What diameter is a 10" TS blade?

[Wade Lippman]

I just bought a Rockler 10" table saw blade. I measured it and it is 9.85". I measured the Freud blade I am using now as 10", and two old blades I have are also 10".
A 9.85" blade will not fit a SS properly, and since I bought a 10" blade, I want a 10" blade. (sure, I can adjust everything everytime I change a blade, but why would I want to do that when I wouldn't have to if the blade was actually 10"?)

I contacted Rockler and requested return authorization. They say I can return it but have to pay shipping both ways, as there is nothing wrong with it.
It seems to me that if a 10" blade isn't 10", then there is something wrong with it.

Am I overreacting here? If something isn't what it says it is, then it is wrong, no? Just want to do a reality check here before I protest the charge on my credit card.

[Mike Henderson]

I agree with you. If it says that it's a 10" blade, I'd expect a 10" blade. If the blade is metric, they should specify that it's 250mm and not 10".

Mike

[David Kumm]

Take a look at the thread currently running " Saw blade sizes and the Sawstop (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?227217-Saw-blade-sizes-and-the-Sawstop)". Should answer your questions. dave

[Rod Sheridan]

I just bought a Rockler 10" table saw blade. I measured it and it is 9.85". I measured the Freud blade I am using now as 10", and two old blades I have are also 10".
A 9.85" blade will not fit a SS properly, and since I bought a 10" blade, I want a 10" blade. (sure, I can adjust everything everytime I change a blade, but why would I want to do that when I wouldn't have to if the blade was actually 10"?)

I contacted Rockler and requested return authorization. They say I can return it but have to pay shipping both ways, as there is nothing wrong with it.
It seems to me that if a 10" blade isn't 10", then there is something wrong with it.

Am I overreacting here? If something isn't what it says it is, then it is wrong, no? Just want to do a reality check here before I protest the charge on my credit card.

Wade, there's nothing wrong with the blade from a manufacturing perspective.

Most of the world, and hence most of the tooling in the world is metric.

You have a 250mm blade which works just fine in place of a 10" blade unless your riving knife won't adjust properly. You'll find a lot of blades are metric, 250/300/350mm diameter are common.

As you see more imported tooling in Canada and the USA, you'll see more metric blades.

Note that metric blades are also made in Canada and the USA.

Regards, Rod.

[Rod Sheridan]

I agree with you. If it says that it's a 10" blade, I'd expect a 10" blade. If the blade is metric, they should specify that it's 250mm and not 10".

Mike

I suspect Mike, that it's due to the odd situation in the US where metric items are still listed by their nominal Imperial sizes.

I notice that on plywood when I'm in the US, it's been metric in thickness for years yet I still see it marketed as Imperial.............Regards, Rod.

[Judson Green]

Funny nobody questions the real size of a 2×4.

½" chisels are not all ½" wide.

[Wade Lippman]

Wade, there's nothing wrong with the blade from a manufacturing perspective.



No, but it says 10" and it is 9.85".

If you bought a 11/16" drill because needed a 11/16" drill, but it actually measured 5/8" would you accept it just because it was manufactured properly?

[Chris Padilla]

Is this a trick question, Wade? ;)

[Chris Padilla]

No, but it says 10" and it is 9.85".

If you bought a 11/16" drill because needed a 11/16" drill, but it actually measured 5/8" would you accept it just because it was manufactured properly?

Of course not but a drill is a different beast than a saw blade. The '10 inch' part of the blade isn't really all that important in terms of its intended use. It is more of a category for it to be used in. As we all know, dado blades don't come in 10" diameters for a '10 inch' table saw.

[Dennis Aspö]

I've noticed similar things before, usually blades are 250mm here, but sometimes I see 254mm and I wonder why the extra 4mm? Then I realized an inch is 25.4mm and they where 10" blades. I don't bother with a 4mm difference in potential height, I haven't yet needed it that badly, I could make the cut on a bandsaw instead, or I just flip the piece and cut it twice.

If there's some extra special purpose I can always put a 300mm blade in my saw which it'll take, but I haven't needed it, and less so with a bandsaw in my arsenal.

[John Huds0n]

Funny nobody questions the real size of a 2×4.

½" chisels are not all ½" wide.

I was just going to mention the 2 x 4 issue - since Lowes paid $1.6 million to settle a lawsuit for "using incorrect product dimensions"

http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_26419809/marin-judge-orders-lowes-home-centers-pay-1

[Phil Thien]

No, but it says 10" and it is 9.85".

If you bought a 11/16" drill because needed a 11/16" drill, but it actually measured 5/8" would you accept it just because it was manufactured properly?

I've seen this sort of thing come up before where SawStop saws are concerned.

Rockler should pay shipping both ways.

Why? Well because SawStop has a major part of the market, Rockler SELLS SawStop, and the reduced diameter of the blade is a hassle and they should know all about it.

I know about it and I neither own or sell SawStop saws. So they should certainly know about it.

If they didn't know all about it, they do now, and should cough-up the shipping both ways for the lesson. Then they can send a lackey out to the warehouse and measure all the blades and update the website reflecting the true diameter of each blade.

[Keith Hankins]

Funny nobody questions the real size of a 2×4.

½" chisels are not all ½" wide.

You are wise man beyond years grasshopper!

Forrest blades are not truely 10" either. I had that issue with my SS. When changing from their blade to my WWII, i would have to adjust the cartridge. Forrest said they got complaints from some saw manufacturers that could not take a true 10" blade so in an attempt to compromise they are slightly under by a hair. No biggie really, I've not changed from my Forrest blades since that episode anyway and my SS blades although good, are delegated to emergency backup should I get a cartridge fire.

In the scope of things not a big deal.

[scott vroom]

I agree with Wade. If they advertise 10" without the word "nominal" then he should expect 10". I think it's an intentional deception by Rockler because they don't want to scare away business by advertising 9.85". I'd demand they pay for round trip shipping on the RMA.

[Tony Joyce]

Of course not but a drill is a different beast than a saw blade. The '10 inch' part of the blade isn't really all that important in terms of its intended use. It is more of a category for it to be used in. As we all know, dado blades don't come in 10" diameters for a '10 inch' table saw.

Au contraire, I have two dado sets that are 10" for 10" saw(5/8" bore). Maybe not the most common, but not a good example.

Tony

[Judson Green]

I was just going to mention the 2 x 4 issue - since Lowes paid $1.6 million to settle a lawsuit for "using incorrect product dimensions"

http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_26419809/marin-judge-orders-lowes-home-centers-pay-1

That's just krazy! I sure hope Lowe's appealed and won! First off its a frivolous lawsuit, shouldn't be tying up the courts with this kind garbage. Second, how long has a 2×4 not actually measured 2" x 4"? Seems that its been commonly accepted term or verbage for a very long time. 3-⅜"×1-⅜" doesn't exactly a roll off the tongue.

What does your TV measure?

Why are size 34" waist pants not all exactly the same size? Even from the same manufacturer?

[Kent A Bathurst]

That's just krazy! I sure hope Lowe's appealed and won! First off its a frivolous lawsuit, shouldn't be tying up the courts with this kind garbage. Second, how long has a 2×4 not actually measured 2" x 4"? Seems that its been commonly accepted term or verbage for and for a very long time. 3-⅜"×1-⅜" doesn't exactly a roll off the tongue.

Hooo, boy - does that take me back. I worked for a major player in supplying lumber products and related items to the DIY market [among other major business units].

In 2007 - 08, as the economy plummeted in Calif, there were massive budget cuts made , with more to come clearly on the horizon. The Calif Dept of Weights & Measures [or, something like that] launched a hell-bent-for-leather program designed, in my opinion, to justify their existence and staffing levels. They went after all kinds of crazy stuff.

A couple of their people roll into our plant in the LA region - drive the car right through the gate, into the plant area, mingling with employees, trucks, and forklifts, drove around,. got out and walked into the plant without PPE - didn't check in at the office - nothing like common courtesy. Mgmt got a call, and tracked them down, explained the need to check in to verify credentials, the need for PPE and plant safety rules - their response was "We are from the State of California - go away."

The upshot - we manufacture and sell to DIY lattice panels that are used for fences, etc. When you buy a lattice panel and the surrounding trim channels, you have a 4' x 8' panel to put between posts. But - the lattice panel itself is not 4' x 8' - it has to allow for the trim channels.

They all had to have new tags printed and relabeled - even the inventory in the stores and their DC's.

The killer was: "Hey - we sell to the DIY guys products that meet their exact specifications - including dimensions and labelling. Why are you talkin got us - go talk to them"? Response: "We did, but that got too complicated to address at their level, so we dropped down one rung in the supply chain".

They also hit other plants in different parts of California, on different products. Out of control, wasting taxpayer's money on stupid stuff, all so they could, IMO, maintain their jobs draining taxpayer's money.

[Chris Padilla]

All 2x4s I've measured were 3 1/2" by 1 1/2", actually.

Again, '2x4' is a category or a name and not really an intended quantitative descriptor of the item. Just like '10 inch table saw' that can take 10" or smaller blades and work just fine.

[Jim German]

If the blade is advertised as a 10" blade then it should be 10". If a board is advertised as 2"x4" it should be 2"x4". Period. That's why measurements exist.

Otherwise call it a 2x4 or a 10" nominal blade.

[Wade Lippman]

All 2x4s I've measured were 3 1/2" by 1 1/2", actually.

Again, '2x4' is a category or a name and not really an intended quantitative descriptor of the item. Just like '10 inch table saw' that can take 10" or smaller blades and work just fine.

2x4s are 2x4 before they are planed. Everyone knows that. 10" table saws can take 8" blades. Everyone know that.

But isn't a saw blade advertised on the package and catalog as being 10" diameter supposed to be 10" diameter?

Well, about half think that 10" means 10", and half don't think it means anything. I appreciated the replies.

[Judson Green]

2x4s are 2x4 before they are planed. Everyone knows that. I appreciated the replies.


Not everyone....

Lifted from Wikipedia

Lumber's nominal dimensions are larger than the actual standard dimensions of finished lumber. Historically, the nominal dimensions were the size of the green (not dried), rough (unfinished) boards that eventually became smaller finished lumber through drying and planing (to smooth the wood). Today, the standards specify the final finished dimensions and the mill cuts the logs to whatever size it needs to achieve those final dimensions. Typically, that rough cut is smaller than the nominal dimensions because modern technology makes it possible and it uses the logs more efficiently. For example, a "2x4" board historically started out as a green, rough board actually 2 by 4 inches (51 mm × 102 mm). After drying and planing, it would be smaller, by a nonstandard amount. Today, a "2x4" board starts out as something smaller than 2 inches by 4 inches and not specified by standards, and after drying and planing is reliably 1 1⁄2 by 3 1⁄2 inches (38 mm × 89 mm).

[Judson Green]

All 2x4s I've measured were 3 1/2" by 1 1/2", actually.



Apologies. Thought I measured some the other day and got the ⅜" number.

[glenn bradley]

10" blades equate to 10" loudspeakers and 4" dust collection stuff.

[scott vroom]

Glenn, I recognize your avatar pic as a scene from a 1961 episode of Twilite Zone: "A Hundred Yards Over The Rim". One of my favorites.

Am I correct?

[Peter Quinn]

If the blade is advertised as a 10" blade then it should be 10". If a board is advertised as 2"x4" it should be 2"x4". Period. That's why measurements exist.

Otherwise call it a 2x4 or a 10" nominal blade.

Lumber and machine tooling are two very different things. The framing manufacturers and soft wood trim people actually have a set of well established and published allowable standards, part of that is because these items are also structural, so to know their strength they must be in a certain range, and that range for framing is variable. I think it can vary from 3 3/8"- 3/9/16" on width, for a 2X4 etc. Maybe more, not th expert there. The name indicates the pre surfaced dimension of the stock. If you are in the trade you know the actuals versus nominals, if you are a confused DIY'r, learn it or lump it. If you want rough framing to be as precise as some other millwork, it would cost more, and most people in the supply chain including the end user don't want that. SO I disagree on the lumber, the current standard works fine.

Tooling on the other hand is made to very precise standards, and clearly it matters, particularly in the case of the tolerances involved in the braking system on the "best selling cabinet saw" in America. i don't give a rats whoha about the metric system, if its made metric....label it metric. If its made SAE, label it such, if you want access to a market of 300 million or so people that use the SAE standard, at least have the decency to clearly label your products. What about when I send my blades out for sharpening? Does the grinding service have to guess what the diameter of each blade is each time? They probably measure it and adjust automatically with the CNC equipment they use today, but some of the better tooling have specific details of the blades diameter, tooth grind angles, etc, so its not left to guess work. When I buy metric tooling for my shaper, I know the diameter, its published and matches exactly. And they do sell me shaper cutters with a 31.75MM bore because clearly they figured out this country's worth selling to and stubbornly resistant to adpopting the metric system or any other random European standards. We cut those shackles centuries ago, no big hurry to put them back on. My mom used to say "If everybody else decides to jump off a bridge are you going to follow them?" Thats my attitude concerning metrics, do I care in my wood shop what a cm3 of water weights? Only when it comes dripping out of the framing lumber I'm ripping on my sawstop apparently. None of this makes any sense.....If the blade makers are listening, just label your stuff accurately.

I wonder if my MADE IN USA Pm66 feels stylish and sophisticated in a Euro trash sort of way when I dress her up in a 250MM blade, I'm pretty sure I have a couple, I usually wear a cowboy hat to compensate when using one, just to keep things in balance.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I think it can vary from 3 3/8"- 3/9/16" on width, for a 2X4 etc. Maybe more, not th expert there.

Just an FYI - the industry standards on softwood lumber tolerance is +/- 1/16". So, a 2 x 4 should be 1-7/16 to 1-9/16 thick, and 3-7/16 to 3-9/16 wide.

Only those sawmills run by idiots about to be replaced will be shipping lumber that is over standard - the 9/16" tolerance dimension is like a unicorn in terms of finding any. Or - more pertinent - like the fabled $500 PM 66................. :p

[Chris Padilla]

Apologies. Thought I measured some the other day and got the ⅜" number.

With the roundover cut on them, it is easy to measure less than the 3 1/2" standard. However, I do recall actually measuring a 2x4 at 3 3/8" in my past....

[Bruce Wrenn]

When was the last time you picked up a twenty pound propane cylinder that contained twenty pounds of propane?

[Phil Barrett]

What does your TV measure?

Actually, if you've looked in stores recently, they now say XX" class. There was a huge lawsuit that the manufacturers lost about 15 years ago. It seems none of the screens were actually the exact measurement they claimed.

Regardless of "accepted practice", I believe manufacturers and stores should be precise in their specifications. Even if it doesn't just roll of the tongue. They should be held to that standard.

It gotten to the point where it seems that misrepresentation is acceptable. I recently bought a vacuum switch that turns on the vacuum when you turn on your tool. The package and advertising said 15 AMP, the product itself said 12 AMP and there was a sticker on the product that said 9 AMP. I will never buy another product from that company again. I don't care enough to file a lawsuit against them but I wrote a super scathing review.

[Rich Riddle]

In theory they should advertise blades that have precise measurements. In this application, the practicality of eight thousandths making any difference seems unlikely.

[scott spencer]

Much like lumber dimensions, blades are probably 10" in their rough form prior to sharpening! ;) :D

[Pat Barry]

It really should make no practical difference. I wouldn't get worked up about that. However, if I had a Sawstop and that made a difference then I woould certainly be upset - at SAWSTOP! Its crazy that they market a system that can't effectively handle a blade of different diameter.

[Kent A Bathurst]

With the roundover cut on them, it is easy to measure less than the 3 1/2" standard. However, I do recall actually measuring a 2x4 at 3 3/8" in my past....


That can definitely happen - poor setup and quality control at the sawmill and/or planer mill, or intentionally fudging the tolerance to improve yield, hoping to sneak it through. The profit margins in the sawmill bidness are so thin that anyone that routinely targets the "fat" end of the dimension range is looking for work. Same with the grading rules - #1 v #2, etc.

ANy production errors will almost always, by definition, be on the skinny side.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I just bought a Rockler 10" table saw blade. I measured it and it is 9.85". I measured the Freud blade I am using now as 10", and two old blades I have are also 10".


Wade - I checked out the Rockler web site - which blade did you buy? I don't notice any branded as "Rockler". Curious about this.

Thanks

Kent

[Tony Joyce]

Just to throw more fuel on the fire. No blade that measures 10" new will measure 10" after a few sharpening, unless they have stopped the practice of top grinding. After a few top grinding the diameter will be less than 10".

Tony

[Jon Nuckles]

It really should make no practical difference. I wouldn't get worked up about that. However, if I had a Sawstop and that made a difference then I woould certainly be upset - at SAWSTOP! Its crazy that they market a system that can't effectively handle a blade of different diameter.

Pat, The Sawstop brake system does work with these blades. It just makes blade changes a few seconds longer. Given the mechanism involved, I can't see how that could have been avoided on Sawstop's end. Check out the nearly identical thread on this topic I started a day or so before this one for more details.

[Kent A Bathurst]

.... makes blade changes a few seconds longer. Given the mechanism involved, I can't see how that could have been avoided on Sawstop's end.

The Law of Unintended Consequences just kicked in, and in my favor this time:

I now have one more reason why I would not buy a SS. This one has some physical legitimacy, as opposed to just emotional on 7/10 of my other reasons. ;)

Thanks, guys.

[Wade Lippman]

Wade - I checked out the Rockler web site - which blade did you buy? I don't notice any branded as "Rockler". Curious about this.

Thanks

Kent

Doesn't seem to exist anymore. I bought it for half off 3 weeks ago. It is a full kerf 60 tooth hi-ATB made by Freud. Great buy except that I can't use it because they didn't show the size correctly.

I have unsubscribed from their emails so I don't get anymore great buys from them.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Setting the cartridge distance on the Sawstop take a few seconds. Certainly less time than it takes to change the blade out. I swap between blades of different makers all the time. I have only adjusted the cartridge once for my smaller than 10" Freud Glueline rip. I don't even think you need a tool to adjust it, but I can't remember since I only did it once. It really is a non issue.

[Chris Padilla]

Rockler is pretty good about taking things back, Wade. Have you considered that route?

[Kent A Bathurst]

Doesn't seem to exist anymore. I bought it for half off 3 weeks ago. It is a full kerf 60 tooth hi-ATB made by Freud. Great buy except that I can't use it because they didn't show the size correctly.

I have unsubscribed from their emails so I don't get anymore great buys from them.

THey were clearing out discontinued stock, apparently.

To be honest, I am surprised, and very disappointed, at Rockler's response to you. In this particular instance, 250mm is not functionally equal to 10". YOu did not get what they sold you. Their offer for you to pay the freight round trip is not acceptable, IMO. Simply not right.

I assume you filed complaints via whatever line complaint vehicle is available.

Too bad................

[Tom Euler]

FWIW, I recently purchased a 14" full extension drawer slide from Rockler that measured 13 3/4" and extended out 13 3/4". When I contacted Rockler, they advised that the slides are "nominal" and they can't assure that they can provide one that will be 14". They have agreed to refund the money and pay shipping and are sending a label. I would have thought that a sheet metal product would be made within a +/- tolerance of something less than a 1/16" and not be a nominal dimension.

The drawer that I'm using this on holds a box with a lid that I would like to stay fully open while I remove objects and this requires an actual 14" extension. Lowe's shows one on their website that is 14" with a 1" over extension to give a 15" extension which I plan on trying.

I need to find a "nominal" tape measure. :)

[David Ragan]

Along this general theme-a while back I was piddling around with some McFeely's screws, those odd lots/leftovers that you can buy of all kinds of sizes mixed up by the pound.

Some of them did not fit into #6, 8, 10 or whatever category easily. So, I went and printed off McFeely's table of screw dimensions-shank, overall diameter, etc to categorize the screws into a bin.

A lot of the screws did not fit into a category-it was the shank diameter that was in between sizes (using two good calipers to be sure.) I thought it was important at the time.

I had an ongoing dialogue with the fellow @ McFeelys about thier stuff, and when I asked about this anomaly in dimension, he stopped talking with me.

Oh, well.

Does any of this really matter? Depends on my attitude at the moment.

For me, checking the SS with feeler gage w blade change is no big deal.

[Grant Wilkinson]

David: We can buy 7 and 9 here. Could the McFeely's be those?

[ian maybury]

Seems pretty simple to me. Buy a 10in blade, and you get a 10in blade. Buy a 300mm blade and you get a 300mm. End of story. The OP's issue is demonstration enough that the difference can matter a lot, and that no other practice makes any sense.

Pardon my being so blunt, but the issue of stuff turning out not to be as sold/specified has become an enormous problem in woodworking and related fields. It seems unwise to encourage the trend since market responses are really the only counterbalancing factor. The issue is in lots of other markets too - especially since the advent of cheap Eastern made imports, and unscrupulous importers ready to take advantage of those already committed to a schedule or the well meaning less experienced and offload stock no matter what. Not to mention our readiness to buy solely on price.

It's become standard practice in the sale of timber and board materials, but given the rampant abuse of specification in timber, tool, machine (esecially DIY level) and construction materials sales the practice needs to be stopped dead.

We have a huge problem with misrepresentation in the markets we deal in. It's perhaps mostly just an inconvenience if you live up the road from suppliers, can hands on inspect the goods, and the good stuff is still available (it's becoming increasingly less the case) - but if product is mailed or shipped significant distances then the real problems start.

It's a total PIA to not know what dimension stock is going to be until it's in your hands - and that's before the other quality issues becoming ever more prevalent as in e.g. manufactured materials. Issues like low quality mush/pulp layers instead of veneers, voids, overlapping laminations etc. Not to mention that it's downright sharp practice. Then there's tools made of cheese, that are not accurate or whatever. Machines that flat do not do what the advertising claims, or worse in a very cunning manner implies they do but in a deniable way.

The practice has cost me literally €1,000s in the past few years, and led to untold amounts of discarded stock, scrap and months of wasted labour in this and while sorting out poor quality tools and machines. It's by now impossible to buy decent quality ply (or tools) around here without ordering a full bale and paying a huge premium. Paying extra i can handle, but if we can't trust what's bought to be what is claimed then we're really in trouble. We're already well down what is a very slippery slope....

As representatives of the group that has allowed these practices to creep in i hope we're not setting up to show that we're doubly insane - that having stood by as the mess developed we're not now going to try to legitimise an unacceptable status quo by pronouncing wisely that the fact that it's become commonplace means that it's acceptable. 'You mean you didn't know that??? tut...'

There's a perhaps a certain sort of personality that likes to have plenty of these sorts of pitfalls around so they can make like the experienced old pro shaking his head wisely when others get caught out, but…. Perhaps it's just that we in the end inevitably get what we deserve. With our minds we make the world...

[glenn bradley]

Glenn, I recognize your avatar pic as a scene from a 1961 episode of Twilite Zone: "A Hundred Yards Over The Rim". One of my favorites.

Am I correct?

Yep! Cliff Robertson. A great one and a theme I have encountered in other sci-fi work as well.

[glenn bradley]

I was curious and so went out and measured my Saw Stop PCS. It will adjust to the point that, via measuring with a ruler from arbor to cartridge, that I could run a 9-7/8" blade without issue. This is just about the size that the OP is discussing. I did have to crank past a snug spot, then the adjustment went easy again until it became harder to turn than I was willing. There does not seem to be a positive stop at the extreme in or out position(?). 10" plus or minus an 1/8" doesn't seem like enough although I have had no trouble.

[Rod Sheridan]

FWIW, I recently purchased a 14" full extension drawer slide from Rockler that measured 13 3/4" and extended out 13 3/4". When I contacted Rockler, they advised that the slides are "nominal" and they can't assure that they can provide one that will be 14". They have agreed to refund the money and pay shipping and are sending a label. I would have thought that a sheet metal product would be made within a +/- tolerance of something less than a 1/16" and not be a nominal dimension.

The drawer that I'm using this on holds a box with a lid that I would like to stay fully open while I remove objects and this requires an actual 14" extension. Lowe's shows one on their website that is 14" with a 1" over extension to give a 15" extension which I plan on trying.

I need to find a "nominal" tape measure. :)

Tom, I would bet you obtained a 350mm slide (14" nominal).

I often see stuff like that as most of the world is metric, so you get a metric model that's nominally 14". In Canada it's often marketed in the metric size with the closest inch equivalent stated as the nominal.

They should simply label it 350mm and then it would be fine............Rod.

[Lee Schierer]

I don't think 10" blades have been 10" in a long time. I have some 30+ year old Craftsman blades that were never sharpened that measure about 9-7/8". I have an old Nicholson Plywood blade that actually measures 10" and some newer blades that measure as small as 9-3/4 one of which is brand new. Cross cut blades seem to run larger than ripping blades for some reason.

[Dennis Aspö]

The OPs original question seems very zen to me right now.

[Wade Lippman]

I had to fight with them about it, but they finally agreed to send out a prepaid mailing label for the return.
A fellow from Rockler called me because he read about my problem here. He said they ordered it as a 10" saw blade and no one ever checked it. He apologized for their carelessness.

I returned it.
Rockler will give me credit for the blade, but I can just go whistle for the shipping I paid to get it.

Last year a knife I bought at Amazon broke a month after I bought it. They gave me full credit the day I emailed them, and had UPS stop out to pick up the return.
That's how you do it.