New SCM SC4e

[Mike Hoyt]

Hi everyone, well I finally took delivery of my new saw and am in the process of setup. My question for the brain trust is did any of you format saw owners keep and continue to use your thin kerf blades and if so were you able to find the correct splitter size? Ive been searching around unsuccessfully for either an OEM solution or aftermarket for thin kerf splitters. I do plan to switch over to full kerf blades fully as I go but have lots invested in thin kerf tooling.

Thanks,
Mike

[Jeff Roltgen]

Hurts, as you say, since you just invested, but I did find the 12" A.G.E. blades to be quite good and reasonably priced. Believe it was just under $225 shipped for set of 3 in January when I received a new si315es. This gave me the ability to jump straight in to tweaking it to the splitter, and remain accurate on settings regardless which blade goes in of the three (rip, miter and general), as they're all same width from same manufacturer. Tough deal, but any time you buy these upgraded machines, you normally still need a pocket (bucket?)full of cash to get fully operational with proper tooling.

[Mike Hoyt]

Thanks Jeff, I always knew deep down that just ordering that same 3 blade setup that you did was the "right" answer. As the saying goes you have to pay to play right!!! So you have had good luck with those Amana blades?

[Rod Sheridan]

I have one 12” blade for my saw, all others are 10” blades I had bored to 30mm. I have 2 different thickness riving knives to match my blade assortment

SCM should have 4 or 5 riving knives for your saw, Felder has them ranging from 2.0 to 3.7mm

Diamond blades need an extremely thin riving knife, 2mm if I remember correctly, so I’m sure you’ll be able to get one for thin kerf blades.

Regards, Rod

[Leigh Betsch]

Sharkguard makes replacement riving knives in any thickness you want.

[Jeff Roltgen]

Mike,
Yes, I am happy with the blades. I will say, best blade I have ever tried are the Makita's. Just incredible how smooth they cut - cross-cut and mitered ends look like you've sanded to 220 grit. However, only in thin kerf, so you'll need to go with some of the riving knife suggestions above to get it working. Otherwise, nothing to complain about - very solid performers, with very clean, professional results worthy of the machine you just invested in. The general performs well enough that I do not often change blades, though the miter blade naturally is cleanest for those cuts. Ripper just shrugs off any load as no big deal, though it is being powered by 7.5 HP on this machine.
Others had mentioned here that they've spent much more on the sexier models with blue coatings and such, but they found the AGE's to perform just as well, so I took the chance and am not disappointed. They are made in Germany, which generates a vote of confidence for me. Inclined to think the full kerf and thicker blade body may contribute to smoothness /stability = better results over thin kerf, IMHO.

[Warren Lake]

David mentioned making them out of old saw blades. Good idea, I have a good number of them around.

[Jim Becker]

Congrats on receiving your new slider!

Honestly, I didn't own any thin-kerf blades so it didn't come up, but I wouldn't run them, anyway, on such a hefty machine. I actually took great pain to make sure any blades I used had exactly the same kerf and that includes the scoring blade. It makes life a lot easier. I do not believe you will find an OEM or even aftermarket solution for a thinner riving knife. If you truly need it, you'll likely need to make it. But I could be wrong about that...

[johnny means]

In my opinion, thin kerf blades have no place on a format saw. Their flexible nature defeats one of the main reasons for going with a beefier machine. Thin kerf blades will begin resonating while cutting and you'd be shocked to see how far they can flex once they start warbling. I'd just purchase and run one good combo blade before burning money on a thin kerf riving knife.

[Mike Hoyt]

OK thanks guys for confirming what I knew was the right answer. I sort out of chuckled a bit after thinking over a while. I spent big bucks on the saw just to worry about a couple hundred bucks in tooling after the fact.....

Thanks again

[Dave Cav]

A little late, but I only use two blades on my SC4E, 12" Tenryu Gold Medal 60 tooth ATB, and 12" Oshlun 48 tooth ATB for rougher work. Two of each. I tried some older blades from my former 12" TS and RAS and most of them were too thin for the splitter and I don't want to mess with two splitters.

Welcome to the SC4E club. You will really enjoy the saw once you get it figured out.