Matt Stiegler
12-04-2009, 4:03 PM
I just ordered some blades for my also-just-ordered G0513x2. Many here have mentioned how helpful and knowledgeable the folks at Suffolk Machinery are (here (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=69450) and here (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=103647), for example), so I called up them for their buy 3, get 1 deal.
At first, my experience was not as fabulous as the reports I've seen here. The person who took my order didn't seem to have any info or advice beyond the basic specs. She could tell me that x TPI would cut x thickness, but that seemed to be it. After I placed my order, I realized I'd been shooting in the dark, so I called back and was able to speak to a tech person there who was able to give me much better advice on choosing blades. So I was happy in the end.
I ended up with:
1/4" 10 tpi
3/8" 6 tpi (two of them)
3/4 2-3 tpi
If you want more info on blade options, here's what their tech guy told me:
On the 1/4" blade, the guy recommended 10 tpi instead of 6 tpi because 10 would cut thin stock and ply and still work cutting hardwood several inches thick (despite what the chart says) as long as you go slow. Whereas 6 tpi won't cut thin pieces or ply acceptably. The 10 tpi is their best selling 1/4" blade, he said. I mentioned getting two 1/4 blades, one 6 tpi and one 10, and he said not to, too redundant.
He said 3/8" 6tpi is their best-selling blade overall. He said its the best blade for hobbiests like me to leave on most of the time.
The 3/4" blade I got for re-sawing. They emphasized this is for kiln-dried wood, not green. I'd seen one post here mentioning problems with a 3/4" on the 513x2, and several saying they thought 1/2 would be fine, but his advice was 3/4" if I thought I'd ever resaw wider than 8", said it works great on this saw. Fingers crossed.
I also considered a 1/8" for tighter curves, or a 1/2 by 3 for resawing non-kiln-dried wood, but I figured a second 3/8 was a better bet.
If I have any great insights after using these blades a while, I'll post them.
At first, my experience was not as fabulous as the reports I've seen here. The person who took my order didn't seem to have any info or advice beyond the basic specs. She could tell me that x TPI would cut x thickness, but that seemed to be it. After I placed my order, I realized I'd been shooting in the dark, so I called back and was able to speak to a tech person there who was able to give me much better advice on choosing blades. So I was happy in the end.
I ended up with:
1/4" 10 tpi
3/8" 6 tpi (two of them)
3/4 2-3 tpi
If you want more info on blade options, here's what their tech guy told me:
On the 1/4" blade, the guy recommended 10 tpi instead of 6 tpi because 10 would cut thin stock and ply and still work cutting hardwood several inches thick (despite what the chart says) as long as you go slow. Whereas 6 tpi won't cut thin pieces or ply acceptably. The 10 tpi is their best selling 1/4" blade, he said. I mentioned getting two 1/4 blades, one 6 tpi and one 10, and he said not to, too redundant.
He said 3/8" 6tpi is their best-selling blade overall. He said its the best blade for hobbiests like me to leave on most of the time.
The 3/4" blade I got for re-sawing. They emphasized this is for kiln-dried wood, not green. I'd seen one post here mentioning problems with a 3/4" on the 513x2, and several saying they thought 1/2 would be fine, but his advice was 3/4" if I thought I'd ever resaw wider than 8", said it works great on this saw. Fingers crossed.
I also considered a 1/8" for tighter curves, or a 1/2 by 3 for resawing non-kiln-dried wood, but I figured a second 3/8 was a better bet.
If I have any great insights after using these blades a while, I'll post them.