Question for owners of scoring table saws...

[nic obie]

What style of blade do you usually have on your saw?

It seems to me that leaving a rip blade on all the time would work OK just so you remember to raise the scoring blade when cross cutting or cutting veneer.

I'd try it but all my rip blades are dull (I really need to take a trip to the sharpener). I've been using a Leitz 50T combo and just so I use the scoring blade, I see no need to go to a dedicated crosscut blade.

I'd like to keep a rip blade on all the time and am wondering if any of you have tried this.

[tod evans]

nic, i keep an 100 tooth blade on the slider but i have a dedicated rip saw. if i use the slider for ripping it`s only to straightline..02 tod

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Wouldn't the rip blade give you a lower quality cut edge?

I use a set of 100 tooth Non-Ferrous Metal Blades.
I don't use a blade that is made for wood. I rip and cross cut with the same NFM blades. The NFM blades give me a deadly smooth fine finish with no tool marks. Yah sounds like a marketing claim doesn't it? They leave no tool marks. The only way I can get tool marks is to let the the trunion get cocked out of true so I'm picking up skiff marks on the back stroke.
The tooth geomerty is alternated solid flat tooth chisel followed by a flat chisel tooth with the corners champhered. Or is it the other way round?

They cause tear out only when dull.

[nic obie]

A good quailty rip blade, has for me, given a better cut on the sides than any general purpose blade. It's only the bottom where it blows out the wood that makes in nessary to use a crosscut blade (I think).

tod has a dedicated rip saw. I don't.

I have a scoring blade in my table saw and was wondering if it would work in conjuction with a quality rip blade to make first class cuts of all types?

Somebody has had to try this :D.

[nic obie]

Wouldn't the rip blade give you a lower quality cut edge?

I use a set of 100 tooth Non-Ferrous Metal Blades.
I don't use a blade that is made for wood. I rip and cross cut with the same NFM blades. The NFM blades give me a deadly smooth fine finish with no tool marks. Yah sounds like a marketing claim doesn't it? They leave no tool marks. The only way I can get tool marks is to let the the trunion get cocked out of true so I'm picking up skiff marks on the back stroke.
The tooth geomerty is alternated solid flat tooth chisel followed by a flat chisel tooth with the corners champhered. Or is it the other way round?

They cause tear out only when dull.


Hi Cliff,

I can't use a 100T blade for ripping stock over 1/4". I usually use a 18T 10" blade. My 50 T combo 4 atb w/raker will work but it is really slow and can burn cherry if not careful. You rip with a 100 T blade?

[Dev Emch]

I have a scoring blade on my martin saw and very rarely use it. Most of the time, these are used on sheet goodies like melamine and baltic birch. I use almost exclusively baltic birch and cut tons of the stuff. My weapon of choice is the simple basic Forrest Duraline blade. I run a 12 inch duraline and have found very little need for a scoring motor with this material and this blade.

[Charlie Plesums]

I use my beloved Forrest WWII blades for everything, and only crank in the scoring blade when I am cross-cutting plywood. (I leave it up for plywood rip cuts, but don't need it for those).

I use a split scoring blade, so the carbide teeth are tiny - I bet they would dull quickly if I used it all the time.

My WW II are ground 4 ATB + 1 Raker. I have not had a problem burning cherry or other wood unless I am out of alignment.