Porter Cable blade?

[Paul Berendsohn]

Hey folks...

I just got a PC 325 Mag to use with my (infamous) SmartGuide. (Go ahead, ask me how I like the SmartGuide, I dare ya ;) ) The saw came with a nice looking 20T "Framer" blade. Anyone have any experience with this blade? Will it give me a nice cleannnnn edge or should I break down and spend the money for something like the Freud finish blade? I'm mainly interested in cutting hardwood or hardwood ply...
Thanks for any feedback,

Paul

[Jim Becker]

IMHO, the part that actually cuts the material is worth some level of investment...and you can save that framer's blade for...framing. Buy a nice blade for your CS and you'll likely further improve the performance of your saw and guide combination. Considering what you paid for the saw and other gear, it's not unreasonable to upgrade to a "woodworking quality" blade.

[Paul Berendsohn]

Yeah... I know I know... I'm just hoping someone is gonna say it's a fabulous blade and save me a few bucks ;)

[Kent Cori]

So far of all the saws I've purchased with OEM blades, the only one that was worth a hoot has been the one on my Bosch 4410 and it is outstanding. Every other one has been relegated to use on pressure treated wood or lumber that may contain a nail. I suspect Jim is correct, if you're doing some framing or rough carpentry work, the OEM blade will probably meet your needs. However, for woodworking, buy one of the premium Freud, Forrest, Amana, CMT or similar blades. It will quickly pay for itself in less wasted wood due to poor cuts, longer life and a the good feeling that you get every time you use a high quality tool.

BTW, I have no affiliation with any of the brands mentioned above.

[Paul Berendsohn]

Grumble grumble... OK OK... I'll go pick one up ;)
Thanks for the reality check

[Chris Padilla]

Paul,

Being an EZ owner, you know that the whole system can take an ordinary blade and turn it into something worth 2-4x as much! How dare you not try this blade out and see for yourself!! Take the challenge...I dare you! ;) :D

[Paul Berendsohn]

LOLLLLLLL... OK, you got me. I'll let you know the outcome ;)

[Jamie Buxton]

Paul ---
I find that a 20-tooth framing blade has a strong tendency to splinter the face veneer when making cross-cuts. Also, if it is a thin-kerf blade (like many these days), it flaps around to make a wavering cut. In my shop-built rig, I use a 60-tooth 7 1/4" blade which is a little thinner than a standard tablesaw blade; it makes a kerf about .11" wide (instead of .125" for the usual 10" blade). Mine was made by Oldham -- not a high-end blade-maker -- and cost about $25 at Home Despot. It works just fine.

Jamie

[Paul Berendsohn]

Thanks for the feedback Jamie, I'm just in one of those moods where I'm getting tired of throwing buckets o' money at this "hobby" ;)

[Chris Padilla]

Well, where else are you going to throw it??

[Steve Clardy]

Ah Heck. Go ahead and buy a good 40-60 tooth blade.:rolleyes:
Surely you have an empty place on your pegboard to hang the 20 tooth blade till needed.:D Lol
Steve

[Joseph N. Myers]

Paul,

Been looking for a thread to post the following and your seems to fit.

I've had the EZ System for some 10 months now and have used it with a freud 40 tooth blade on my PC up to about 2 weeks ago. The blade with the System dad been wooking fine but the blade really needed to be sharpened. Really could tell with 6/4 oak and locust.

Someone had posted something about a new PC blade called "razor" and said that it was highly recommended. I saw and purchased, both the 7-1/4" and the 10" version and have been using both for 2 weeks now. Strange - different sound (quite) and keep checking to blade to make sure on correctly. And fast, like cutting through butter. And clean.

I just went outside and cut into some oak plywood and took a picture of it (picture 1). You'll see the cut (clean, about 5" long, bottom right of the board), the PC with the Razor blade on it and the Frued blade I was cutting with. Picture 2 is the Razor 7-1/4" blade and Picture 3 is the Razor 10" blade. According to PC: "Variable tooth saw blade design is used in sawmills and high-production factories to gain cutting speed, cleaner cut edges, less cut noise and longer life."

In the Razor pictures, I marked off the differences between teeth (hope you can read it). The hook is a positive 20 degrees made for aggressive cutting. The cost at HD for a pack of three 7-14" is $20.00 and the 10" is $40.00.

I was quite impressed and will probably keep them in my saws for a while. Note: I have both the good freud blades and a forrest 10" and even though they might cut better than the new PC blades (I can't tell), the cutting speed and ease is defenitely making my life easier.

You may want to try the blade that came with the PC and see how that works using the EZ Smart Base. And they try the PC's - if you don't like the Razors, you'll now be able to put 3 blades on your wall, sort a start on wallpapering you walls.

Regards, Joe

[Paul Berendsohn]

Thanks to all who took the time to reply to such a mundane question. Having just dumped tons of dough on my tool addiction lately I was feeling cheap ;)

I'll try the PC blade and let ya'all know what the results are...

Best Wishes,
Paul

[Paul Berendsohn]

Ok, soooooooo I tried the Razor Frame blade last night. In short, amazing (due in large part I'm sure to the amazing SmartGuide ;) ) Cut some birch ply and the face veneers were flawless. The core was a wee little bit rough but man, for a "framing" blade, it was truly astonishing. In spite of that I wanted a little cleaner cross section so I put in a Freud 40 tooth and do in fact get a cleaner core but interestingly enough I am getting a tiny bit of "fuzz" on some crosscuts on very fragile ply (did a bunch of birch veneer beadboard paneling today, the stuff splinters if you look at it funny). But I'll tell ya, for the price and speed etc the Razor is one heckuva blade...

I bet I could use a bottle cap with the SmartGuide and get a good cut ;)

[Ian Barley]

IMHO, the part that actually cuts the material is worth some level of investment...

I couldn't agree more with Jim's general point. With many tools the really important part is the edge that touches the timber and using good quality and keeping it sharp pays dividends on quality of result , safety and the pleasure of use.

That said - Paul - I am glad that the razor blade did a good job for you. It sure looks wierd though!

[Jim Becker]

Paul, the one thing on the blades that makes a difference is the tooth geometry and how they are ground. The sharpness of the points on an ATB tooth configuration will greatly contribute to the clean, slicing action on Ply and on cross cuts of solid stock. (One of the reasons that so many of us like Forrest blades...the way the teeth are ground) If you look at the teeth on the Freud and the Razor, they may very well look different in that respect...check it out and let us know what you see in comparison.

[Greg Mann]

Ok, soooooooo I tried the Razor Frame blade last night. In short, amazing (due in large part I'm sure to the amazing SmartGuide ;) ) Cut some birch ply and the face veneers were flawless. The core was a wee little bit rough but man, for a "framing" blade, it was truly astonishing. In spite of that I wanted a little cleaner cross section so I put in a Freud 40 tooth and do in fact get a cleaner core but interestingly enough I am getting a tiny bit of "fuzz" on some crosscuts on very fragile ply (did a bunch of birch veneer beadboard paneling today, the stuff splinters if you look at it funny). But I'll tell ya, for the price and speed etc the Razor is one heckuva blade...

I bet I could use a bottle cap with the SmartGuide and get a good cut ;)
Paul,
One of the outcomes of variable spaced teeth in any blade will be a breakup up of harmonics. This technique is used in the facemilling of many metals, especially in less than rigid setups. That may explain the positive results with the Razor.

When using different blades with the smartguide you will want to pay attention to kerf width variations between blades. You may already have figured this out but it is useful information for anyone using a zero clearance feature, whether it is a guide system or a TS. When the splinterguard is trimmed with a specific blade for the first time, the edge created is perfect for that blade. If replaced with a narrower kerf blade the edge may actually track a slight distance away from the splinterguard. As an example, assuming that the carbide tips are ground symmetrically to the blade body, a .120 wide blade with a .090 wide body will overhang the body by .015 per side. A .100 wide blade with a .090 wide body will only overhang by .005 per side. When mounted on the same saw that trimmed the splinterguard with the wider blade, the narrower blade would be .010 away from the guard and would allow for some splintering or frittering. Of course using a wider blade after trimming with a narrower blade would result in re-trimming the guard. Either way, changing blades when using a guide system can result in unexpected results, and of course this would be true with the other system as well.;)

You did not mention if the fuzz you got was while using the saw with the guide or not but if it was with the guide, chack and see if the Freud is narrower than the blade it followed.

Greg

[Paul Berendsohn]

A very distinct possibility Greg, I had thought the same thing and plan to test it. Just haven't had the time but I'm going to cut a new insert for the Freud blade and then give it another try. Interestingly enough the Freud actually feels much easier and was much quieter than the Razor, the proverbial "had to check to make sure I was actually cutting".

I'll post the results and photos shortly.

Paul