Plywood Blade recomendations

[ChrisA Edwards]

I'm going to be making a few cabinets for various areas in my house.

I'll be breaking the plywood sheets down, to rough size, with my Festool track saw.

For final sizing, I will use my Sawstop and thought about getting a 80T plywood blade.

I plan on solid wood edge banding, so I'd like as clean a splinter fee cut, as possible, on the plywood.

So far, I've pretty much gone with Forrest as my choice for cross cut and rip blades, for the table saw, and likewise for my miter saw.

If I'm going to spend upwards of $200, that's what the Forrest is with shipping, I'd like to get the best.



Thanks

[glenn bradley]

I understand the urge to go with 80 teeth. My go-to plywood blade is from Carbide Processors and is a 55 tooth plywood (https://carbideprocessors.com/worlds-best-37322-plywood-saw-blades/) blade ground to a .125" kerf. SMC members used to get a discount and still may; call them. I have 60 and 80 as well but, find them better for hardwood crosscutting (the 60) and veneered substrates (the 80). YMMV.

[Bob Jones 5443]

I have a Home Depot 80-tooth Diablo blade (by Freud), recently sharpened and kept regularly clean. For clean plywood cuts I pre-score the line with the blade at a scant 1/6" or less height. That takes care of tearout. I do not see the need for an expensive blade. Unless you're making production runs, the pre-score method is a very manageable workflow.

[Paul F Franklin]

Chris, I used the Freud full kerf ultimate plywood and melamine blade for all the cherry plywood for my office built-ins and desks. Used with a zero clearance insert I never got any tearout of the surface veneers. I occasionally saw a slight bit of tearout of the inner plies at the end of cuts (just a few feathers, really), but nothing that would be visible or impact joinery. And when sizing panels on my sled where the cuts are backed up by the fence, there was no tearout at all at the ends. I also glued on solid wood edging and got great joints. I use the smaller version of that blade on my track saw when breaking down plywood and get the same good results.

[Jim Becker]

I actually have a high-tooth count 12" blade for my slider...it came with the saw. I've never bothered to re-sharpen it because the Forest WW-II 48t 12" blades I use normally cut extremely clean on any sheet goods I happen to use. That includes really nice veneer plywood, MDO, MDF, etc. (I find the best prices for Forest are at Silver's Mill, BTW)

[Si Wood]

If your cutting veneered ply core, you would do well without regrets using a full kerf ( .125 ) 80 tooth alternate tooth bevel ( Hi-ATB ) with at least a neg.15* rake. When your spending that kind of money for the longevity of the blade, it's worth seeking a brand of " Tooling " blades that actually mill the plates as opposed to stamping them out and then working them into the saw blades you buy. c4 carbide is ideal for ply core veneers, c2-c3 is better suited for particle core sheet goods, being a bit less " brittle " for the abrasiveness of particle board. I have over the years bought $200 plus veneer sheets in particle core ( more stable/flat ) that actually had gravel in the mix and who knows what else ( depends on the mill ), that kind of stuff is very hard on C4. Sound extreme...boils down to the right tool for the job. I have an assortment of 12 blades that i've carried and had resharpened over the past 15 years ( same blades ). Just my two cents...

[Michael Drew]

My favorite blade for veneer ply, and also melamine is an old Delta blade, number is 35-625. It's an 80T, TC&F. Absolutely no fuzzy edges, and no chips on melamine. I was going to buy a new one a few months ago, but just couldn't find a direct replacement, so I bought the Forrest Duraline Hi A/T, 80T blade. The Forrest does a really good job on ply. I have not tried melamine yet, so can't comment on that. The Duraline blade definitely does a better job than the Forrest and/or Ridge Carbide cross cut blades I have (both 46T). Based on my experience, I'd stick with an 80 blade, and full kerf. If you can find one with the same tooth design as the Delta 35-625 I have, I'd go with that.

[Dave Sabo]

For clean plywood cuts I pre-score the line with the blade at a scant 1/6" or less height. That takes care of tearout. I do not see the need for an expensive blade. Unless you're making production runs, the pre-score method is a very manageable workflow.

While I think Freud's Diablo blades are a good value and avaialble practically everywhere; the reason to buy an "expensive" blade would be so you don't have to score your sheets first. The beter tooth geometry, flatter plates, and often finer sharpening eliminates that need. Another reason would be something Jim alludes to - having only one blade. Something like a Forrest or Ridge Carbide or even a Freud Fusion combo blade would allow for rip cuts and cross cut in solid stock as well as plywood with very good results on all.

Now, splinter free cuts can had with in-expensive blades, but rarely ( if ever) cheap ones. And for a short run, I bet I could find a Diablo blade that poduces acceptle cuts on the bottom side of ply for a few sheets.

[Ray Newman]

I run the full kerf Forrest WoodWorker 10" ATB 70 teeth ply-veneer of my SawStop with a Zero Clearance Insert. As an experiment, tried it on some scrap poor quality Home Depot 3/4" plyw'd. Cuts on both were perfect without the need for any scoring or taping to prevent chipping.

Speaking from personal experience, the ony caveat is: be very careful installing and removing this blade. The numerous teeth are very sharp and will easily cut fingers.

https://www.forrestblades.com/ply-veneer-saw-blade-for-cutting-plywood-and-plywood-veneers/10-ply-veneer-saw-blade-cross-cuts-on-wood-veneers-70-teeth-thin-kerf/

[Neil Gaskin]

Nothing against Forrest. They are great blades and a great company but check out ridge carbide also.

[Curt Putnam]

The only place I've found that has a top-grade, 80T blade for sale right now is Amazon and it is the Duraline for $201

[Joe Chritz]

The freud ultimate plywood melamine blade is really good on plywood. Runs about $100.

Joe

[Peter Kelly]

I've been using Leuco / Stehle blades for years now, no need to spend upwards of $200 for an 80 tooth ATB.
https://shopleuco.com/collections/saw-blades/products/10-x-3-2-2-2-x-5-8-z-80-hi-atb

Everlast are also good. https://www.specialtytools.com/bits-blades/sawblades/carbide-circular/everlast-blades/double-faced-veneer-saws/double-faced-veneer-blade-10-x-80-x-5-8-bore-ar.html

[John TenEyck]

Popular Tools 0.126" - 80T Hi ATB. Best blade in veneer ply and Melamine I've ever used on my TS. I tried it on my RAS and surprisingly it didn't cut as well as a Freud Ultimate blade. No clue why.

John

[Andrew Pitonyak]

So far, I've pretty much gone with Forrest as my choice for cross cut and rip blades, for the table saw, and likewise for my miter saw.

If I'm going to spend upwards of $200, that's what the Forrest is with shipping, I'd like to get the best.

No idea if it is the best or not, but, I get very good results with my Forrest plywood blade on my SawStop. I get decent results even with my Forrest combo blade when I am in a hurry.

I often tape the joint with painter's tape when I am feeling very particular. I do prefer solid wood edging; wish I had used that on my computer desk.

[Curt Harms]

I have a Home Depot 80-tooth Diablo blade (by Freud), recently sharpened and kept regularly clean. For clean plywood cuts I pre-score the line with the blade at a scant 1/16" or less height. That takes care of tearout. I do not see the need for an expensive blade. Unless you're making production runs, the pre-score method is a very manageable workflow.

I've done that with melamine, it worked better than I expected. Make the scoring cut then raise the blade for the through cut. I expected a 'step' between the passes but nope, clean cut. I've heard of using TCG (triple chip grind) and HiATB(more angled alternate top bevel) for sheet goods. Don't know which is better, I guess it depends on the blade. With the scoring cut I don't know how much it matters.

[Jim Dwight]

I've never used a blade specifically designed for plywood on any of my table saws and I doubt I ever will. I get splinter free cuts as long as the blade is clean and sharp and if I want extra insurance I put in a new zero clearance insert. On a non critical project I even once used a new 24 tooth ripping blade to crosscut some plywood and the spintering from it was minimal. With a 40-50 tooth all around blade in good condition with a newish zero clearance insert you should get clean splinter free crosscuts.

[Peter Kelly]

I've done that with melamine, it worked better than I expected. Make the scoring cut then raise the blade for the through cut. I expected a 'step' between the passes but nope, clean cut. I've heard of using TCG (triple chip grind) and HiATB(more angled alternate top bevel) for sheet goods. Don't know which is better, I guess it depends on the blade. With the scoring cut I don't know how much it matters.Triple Chip if the saw has a separate scoring blade, High ATB if you're doing without. TCG blades are much easier to re-grind and tend to stay sharp longer whereas High ATB dull much, much faster and aren't so simple to sharpen. There's also Hollow Ground type blades which alternate triple chip with raker teeth that are ground to a concave profile. Commonly seen with vertical panel saws but Amana and some others make them in 10" D / 5/8" Bore / 80T sizes.

Either way, the shallow scoring pass method described above is a pretty foolproof way for clean cross cuts with veneered sheet using a standard cabinet saw.

[Rob Sack]

I used to use the Forrest Hi A/T for all plywood work. It's an outstanding blade. However, despite it's high initial cost, I never could find anyone out here to re-sharpen it properly and sending it across country back to Forrest for correct re-sharpening was really expensive. I am now using Tenryu 80 tooth blades. They seem to be able to cut about a cleanly as the Forrest blades. They are also much less expensive, easier for me to find, and local sharpening services seem to be able to re-sharpen them correctly.

[John TenEyck]

I used to use the Forrest Hi A/T for all plywood work. It's an outstanding blade. However, despite it's high initial cost, I never could find anyone out here to re-sharpen it properly and sending it across country back to Forrest for correct re-sharpening was really expensive. I am now using Tenryu 80 tooth blades. They seem to be able to cut about a cleanly as the Forrest blades. They are also much less expensive, easier for me to find, and local sharpening services seem to be able to re-sharpen them correctly.

FWIW, you may want to consider Dynamic Saw in Buffalo, NY for your future sharpening needs. I'd be shocked if they could not sharpen that Forrest Hi ATB blade at least as well as Forrest.

John

[Rob Sack]

FWIW, you may want to consider Dynamic Saw in Buffalo, NY for your future sharpening needs. I'd be shocked if they could not sharpen that Forrest Hi ATB blade at least as well as Forrest.

John

Forrest does a great job re-sharpening blades. It's the shipping to New Jersey from LA and back that makes it so expensive. Sending the blades to Buffalo NY should be just as expensive.

[Dave Sabo]

10” blades fit in a USPS flat rate box.

you can send half a dozen cross country for a couple of bucks a blade.