Thin Kerf or Not

[Larry Frank]

I have a 3 hp cabinet saw and have mainly used thin kerf blades. I have not had any problems even with thick stock in terms of the stability of the blades.

I am going to buy a new blade...probably a Freud Premier Fusion. There is a $20 difference in price between the standard and thin kerf. Is there a good reason to spend the extra money for the 1/8" kerf blade?

[Bill Huber]

I think what ever works for you that is what you need to go with, I like full kerf blades and I only have a 1 1/2hp saw but then that is just me, I feel they are more stable. So I would go with the thin kerf if you like them.

I would also say give the Guhdo GMax a look, I just put my Freud Premier Fusion on the shelf and installed the GMax and I love the blade. The Fusion is not that good at ripping but the GMax is very good at ripping and is also very good at cross cuts.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0060H1MDG/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[David Hawkins]

Just my opinion but I think thin kerf saws belong in factories that process 10mbf lumber a day and those few thousandths of an inch add up in a years time. Smaller shops I don't see the upside to them. I go through between 2mbf and 3mbf a year and I would be surprised if a thin blade saved me $20.00 a year. Call me old fashioned but I prefer a full kerf and clean cut. I suspect the saw blade manufacturers see them as a profit center for them, not us.

[Art Mann]

The reason I went to thin kerf blades is that they provide substantially better performance on my 1 1/2 horsepower saw. I am not in the least concerned with chewing up an additional .010 or .020 in saw kerf. If I had a 3 hp saw, I might go back to full kerf blades, although I have seen zero decrease in cut quality with thin kerf blades. I make a lot of small boxes where a minor imperfection in cut quality is painfully obvious in the final result.

[Lee Schierer]

On a 3 Hp saw there is probably no reason to use thin kerf blades, You have plenty of power. Thin kerf blades are for lower horsepower saws to get better cutting performance without stalling.

[John TenEyck]

IMO, if both blades are made to the same standard, there is no difference in cut quality when taking a full kerf. Where the blade straddles the cut line the thin kerf might tend to deflect more than that full kerf, but I really haven't seen it except when the blade starts to get dull. The major advantage I see in TK blades is on low powered saws. They allow you to cut thicker stock, faster, than a FK blade. I'm not sure many TK blades actually are made to the same standard as their FK counterparts, and I'm pretty sure you can sharpen a FK more times, so on your 3HP I would go with a FK blade. It'll be cheaper in the end.

John

[Rich Enders]

Larry,

You have been using thin kerf so I assume that you have a riving knife to match. If so you should stick with the same thickness blade. If you need to go to a thicker blade you will need (should for safety sake) include the thicker riving knife also.

[Cary Falk]

Nobody mentioned that a full kerf blade is 1/8" and it makes the math easier?

[Rick Potter]

Two reasons I prefer the 1/8" kerf from my Freud glue line. First, I really like the flat bottom for when I do splines, or quick dados, and the 1/8" kerf fits Masonite that I use for splines in small boxes. Second, and more important, my Bies splitter is for thick kerf blades, and cannot be used with thin kerf. Heck, I even had to hit it with a belt sander so it would work with some blades which were full kerf, but not quite 1/8". You can get away with a thin kerf splitter and a full kerf blade, but not the other way around.

Rick Potter

[glenn bradley]

I never had any trouble with TK blades but, when I went to a 3HP saw, I changed to full kerf. Both have worked well for me.

[Todd Davidson]

Bill points out a relly good newer offering in blades. These blades are also being sold as Craftsman and can often be had for substantially less at Sears. As Sears changes vendors like most change socks, who knows how long they'll be around at Sears....

I run a 9" TK on my 10" Ridgid Job Site (yup, 9" on a 10" saw - the slightly smaller diameter and TK makes the jobsite saw cut smooth as silk) and full kerf on my 3HP cabinet saw. Never had a problem with either thickness in the correct application....


I think what ever works for you that is what you need to go with, I like full kerf blades and I only have a 1 1/2hp saw but then that is just me, I feel they are more stable. So I would go with the thin kerf if you like them.

I would also say give the Guhdo GMax a look, I just put my Freud Premier Fusion on the shelf and installed the GMax and I love the blade. The Fusion is not that good at ripping but the GMax is very good at ripping and is also very good at cross cuts.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0060H1MDG/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Justin Ludwig]

Nobody mentioned that a full kerf blade is 1/8" and it makes the math easier?

I (+/-)1/8" increments on thin kerf applications. The waste is minimal.

[Rich Engelhardt]

The full kerf blades I have all seem to hold extremely close to 1/8".

The thin kerf blades I have aren't all that close to each other in actual width.
(I know, I know - it's wood and it moves......however....)

My crosscut sled used to have a real nice tight zero clearance fit.
That went away when I swapped out the blade on the saw.
The difference is just enough to cause the cuts to be fuzzy instead of nice and crisp.

The only thin kerf blade I have right now that I plan on using is a regular Freud rip blade (not a glue line rip).
I have a thin kerf MJ splitter that I need to stick on to a ZCI for it & that's probably the only thin kerf blade I'll use.

I prefer the full kerf for the same reasons already mentioned above.

[Peter Quinn]

I have a single thin kerf blade in my shop, its a glue line rip blade, I use it for cutting polyurethane trim. The less of that dust I make the better, 1/32" less is not marginal IMO. I've used in on a few rare occasions where I needed minimal waste, but usually the BS is a better bet there anyway with a 1/16" or less kerf. Otherwise, I see no reason to use less than a full kerf on a 3hp or better saw. My sleds, fence, splitter, and ZCI's are all set to the 1/8" kerf, that keeps the cost of switching back and forth rather high too.

[scott spencer]

There are excellent examples of both, and pros and cons with both, so both have their purpose. Full kerf is inherently more stable, but also requires more power because it's ~ 33% wider than a TK....you have plenty of power to spin the full kerf. Full kerf also makes more wind noise , takes more wood, and therefore for makes more sawdust. Wood savings are going to be pretty minimal for most hobbyists. The width of your splitter or riving knife is also a consideration.

[Don Morris]

When I went to a cabinet 3hp saw I got rid of the Thin Kerf blades. I had to simplify my life = my sleds would have a large slot and where I normally would put the piece up to the cut edge on a thin kerf blade I would have a different measurement than when I used a full kerf blade. Also, if I put a stabilizer on a thin kerf blade, I couldn't lift the thin kerf blade all the way up. So, it's just full kerf in my shop and the slot in my sleds gets filled by the blade and I don't have to worry about any compensating measurements for a thin kerf blade.

[Mac McQuinn]

I've used a Matsushita 1/16" combination blade on my older Jet Contractor saw with very good success. I was looking for less noise,vibration,dust and drag when cutting and feel this did an exceptional job. A multi-link drive belt coupled w/ this thin kerf blade turned my contractor saw in a nice running tool.
Mac