The Different Circular Saw Blades?

Introduction

Having the correct blade when using your circular saw will determine if your project is successful or not and it will also minimise injury when working with your circular saw. The right blade is determined by what material you are working with and what type of cuts you are looking to make.

Circular saw Blades for wood Cutting

There is not just one type of blade that is perfect for wood cutting as there are a number of different woods and each will use a different blade for the best cutting experience.For plywood you would use a plywood blade that has a number of fine teeth which will give you a clean cut. You can use a ripping blade which is when you are going to be cutting parallel to the wood grain. This type of blade has a large gullet and less teeth.

For smoother cuts you will use a crosscutting blade. You will cut across the grain of the wood when using these blades and they have a lot more teeth with a smaller gullet. If you are doing multiple different cuts on wood then the best blade to use would be the combination or all-purpose blade. You will use this blade to cut both across the grain and parallel to it. This is the most commonly used blade for woodworking projects.

If you need to make fine cuts you will select a fine-tooth finish blade which will give you ultra-smooth cuts. The hollow ground blade again allows you to make cross grain cuts and the dado blade will allow you to make grooves, dadoes and rabbet cuts into wood. The kerf blade is used for cutting dimensional lumber and the finish or panelling blade will be used when you are cutting materials such as plywood, laminates and veneer.

Table saw Blade Types

There are four different blade types that are used by table saws and they differ in the shape or grind of their teeth. The flat top grind or FTG – These are also referred to as rakers and these types of blades have teeth with top edges that are square to the saw plate. They are fast cutting and durable but if you are looking for a clean surface this is not the blade you want, they are designed to rip as you saw perpendicular to the grain.

The alternate top bevel or ATB blade has teeth that are angled across the top edge. Every second tooth will be angled in the opposite direction to the previous one. Most of the ATB blades with 40 teeth are used as general blades and will give you a clean cut by shearing the wood fibres. The steeper the bevel angle will give you a cleaner cut. These blades tend to dull quickly when used at a steep bevel angle.

Combination blades or ATBR have 50 teeth and they are arranged in sets of five with four ATB teeth which is followed by a raker tooth. These are also considered being all purpose blades and combine clean cutting with ripping.

If you are looking to saw through dense materials such as plastic laminate or Corian and non-ferrous metals such as brass then the TCG or triple-chip grind blade is the one you need. The teeth alternate between raker and chamfered teeth. The chamfered will rough out the cut and the FTG will clean it up.

Circular saw Blade for Pressure Treated Wood

The best circular saw blade to use when you are cutting pressure treated wood is the thicker-kerf blade. These blades have bigger carbide teeth and the can also be re-sharpened. If you are looking to do fine work such as cutting in built-in parts using shoot board, you will want straighter cuts and your thinner kerf blades tend to deflect and although they may cut faster they can lead to tear-out. Using a combination blade will usually give you cleaner cuts as they have lower hook angles.

Circular saw Blade

Circular saw blades are 7 1/4” in diameter and the best ones to use would depend on the project you are tackling and the type of material you are working with. Different cuts are determined by the amount of teeth on the blade, the least you will find on a circular saw blade is around 14. If you are looking for rough cuts using 2×4 framing lumber then you would use a blade with the least teeth at fourteen.

This will cut fast and give you the best cuts in this type of wood but would destroy thing material or plywood. A twenty four tooth blade works very well for most of your cutting projects and are the blade that are most commonly supplied with your new circular saw. This blade will give you a smooth rip cut but rough crosscut.

If you want to cut fine material such as plywood you will need a 7 ¼” blade with fourty or more teeth. This number of teeth will help to prevent tear-out and will produce a decent crosscut if used on solid lumber. If you are going to be cutting veneered plywood or plastic then go with a blade that has sixty or more teeth.

So as you can see there is no “best” 7 ¼” blade, it all depends on what kind of cuts you want to make and what material you are working on which will determine which blade is best suited to the job at hand.

Conclusion

The best circular saw blade is dependant not only on the material you are working with but also the type of cut you want to make. Finer smoother cuts require different blades to rip cuts and so on, you will have to determine what type of cut you want and then choose the right blade for the job.