Table saw blade stabalizers

[Duane Bledsoe]

I was in Sears tonight and picked up the 2 pack of 10" Craftsman blades, 40 and 60 teeth, (hope they're decent blades), but while I was there I noticed they sell some stabalizers for putting on each side of the blade. These are supposed to stop the blade from wobbling during the cut and provide a smoother cut. Is there any truth to this?? And my next question is will a basic table saw have any trouble turning the blade with the added weight, as these were not very light?? My table saw is just a basic saw. I don't know the HP but to give you an idea, they sell for anywhere from $100 to $150 at most, so probably not a lot of power.

I'd like to run wood through it and not have too many blade marks along the edge. It didn't do extremely bad with the old blade on it that was 36 teeth (came with the saw) but since I used it for several years and also ran a lot of treated wood through it as part of my job (contractor) then it got gummed up and dulled down a good bit. I had a 24 tooth blade here that came with another saw and was never used so I threw it on there and it works for the job but not well for woodworking projects since it leaves a rough edge when finished sawing. I'm hoping the 60 or 40 tooth blade will do better.

[scott spencer]

My experience has been that there’s no noticeable difference with or without them when using good blades on a well tuned saw. A good blade mounted on a well tuned saw shouldn't need a stabilizer, so I wouldn't spend the money unless an obvious problem exists. I'd opt to buy better blades in the first place...the only decent Craftsman blades I know of are those made by Freud (Craftsman Professional 32808, 32810, etc.). If it turns out that you’ve got a runout problem with your saw, then by all means, get yourself a stabilizer to help, but note that it’s usually a $20 band-aid for another problem, and not a cure.

[Duane Bledsoe]

Well, these were only $13 if I wanted them. I just wondered if it would be a cheap improvement over what I get now. The cut quality with the old original 36 tooth blade was livable, to me anyway, and with the higher tooth count I would think it can only get better. It's not very good at all with the 24 tooth blade right now though.

Sadly, I have to do my woodworking on a budget. These seemed to be cheap and got my attention with the improved cut possibility. I'll wait until I've tried the new blades before I make a decision. I also could have gotten a 2 pack of DeWalt blades for about $10 more, and if they would be any better than the Craftsman blades then I'd swap them for those and forego the stabilizers altogether.

[scott spencer]

Stock saw blades are notoriously poor. Seriously, I'd return the 2-pack, and the stabilizer, and spend the whole budget on one decent 40T blade....Freud Diablo D1040 or D1053, DeWalt DW7150PT (not the construction series 2-pack), or CMT ITK Plus P10050....better yet, Infinity 010-150, Freud LU83R010, Forrest WWII 40T TK. If your saw is well tuned, and the cuts still show a lot of blade marks, then get I'd consider grabbing a stabilizer. Sometimes buying cheap costs more in the long run, but if you're careful there are some deals on good stuff.

These German made Onsrud blades on Ebay are clearance priced at a remarkable value, and often sell at the listing price uncontested...free shipping too. Pick one:
10" 42T ATB TK (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Onsrud-CCATB-10-098-42-10-Crosscut-Saw-Blade-/220913620687?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item336f7a56cf)
10" 50T ATB/R Tk (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Onsrud-COM-10-098-50-10-Combination-Saw-Blade-/220914221150?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item336f83805e)

[Duane Bledsoe]

I really don't know if it's well tuned or not. All I know is the blade is 90 degrees to the table surface when checked with a speed square, it's dead on, and it looks as if it runs true with no wobble that I can see or anything otherwise looking bad while it's running. It does cut well, and the saw has never been abused. Wood that I cut on it fits as it is supposed to after the cut. The only things I've seen that I don't like are the saw blade marks on the wood, but I've only ever tried just the stock blade and then this 24 tooth blade very recently. I had no real complaints with it until I changed the blade to the 24 tooth, which is why I thought it would be a lot better if I got a new blade with a higher tooth count.

By the way, do you know if when running higher tooth count blades, is it necessary to slow down the feed rate or not?? Will I have any problems cutting 2x materials??

[scott spencer]

A 24T blade is typically considered a dedicated bulk rip blade with a rougher cut but faster feed rate....usually intended for thicker ripping. The higher tooth count on the other blades will almost certainly be harder to feed, which will almost force you to feed slower, but that depends somewhat on other parameters of the blade like the kerf width, hook angle relief angle, etc.

How well aligned is the blade to the fence?

p.s. I really doubt you'll regret returning those Cman blades and getting something better like an Onsrud....better blade, probably less money.

[glenn bradley]

+1 on Scott's "My experience has been that there’s no noticeable difference with or without them when using good blades on a well tuned saw." and his other advice for that matter. Even my 1970's Craftsman contractor saw would give me glue line rip cuts after a decent tune up and the usual additions required for saws of this format to do furniture quality work; PALs, machined pulleys, link belt, a decent fence and a ZCI with a good splitter. If your saw has been doing well with the exception of what sounds like a minor alignment issue, I would consider just taking care of that before other items. I will say that a higher end blade will make a well aligned saw sing but, the best after-market blades and bolt-ons will not fix an alignment issue.

[David Kumm]

I'm in agreement. I use a thin kerf on my Bosch portable and thought I'd try a stabilizer but it made no difference other than reducing depth of cut. Forrest does recommend them on occasion but they only use one. The problem with one on each side of course is that it screws up the calibration of the rip fence. Buy one good blade for non construction lumber and you will be amazed at the difference. Dave

[John McClanahan]

I have a pair. I use them with a carbide tipped 8" blade when I cut aluminum.

[Clisby Clark]

I would return the Sears blades also and oreder the Freud thin kerf rip. Thin kerf is a great help on underpowered saws. Actually, I'd order two and something to keep the blades clean between sharpenings (I use PitchRx). With two blades, you've always got one in the saw when you need to send one off to be sharpened.

[HANK METZ]

I really don't know if it's well tuned or not. All I know is the blade is 90 degrees to the table surface when checked with a speed square, it's dead on, and it looks as if it runs true with no wobble that I can see or anything otherwise looking bad while it's running. It does cut well, and the saw has never been abused. Wood that I cut on it fits as it is supposed to after the cut. The only things I've seen that I don't like are the saw blade marks on the wood, but I've only ever tried just the stock blade and then this 24 tooth blade very recently. I had no real complaints with it until I changed the blade to the 24 tooth, which is why I thought it would be a lot better if I got a new blade with a higher tooth count.

By the way, do you know if when running higher tooth count blades, is it necessary to slow down the feed rate or not?? Will I have any problems cutting 2x materials??

I agree with the others that an investment in a quality blade is the route to go, but I fear it won't help all that much. For the money range of the saw you mentioned, assuming you have properly set and calibrated the fence parallel to blade, etc. the real problem is axial runout of the blade shaft itself, that is to say it "floats" back and forth (left to right) because of the loose tolerances to which it is built. The best answer is to use the smallest diameter blade available to do the job, so consider an 8" or less model, try it and see if the finish quality improves.

- Beachside Hank

[Kevin Presutti]

Duane,
You never mentioned what you paid for th Cman blades, but I looked up on Sears website and found the DeWalt 2 pack you spoke of, so you paid $40.00 for the Cman blades and $13.00 for the stabliizer. If link to Amazon through SMC and use coupon code SMC10 you should get an additional %10 off, then check this out http://www.amazon.com/Freud-LU87R010-10-Inch-24-Tooth-PermaShield/dp/B0000225UH/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1323957155&sr=8-3 I have had one for 10 years and it is a great blade. You didn't mention the type of saw you own or the type of work you do. An 80 tooth blade on a benchtop saw seem bit overkill all things considered unless of course you are building bird houses. Sounds like like you rip alot of framing lumber, this blade is for you. The cross cuts with it are good sa well but I wood check Amazon if you are a trim carpenter and need a good, inexpensive, glass cut, I am sure you will find something in the Freud line that fits your budget, as with any saw blade hardware in the lumber will destroy the best carbide. If you get the blade I linked to, and take care of it, you will rip thousands of board feet with no problem, an occaional cleaning with oven cleaner to remove pich and you will be good to go for quite sometime.

[Dale Cruea]

I used the stabilizers on my craftsman RAS with a thin blade. Seems to help a little on stock over about an inch. I also found that Krud Kutter from Lowe's cleans a blade and router bits real good. And you can reuse it over and over. I put some in a small plastic bottle for my router bits. Remove the bearing, drop it in the bottle for 5 min. and it is clean. No bad smell either.

[Van Huskey]

You can't go wrong with quality blades, they make all the difference in the world, you also can't go wrong listening to Scott about table saw blades!

[Lee Schierer]

I own Craftsman contractor saw and I can tell you from experience that a tune up will give you a far better cut than the stabilizers from Sears. Use your money to go to Harbor Freight and buy a $20 dial indicator. Attach it to your miter gauge using a block of wood and a couple of screws so the tip can reach the blade. True up the blade to the miter slot. Then true up the fence to the miter slot. With a little care you should be able to dial your blade and fence to within .001". You will also want to return the Craftsman Blades. Buy a 24 tooth Freud thin kerf blade for ripping and an LU-82 (about $45 most anywhere) for cross cutting. You'll not get a better cutting blades for your money.

Stabilizers are an oft discussed topic here and from what I gather is that they do little if anything, particularly the cheaper ones.

[Duane Bledsoe]

How do you true up the blade beyond just installing it?? Is there some method of shimming?? I don't know.

EDIT--after this post, I went in and flipped the saw upside down (vacuumed it out while there too, haha) and had a look at the motor. It's a 1 HP motor according the motor plate, and the sawblade shaft doesn't move so much as a millimeter back and forth. It's tight. It will rotate very slightly forward and backwards in the direction the blade will travel when it is on, but not left or right, and it does not wiggle or wobble either. So the motor shaft is solid, which surprised me because I was expecting it to be a little loose. I'd say it's a universal motor and I've never seen one that didn't have a little slight play in them. Mine being this solid is a good thing. I did notice that the fence was a little loose too in the way it clamps to the table top. So I tightened the screw up on it as well, and now it clamps tight with no slippage. Otherwise, I don't know what to do to adjust or tune it up, besides get a better blade.

[Larry Edgerton]

I use blade stabalizers on two occasions.

One, when I buy a new contractors saw. I buy new Browning shivs, a link belt, and a set of Frued blade stabilizers to replace the cheezy ones that come on the saw. I cut them down on the lathe to where they will just rub on the plate at full height and then set the fence to the new setting.

Two, I have a Tenaru ultrathin kerf that I save for woods such as ebony where I want to lose less to kerf for monitary reasons. On this setup I throw a pair on the PM 66 with the Tenaru to insure no wobble. I normally run heavy blank rip blades.

So I guess I disagree that they are useless, but I will agree they are not the answer to all your tablesaw woes.

Larry

[Lee Schierer]

How do you true up the blade beyond just installing it?? Is there some method of shimming?? I don't know.

EDIT--after this post, I went in and flipped the saw upside down (vacuumed it out while there too, haha) and had a look at the motor. It's a 1 HP motor according the motor plate, and the sawblade shaft doesn't move so much as a millimeter back and forth. It's tight. It will rotate very slightly forward and backwards in the direction the blade will travel when it is on, but not left or right, and it does not wiggle or wobble either. So the motor shaft is solid, which surprised me because I was expecting it to be a little loose. I'd say it's a universal motor and I've never seen one that didn't have a little slight play in them. Mine being this solid is a good thing. I did notice that the fence was a little loose too in the way it clamps to the table top. So I tightened the screw up on it as well, and now it clamps tight with no slippage. Otherwise, I don't know what to do to adjust or tune it up, besides get a better blade.

What you need to do is loosen up the motor mounting bolts and rotate the motor so the blade can be rotated to be parallel with the miter slot. Saw alignment is not done with the motor shaft or shims. Try this link Table saw alignment (http://woodgears.ca/delta_saw/alignment.html) even though it does not show your saw. Your saw appears to have the blade mounted directly tot he motor which may limit your ability to adjust it. Direct drive saws are pretty limited in their adjustment and cutting capacity.

[John Coloccia]

The only time I use stabilizers is with my ultra thin kerf blades...I'm talking .03" and less.