Scoring on table saw worrth it?

[John Myers]

I've pretty much have settled on getting a Hammer K3 slider. I'm wondering if getting the scoring option is worth it. I'll be using the saw for cutting ply sometimes - baltic birch, etc. Would using a good blade without scoring do just as good a job? If so, what blade would you recommend for ply? Just wondering if getting the scoring unit is that useful.

[Richard Coers]

If you want 100% chip free cutting all the time, then it is worth it. Does it come with a split scoring blade or tapered blade. The tapered blade is more troublesome to set, and less tolerant of warped stock. A Forrest HI/AT will come close.

[John TenEyck]

If I were spending money to buy a new slider I would get the scoring option as well. That said, I get great results with a zero clearance insert and a Popular HATB blade.

John

[Ryan Mooney]

I've been using a Tenryu combo (IW-25040CBD3) on my B3 and it has consistently produced cleaner cuts that the factory edge I see on most plywood. I have the scoring option (part of a package deal) but haven't actually put a scoring blade in yet a year later. I reckon it may well be worth it if you start doing melamine or something like that and I'm not saying that the cuts wouldn't be even better with scoring just that they are really darn good even without with a decent blade.

I'm also certainly not saying that tenryu is the only good blade out there, I'm sure Forrest, Carbide Processors and others have blades about as good. It was however easy to buy and priced very competitively for what seems to be a premium blade. I did find the tenryu blades to have a somewhat better cut than the "standard quality" felder blades but haven't compared to their "industrial quality" blades.

FYI for reference here are the most interesting tenryu part #'s for K3/B3/Felder machines (pre-bored pin holes, 30mm center). Finding the felder compatible part #'s was a bit of a pain so I kept them in a spreadsheet :D

250mm tenryu
IW-35032CBD3 - rip
IW-25080ABD3 - cc
IW-25080AB3 - veneer
IW-25040CBD3 - combo

300mm tenryu
IW-30028CBD3 - rip
IW-30050CBD3 - cc
IW-300100AB3 - veneer
IW-30050CBD3 - combo

[Stephen Cherry]

How much is it?

For melamine, yes, for high dollar plywood with super thin plies, why not. Nice baltic birch is has pretty good plies, so I would think about skipping it, depending on price. A good blade can make the difference, but you blade may not always be super sharp.

I have a split blade, and it is not that easy to set. Not that hard either. Basically you turn the screw on the saw to set the inside with test cuts, then shim for the outside.

[lowell holmes]

I have a Forrest and a Tenryu. I had Forrest sharpen both blades. The Tenryu 48 tooth blade is cutting unbelieveably good.

[Peter Kelly]

If you're just working with veneer-core and not melamine, I wouldn't bother with it. The panels aren't usually flat enough to contact the scoring blade all the way through the cut. A HI AT blade should work fine. You'll also find yourself wanting to move the scoring blade out of the way when doing other operations such as ripping solid wood, dado-ing etc. Gets tiresome.

I'm also not a fan of belt-driven scoring as it takes power away from them main blade and adds some vibration. Not great on a smaller saw like the Hammer.

[Larry Edgerton]

I have a scoring blade in my Minimax slider but it has not been in the saw since I quit doing anything with Melamine. Depends on how much it costs and if you think you will use melamine or something with the same issues. I can cut plywood just fine without it.

Larry

[Tony Rodoracio]

John, Not sure where your located but I have the exact saw your considering with the 78" slider. You are welcome to come check it out if your in SoCal. I added the scoring unit to mine but have yet to use it. It is belt driven off the main motor but I don't think that is an issue at all considering the 4hp motor and the fact that your cutting plywood not dense hardwood. Very nice saw, probably more than I need.

[Jamie Buxton]

If I were getting a big slider, and if I were going to do a lot of plywood work with it, I'd get the scoring blade too. Scoring really does prevent splintering while cross-cutting plywood. I do the poor-man's version -- a shallow pass, then a full-depth pass. It does what I need, but it is a hassle.

(I know I'll kick up the slider fans here, but as I see it, plywood processing is the only justification to invest in a big slider. If you mostly work in solid lumber, the machine isn't worth the added cost and space.)

[Mike Wilkins]

If you are doing a lot of work with high-end plywood or melamine on a regular basis, yes it would be a benefit. But there are blades on the market that others before have mentioned that will give you a really nice cut of sheet goods without a scoring blade setup. I have had a Laguna Pro 6 sliding tablesaw for 3 years now, and have yet to install and use the scoring blade. Although that may change soon, as I was just approached last night by a barbershop owner who needs some new barber stations for a new shop. I think the scoring option will be needed then.

[Erik Loza]

If you see yourself working with melamine or pre-finished ply, then "yes". Otherwise, I wouldn't pay extra for it. Just my 2-cents.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Peter Quinn]

I would suggest the scoring decision also depends on the type of cabinetry you will make. If doing frameless euro cabs with edge band, a lot of your edges are right out there in plain sight, no way to obscure even minor chipping, so the scoring blade becomes important. For face frame cabs most of the cross cut edges are obscured, a high atb 80z blade handles the ripping with grain well enough on most veneer, so I wouldn't bother. On pre finish either the show face is up and thus less prone to chip or you can attach a sled to your fence for ZCI effect to final dimension two sided pre finish parts or do dados. Not a good plan to drag pre finish ply over the saw table in general. We have an scmi with scoring at work, mostly pre finished maple FF cabs, in 15 years nobody has ever bothered to raise the scoring blade thats on it!

[Chris Tsutsui]

I would get the scoring blade. It actually came in handy for me in some situations other than sheet goods for I achieved much less chip out cross cutting small slats of pine using the scoring.

On the Hammer K3 you use a T handle nut driver and in seconds you simply unscrew a locking bolt, then screw a number of turns to lower the blade, and screw opposite direction to raise the blade. If you count your number of turns you get consistent raises/lowerings.

I don't mind scoring adjustments at all on the K3.

The only hassle would be if you use various main saw blades of various kerfs that would require you to reshim the scoring saw blade. If you get all your main blades with standard kerfs then you don't have to reshim the scoring blade, nor adjust the lateral position.

[Jeff Monson]

If you plan on processing melamine, then go for it. I usually only use mine when I work with melamine, it does produce a really nice cut. Truthfully I cant really tell on plywood the difference in cuts as long as I'm using a good quality blade. I like the Felder blades BTW.

[Rod Sheridan]

I have a Hammer B3 with scoring, it's certainly worth getting.

Just order it with the mechanical scoring, I use an FS Tools split scoring blade on it................Rod/

[David Kumm]

I like a scorer but I hate to change blades. A good Combo blade- Forrest WWII or Tenyru etc and I never change unless ripping thick. The HI A-T does a very good job but is pretty specific and since it dulls quickly and feeds harder I don't want to use it for an all round blade. Be careful when first using it to remember to put below the table. Scares the crap out of you when ripping against the fence and you forget. Some sliders require you to lower it with an allen or wrench. My by far favorite is a release knob and lever to lower it quickly and without tools. Dave

[Mel Fulks]

Chris, I agree with you. But we have found that works better if the big saws and scorers are marked in pairs and sharpened and used as pairs ,or you will at some point have to adjust laterally .

[David Kumm]

Mel, I do the same thing but try to keep the kerfs the same and limit the number of scorers. I like the Amana but have also found the Royce Pacific split scorers for about $50 work just fine. Dave

[Kelby Van Patten]

I also have the Laguna Pro 6' slider. I use the scoring blade whenever I crosscut plywood, and I would not want to be without it. I have cut a fair amount of plywood, and I have had ZERO tearout -- not a single piece of tearout on any piece of plywood since I set it up. You need to take the time to adjust it perfectly to completely eliminate tearout, but it works perfectly once you fine-tune it correctly.

You can get very good results with a sharp plywood blade, etc, but not perfect results.

Someone above commented that on the smaller sliders, the wood will bend enough that the scoring blade does not make contact throughout the cut. I cannot speak to the 4' sliders. But this has not been a problem on my 6' slider. If the material is warped to start with, it's a simple matter to put a little pressure on the top of the material to make sure the scoring blade cuts.

If you are going to cut any meaningful amount of plywood, and perfect results matter, I recommend the scoring blade.