Need info and help on thin and regular kerf TS blade.

[Johnnyy Johnson]

Need help choosing between the thin kerf and regular LU80 (79) R010 Plywood blade. I have little to no experience cutting much plywood. Several years back I bought a Freud thin kerf to do glue up ripping on hardwood. I never could get it right. I bought the same Freud blade in regular kerf and have no glue up problems now. I have a Delta Contractor saw. I want to buy the thin kerf but I am afraid the contractor saw will not be stable enough. Should I just go with the regular?

Also, I am assuming that I would use this blade to rip plywood as well as cross cut plywood
Is this correct?

Does anyone have a Contractor saw and the thin blade that works well ?

Thanks
Johnny

[George Bokros]

I have an older C'man contractors saw and do not like think kerf blades. Never used a thin kerf but I feel they are unstable, no proof but my gut feel. I can rip 2x4 with a regular kerf blade just feed it slower. I have a very think kerf 1/16" on my circular saw but it is only 7 1/2" blade and it works fine. Use it for ripping an crosscut on ply all the time.

[Mike Circo]

A thin kerf blade is usually needed when cutting very thick hardwood with a smaller HP saw.
Cutting plywood would not present any difficulty to a good saw with a regular kerf blade.

Anything under 2½ inches works just fine with my Delta contractors saw with a regular kerf.

[Peter Quinn]

I only use thin kerf when minimizing material waste is critical, or the saw is just too under powered to make the cuts efficiently otherwise. Think job site portables. The idea of a thin kerf glue line blade is counter intuitive to me. That really needs to be full kerf for proper results. The thin kerf plywood blade might be more acceptable, but I wouldn't bother with a decent contractor saw, full kerf is always the better cut IME.

[Roy Harding]

I'm with Peter Quinn on this - I used to use thin kerf blades on my old contractor saw, but they were for cutting thick hardwood, which the saw couldn't handle with standard blades.

There is no "rip" or "crosscut" on plywood - the various layers are laid with the grain running perpendicular to each other - thus "plywood" blades.

[Eric Schmid]

Too much deflection in thin kerf blades for what you are trying to do. The LU80 is a decent blade. My shop table saw is a contractor model with 1.5HP motor and I don't think it has seen a thin kerf blade in many years. I have a drawer full of thin kerf blades, but these get mounted on the jobsite saws for less demanding cuts. I would not expect a finish cut from any thin kerf blade. Even the little 6 1/2" track saw blades are "full kerf".

[Jim Dwight]

My table saw is a Ryobi BT3100 which has a 15A universal motor. It is thus not terribly powerful. I have both thin and thick kerf blades and I see essentially no difference in the capability of the saw with the thin kerf blades. Specifically for ripping thick hardwood (up to 3.5 inch), I use a full kerf ripping blade. I have a thin kerf equivalent (same number of teeth, same flat tooth design) and I don't think I can cut any faster with it. I don't know if the thin blades deflect or what but I see no benefit. The grind of the blade makes a difference but not the thickness. I can rip a lot easier with a ripping blade with relatively few teeth of flat top design. For most work, I like a 50 tooth combination with 40 ATB and 10 flat top teeth. I would use that on plywood, for instance.

So I would go with the full kerf. I'd probably use a general purpose blade on plywood but a dedicated plywood blade should cut a little cleaner. These days I mostly use my track saw on plywood.

[Randy Red Bemont]

I've never had good results with a thin kerf blade. Sold the one I had (Forrest) and use strictly full kerf blades. I've always owned cabinet saws so under powered was never an issue in my case.

Red

[glenn bradley]

I would give your saw what works best. Contractor saws are designed to be lightweight and portable. This means many compromises must be made by design. Alignment is frequently discussed battle on contractors but, many succeed with a lot of after-market help. I could run TK blades on my contractor and even cut bevel cuts without burning . This takes a lot of work, tweaks and add-ons so, if you are getting good results with full kerf blades, I would go with that.

[Lee Schierer]

I own and use a 113.298720 version of the Craftsman saw with a 1.5 Hp motor. I use Freud blades almost exclusively. I have a LM74R010 Glue line rip blade that is full kerf that rips without burning and leaves no tooth marks. I have ripped 2 x 4 construction lumber with it and hardwood in 3/4 thickness. I rarely get into thicker hardwood. I use either an LU82M010 or Lu73M010 for cross cutting plywood. With a zero clearance insert, I get no tear out or chipping when cutting plywood. My saw is well tuned and has no problems making rip or cross cuts in hardwoods or plywood.

I used to use a Freud 24 tooth thin kerf ripping blade until it got dull, then I switched to the glue line rip blade. I had no issues with the thin kerf blade.

[Larry Frank]

I use both thin and regular kerf blades on my cabinet saw. I keep my blades sharp and find no difference between them even ripping 2" maple.

For plywood, I do not find any difference at all. I am using a Freud high ATB blade and see no deflection of the blade with the TK blade. When I went to a cabinet saw for on a contractor style, I could not afford to get rid of the TK blades so continue to use them with no issues.

[Art Mann]

My experience has been quite different from what I have read above. I have a contractor saw with a 1.5 hp motor and it is under powered and slow. I bought thin kerf blades for it and noticed an immediate and substantial improvement in cut speed. I have used them ever since and i can't tell any difference in the cut quality TK blades and full kerf blades. This wasn't always true. Thin kerf blades used to be less stiff than they are now.

[Tom Walz]

The two best sources I know of for thin kerf informationare:

Bruce Lehmann, Ph. D.
http://www.thinkerf.com/

John Schultz
http://www.superthinsaws.com