you have, rather than what you only WISH you had.

Joe Rogers · Aug 16, 2018

thermite said:
Or even enjoying good sex.

I may just be lucky but I’ve never had any bad sex...
Joe

thermite · Aug 16, 2018

Joe Rogers said:
I may just be lucky but I’ve never had any bad sex...
Joe

LOL!

I've never been in incarcerated in a prison, either!

But I remember our security guru's "interviewing" a just-apprehended thief who had been.. and his graphic description as to why he didn't want to repeat the experience.....

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