When NOT to use your good blade?

[davidtu]

I've gotten to the point (thanks to Bargain Alerts) where I have some very good blades and some OK blades for ripping, combination, and mitering.

When do I want to use my not-so-good blades in order to protect / prolong the life of my good blades?

I'm assuming the answer is simply when cutting crappy wood (plywood, MDF, etc.) but do I want to only use the good blades when making cuts that are precision demanding (like a hardwood for furniture making) or might I as well leave them on most of the time except for stuff that dulls them (like I believe MDF does)?

An example... if you were going to make a fence and had to rip and crosscut a lot of lumber (2x4, 4x4) would you use a Woodworker II on that or swap in a lesser blade?

What about for Miter Saw?

[Knottscott]

Your example is exactly an instance when I'd switch blades. Very thick ripping would be another, or woods where there's risk of nails, staples, etc.

[jziegler]

Supposedly another time to not use the good blade is in installing pre-finished wood flooring or laminate flooring. By several reports on here, the finish is very hard and will dull a blade quickly. Definately a time for a cheaper blade.

Jim

[vaking]

Here are my 2 cents although I don't think it will be very popular here. For the 12" miter saw I have 2 blades - one is construction blade and one is woodworking blade. Construction blade is the 40 teeth POS that came with my craftsman CMS. All 2Xsomething lumber is construction and 40-teeth blade is good enough for it. If I need to miter a molding for the furniture project I use my good 100-teeth woodworking blade.
For the table saw I don't have too many blades.
I have a good quality Freud ripping blade with 24 teeth.
I have a good quality Freud crosscutting (also good for fine plywood) blade with 80 teeth.
I have a middle of the road universal blade (woodworker's choice). I would say that this blade is comparable to original Freud-made blade that came with my BT3100 which is by now dull. This blade is not Forrest though. I believe that when you need highest quality cut you use either rip blade or crosscut blade depending which type of cut you are making but you use a specialized blade. If you are using universal blade that means you do not need super quality. In other words - my universal blade I am not preserving, it stays on my saw most of the time except when I need very high end cuts and if it gets dull - tough luck; I pay $10 - $20 for my universal blades on clearances. I have not yet resharpened my Freud blade because at $10 woodworker's choice blade was cheaper than sharpening Freud and it's a match in quality, I have the next one of the same caliber already waiting (my current is 40 teeth, next one is 50 but same brand) and when I really need I can send all of them for resharpening. I will never buy WWII but there is a chance I will buy a Forrest blade with 80+ teeth if my crosscutting Freud ever needs replacement. Paying obscene money for universal blade (even Forrest) to me makes no sense.
So, as opposed to your original question - it is not when you preserve your better blades but it is when your everyday blade isn't good enough and you need to put in a specialized blade instead. Universal blade is an everyday blade no matter who made it.

[cabinetman]

I have made a habbit of changing blades when the material and procedure calls for a change. I would not use a rip blade on any tool to crosscut. It's as simple as that. To use a blade as a "common" blade is not only foolish but could be dangerous. To operate a saw with a questionable blade, just so that you don't "use up" your good blade is a bad practice. There is a correct blade to use for whatever job you're doing. If it ain't sharp, don't use it.



"I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"

[Knottscott]

Here are my 2 cents although I don't think it will be very popular here. For the 12" miter saw I have 2 blades - one is construction blade and one is woodworking blade. Construction blade is the 40 teeth POS that came with my craftsman CMS. All 2Xsomething lumber is construction and 40-teeth blade is good enough for it. If I need to miter a molding for the furniture project I use my good 100-teeth woodworking blade.
For the table saw I don't have too many blades.
I have a good quality Freud ripping blade with 24 teeth.
I have a good quality Freud crosscutting (also good for fine plywood) blade with 80 teeth.
I have a middle of the road universal blade (woodworker's choice). I would say that this blade is comparable to original Freud-made blade that came with my BT3100 which is by now dull. This blade is not Forrest though. I believe that when you need highest quality cut you use either rip blade or crosscut blade depending which type of cut you are making but you use a specialized blade. If you are using universal blade that means you do not need super quality. In other words - my universal blade I am not preserving, it stays on my saw most of the time except when I need very high end cuts and if it gets dull - tough luck; I pay $10 - $20 for my universal blades on clearances. I have not yet resharpened my Freud blade because at $10 woodworker's choice blade was cheaper than sharpening Freud and it's a match in quality, I have the next one of the same caliber already waiting (my current is 40 teeth, next one is 50 but same brand) and when I really need I can send all of them for resharpening. I will never buy WWII but there is a chance I will buy a Forrest blade with 80+ teeth if my crosscutting Freud ever needs replacement. Paying obscene money for universal blade (even Forrest) to me makes no sense.
So, as opposed to your original question - it is not when you preserve your better blades but it is when your everyday blade isn't good enough and you need to put in a specialized blade instead. Universal blade is an everyday blade no matter who made it.

It's hard to disagree that a specialized blade will do a specific task better than a general purpose blade. We may have different definitions of the term "highest quality cut" though...my rip blades will plow through thick wood "faster" than my WWII, but the cut isn't as clean, which is what I consider the higher quality cut. I'll rip with the WWII when I want a cleaner rip cut....it'll rip reasonably well to over 2" in hardwoods. The purpose of spending $64 (on sale....not obscene IMO) for a WWII is so that I can have a blade that will cover a wide variety of situations and still offer a clean enough cut that I don't need to switch to a specialized crosscut blade, or even rip blade for most situations. So far, I haven't needed an 80T crosscut blade for anything I do, therefore, I've actually avoided that expense. Obviously everyone's needs are different, but my WWII does a good enough job even on plywood that I don't feel there's a need for a specialty crosscut blade. All the blades I really need are a WWII 40T TK @ $64, and a Leitz 24T TK @ $11... $75 total isn't so bad, and even if they're not on sale that's $93.

[Ken Weaver]

For the kind of projects I do, I find that an 80 tooth crosscut on the CMS gets me the end finish and miter accuracies I need and the WWII on the BT3 gets everything else done. I have a 40th tooth Ryobi (not the OEM Frued) that I use for suspicious situations or construction type cutting (which I do very little with). Bottom line is the Frued 80 tooth stays on the CMS and WWII stays on the BT. Works for me.

[jesel]

"All the blades I really need are a WWII 40T TK @ $64, and a Leitz 24T TK @ $11... $75 total isn't so bad, and even if they're not on sale that's $93."


Where should I watch for these sale prices? I am mostly interested in the WWII. Thanks in advance.

[LCHIEN]

"All the blades I really need are a WWII 40T TK @ $64, and a Leitz 24T TK @ $11... $75 total isn't so bad, and even if they're not on sale that's $93."


Where should I watch for these sale prices? I am mostly interested in the WWII. Thanks in advance.

you gotta keep reading the bargain alerts here.
The WWII was on sale at amazon for one day or so with free shipping and the first time I ever saw it for under 80-something. And then don't hesitate.
Got mine!

[Knottscott]

"All the blades I really need are a WWII 40T TK @ $64, and a Leitz 24T TK @ $11... $75 total isn't so bad, and even if they're not on sale that's $93."


Where should I watch for these sale prices? I am mostly interested in the WWII. Thanks in advance.

Loring already covered the WWII, but in case you want to pursue a great $11 rip blade, here's the link: (this deal won't be around forever, and is tough to beat.)

http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthr...apsed&sb=5&o=7

10" z24 FLAT TOP fast rip thin kerf #011 $ $11 each

[brooks]

I didn't see what was so attractive about that Leitz offer - is this line of blades a big name that outsiders don't recognize? Is it the price? The blade design?

[jesel]

"you gotta keep reading the bargain alerts here.
The WWII was on sale at amazon for one day or so with free shipping and the first time I ever saw it for under 80-something. And then don't hesitate.
Got mine!"

I didn't see anything about this deal in the bargain section. Was there a promo code at checkout, or was this the listed price? Thanks again.

[Knottscott]

I didn't see what was so attractive about that Leitz offer - is this line of blades a big name that outsiders don't recognize? Is it the price? The blade design?

Leitz isn't a big brand name, but they are a quality German manufacture who makes blades for several other companies...Schumacher & Sohn, Delta's top end, and Irwin's top end, plus othes. They're very good blades in their own right at full suggested retail...roughly comparable to the better Freuds, better DeWalts, CMT, Systimatic, etc. He happens to be offering many of them at heavy discounts. IE: The ripper at $11 is about 25% of the cost of an identical Schumacher and Sohn ripper made by Leitz also. In this case, it's a great ripping blade that happens to be $11.

See the pics below and compare the identical Leitz/Irwin with the S&S blade. The S&S ripper is $47 at Hartville, the 60T crosscut is $71...the identical Leitz offer is $11 and $16....not too shabby for upper end performance.