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Kevin Gerstenecker
02-22-2003, 8:42 AM
I am looking for opinions on Blade Stablizers. Yea, or nay? I have never used them, and I always buy good quality blades for my 10" Table Saw and Compound Mitre. Are there pro's and cons's to using stabilizers, and if so, what are they? I realize an out of balance blade is a bad thing, and wobble is really bad. Just wondering what others have to say about them, and if I should invest in a set. Thanks in advance for any and all replies.

Gersty

Ken Salisbury
02-22-2003, 8:47 AM
Originally posted by Kevin Gersty
I am looking for opinions on Blade Stablizers. Yea, or nay? I have never used them, and I always buy good quality blades for my 10" Table Saw and Compound Mitre. Are there pro's and cons's to using stabilizers, and if so, what are they? I realize an out of balance blade is a bad thing, and wobble is really bad. Just wondering what others have to say about them, and if I should invest in a set. Thanks in advance for any and all replies.

Gersty

Even with the high end blades (re: Forrest) they help. I have Forrest blades on all my circular saws (TS, RAS, MS, CMS). I have stabilizers on the TS and the RAS but haven't found them necessary on the miter and compound miter saws. One drawback to stabilizers is they reduce the depth of cut available. I have not found that to be a problem with the RAS or TS.

Kirk (KC) Constable
02-22-2003, 8:58 AM
I know this isn't a thin kerf/full kerf question...but I use full kerf blades (Forrest), and the primary reason is because I can't imagine why I would want to buy a thin kerf blade when the manufacturer recommends you need to put a 'stabilizer' on it. I've never used one one, so I can't speak to their effectiveness...but I think the question may fall into the 'how flat is flat' category. How much benefit are you gonna get from it, and is is outweighed immediately by wood movement?

KC

Ted Shrader
02-22-2003, 9:13 AM
Originally posted by Kevin Gersty
I am looking for opinions on Blade Stablizers. Yea, or nay? I have never used them, and I always buy good quality blades for my 10" Table Saw and Compound Mitre. Are there pro's and cons's to using stabilizers, and if so, what are they? I realize an out of balance blade is a bad thing, and wobble is really bad. Just wondering what others have to say about them, and if I should invest in a set. Thanks in advance for any and all replies.

Gersty

Kevin -

I don't use them. I use full kerf saw blades on the TS, CMS and RAS. If you use good blades, they are going to be flat to start with and shouldn't develop any movement running under load. They certainly won't make up for run out in the arbor or arbor washers.

Like KC said, "How flat is flat?'

Ted

Peter DeFazio
02-22-2003, 9:32 AM
I also use Forrest Blades. Have the stabilizer on my TS. I bought the blade at a woodworking show directly from Forrest and they threw in the stabilizer as a bonus. They reccommend it. Do they really help? Don't know. All I can say is the blade works great. No burns, etc.

Pete

Paul Kunkel
02-22-2003, 10:28 AM
in a production invironment especially, pushing wood through a tablesaw fast, benefits from having a stabilizer. Fast feed rates tend to deflect the best of blades & thin kerfs absolutely need them. If you have a 3hp or better saw you don't want to use a thin kerf but will benefit in quality of cut from stabilizers on a quality full kerf.

J.R. Rutter
02-22-2003, 2:50 PM
I use a 4" stibilizer on the motor side and the Veritas blade truing thing on the outside. It has lots of set screws around the outside edge and lets you get a "perfectly" flat blade even if your arbor has some runout. It takes about 10 minutes with a dial indicator (a 0.0001 type that I inherited from my grandfather wotks great) to get things dialed in. I use a full kerf 30T WW2 and get a cleaner cut than the "glue line rip" from the big rip saw at the local millworks place.

-JR