Do you use only max blade size in your saw?

[Ben Cadotte]

I saw another persons post and got me thinking. I only have 10" blades for my miter, table, and radial arm saw. They are all 10" saws. A couple months ago Amazon had a good sale on Forrest blades. Several of them were little bit more than half off. A few of the best deals were smaller than 10" though. One was a 9" blade that was well below half off. I had in my mind set I should just get 10" blades. Same goes for Freud blades that they have been having discounts on.

Anyway I have limited myself to just 10" blades. And I am now thinking that train of thought is not quite right. As 95% of my cutting on the table and radial arm saw is way below full cuts. I think the miter does need to stay at 10" as it would limit the length of cut with a smaller blade (slide saw). I could have purchased some really good 9" blades at a fairly big discount and passed on them.

Do you use only maximum blade size in your saws?

[David Romano]

I never really thought about it before, but yes I use the maximum size. The only exception besides the bandsaw is the dado set. These are usually smaller than the max size. I think that if there is not a compromise to safety or operation, a smaller blade could be used, but cut quality and blade life could become factors. Smaller blades cut slower. Maybe there are cases where the reduced speed lessens burning. I don't know how that would play out since slower cutting also means slower feed rate. Fewer cutting teeth would mean more frequent sharpening too.

One (small) advantage to a smaller blade on a tablesaw would be the extra length gained on the infeed side. This is rarely a problem though. Another would be when making stopped dados or rabbets, the smaller diameter would mean less cleanup with a chisel. Again, not much of an advantage. The flip side of this is that when making stopped through cuts with the smaller blade, the cut length changes more from one side of the board to the other. For this reason, I often raise my blade up to max height.

David

[Jack Vines]

I use 9" blades on 10" saws all the time for the reasons you mention. Absolutely no reason not to if they will handle the stock you are cutting and for half the price.

thnx, jack vines

[scott spencer]

A 10" blade does have greater tip speed and a slightly different attack angle relative to a smaller diameter. That difference isn't very significant between a 10" and a 9" but it increases as the blade diameter decreases. I tend to lean towards 10" blades but when I see top shelf 9" blades for a 50% (or greater) discount relative to the 10", I'd definitely consider it.

[Loren Hedahl]

Most of my cutting is stock 1 inch thick or less.

Several years ago the local HD was closing out a bunch of Makita 7 1/4 blades. I bought one, tried it and went back and bought the rest. As I remember they were around 10 bucks each.

The reason I like them is they run truer, take a thinner kerf, make an incredibly smooth/shiny cut, run quieter and don't bog the saw down.

I've still got the original ones in my RAS and TS.

I don't believe it matters much what branding is on them.

[Greg Hines, MD]

I have mostly 10" blades for my Shopsmith, but I can also use 12" blades on it. Every once in a while I need the extra depth for 4x4s and such, and it is nice to not need to cut it twice or use some other method.

Doc

[Kevin Groenke]

A lot of scale lumber (2x4 = 1/8" x 1/4" for example) is cut on our 10" tablesaws for architectural modeling. We've found some inexpensive 7-1/4" blades with a very thin kerf (~1/16") which do this task exceptionally well, so we'll throw them on when it's being done. The narrow kerf is also valuable for some particular exercises our students do annually that require narrow slots that cannot be achieved with a 10" blade.

It's never been a problem, and I can see no reason not to use a smaller than maximum blade size in a circular saw.

-kg

[Joe Scharle]

7 1/4 for aluminum, acrylic and small/thin stuff. Just don't to use larger blades than design criteria!
Joe

[Gabriel Regalbuto]

I use my 7.25 fine Freud Diablo for everything I can (table saw). Better in every way - dust, noise, waste, feed rate (never bogs down), only ~$15.

You'll never go back...

[Jerome Hanby]

Wow, I never realized that! I've never even been tempted to use my MK5 in table saw mode. I may have to buy a couple of 12" blades!

I have mostly 10" blades for my Shopsmith, but I can also use 12" blades on it. Every once in a while I need the extra depth for 4x4s and such, and it is nice to not need to cut it twice or use some other method.

Doc

[Rob Will]

I use thin kerf 12" bades most of the time on a 14" table saw. I find that this creates a lot less dust plus the anti-kickback design of the Freud 12" blade is safer than my 14" blades.

On the miter saw, I always run the maximum blade size (12")

Rob

[Mike Heidrick]

Wow, I never realized that! I've never even been tempted to use my MK5 in table saw mode. I may have to buy a couple of 12" blades!

I had no idea as well!!!! then again, I have never used my MK V in table saw mode

[Dewey Torres]

Great idea... I hadn't thought of this clever little money saver. Thanks for posting!
Dewey

[Randal Stevenson]

On another group, several recommend using a 7 1/4" blade on my tablesaw, to make the initial slot in the zero clearance insert.

Used cheaper blades (even on portable tools), for demolition style work (cutting things smaller for cheaper disposal).
My RAS is one of the generation where they changed the way HP was measured, and slung on a larger blade. So I have a 10" poor man's Mr. Sawdust blade, and an 8" Mr. Sawdust blade for it.

Figure out how thick of wood you cut and buy accordingly (then save your good full size, for the times you really need it).

[Gary Lee]

I have always put smaller blades on my portable saws, Delta benchtop, Rigid 2400, with good results. With smaller underpowered saws, a thin kerf undersized blade seems to give the saw a extra amount of power. Less torque needed to turn the blade I guess. I have not tried this on my PM2000 cabinet saw (5hp), because it has more power than I'll ever need. I can definitely see saving money on a smaller blade would not be a bad idea as long as you don't need the cutting height.