Table saw blades for lams

[stringstretcher]

I notice in a post on making lams, that Walt said he found a 7 1/4 super thin blade that he uses on his 10 table saw.  Are  there any drawbacks or safety issues with using a different size blade on table saw.  I have even seen where someone mentioned using skill saw blade (probably what Walt is using) on there talbe saw.  Any imput from the guys who have done it?

[2treks]

I have used a 7 1/4" blade on my 10" saw for years with no problems. It is a Freud DIABLO I think. Thin kerf and carbide will cut some wood for you with minimum waste of expensive wood. I use a bansaw for lam cutting,but the table saw is for preping stock of various needs. works good for me. Good luck.
Chuck

[macbow]

As you probably know, the only safety issue is that the diameter of the mounting hole is the proper fit.
Ron

[milehi101]

The big advantage to using a thin smooth cutting blade is that your average 10 in table saw blade makes a cut almost 1/8 inch thick. A thin blade can let you make 1-4 extra lams per board depending on the board.  As was stated the 10 inch blades fit the blade cut out loose I make the cut outs from lexan to fit the saw and then lower the blade start the saw and slowly raise the blade and make a blade cut as I raise the blade. Now I have a cut out for the blade that I am using.  I have about 4 different ones that I store with the blade.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Originally posted by Two Tracks:
I have used a 7 1/4" blade on my 10" saw for years with no problems. It is a Freaud DIABLO I think. Thin kerf and carbide will cut some wood for you with minimum waste of expensive wood. I use a bansaw for lam cutting,but the table saw is for preping stock of various needs. works good for me. Good luck.
Chuck

Two Tracks hit it spot on... the fried Diablo rules!
I've been using them on my table saw sice they came out with the blades about 10 years ago.

Use the 24 tooth like this one.... you'll never use anything else.... $10.00 blade too.
       Btw... check out the RPM rating. no safety issue here.

 

[RedtailMD]

I was looking at 10" thin kerf blades but they are expensive. Do the 7 1/4 blades have a even thinner kerf or are they preferred because of price?

[2treks]

Thats it Kirk, I read Walt's post on the other thread and that is what he uses also,but in 40tpi
I use the 24tpi. This works great for squaring up stock and glue ups and such. I use the Highland hardware "woodslicer" blades on my band saw to cut lams with now.
When I did cut lamination stock I would set the fence so that the lamination came off between the fence and the blade,that is NOT the safe way to do it. A safer option is to make a mark on your table insert and then just reposition your fence after each cut so that the stock material is in line with the mark and then you can make your next cut. Just remember that table saws do not care what they cut and they cut VERY well. safty glasses and good hold down style push stick is mandatory.
Redtail: I bought my first DIABLO because that was what the store had.I do think it has the tinnest kerf also. Freud also has 8" version that they say is "GLUE LINE READY" price I think is about $40 I have no experiance with the larger thin kerf blades,The 7 1/4" work fine for what I do.

[Walt Francis]

I believe the thin kerf 10” blades are the same as the 7 ¼” Diablo’s.  I first used the 7 ¼” Freud Diablo because that is what I had in the shop.  I still use it because of the difference in cost (about $80) and I do not need the extra cutting depth for my lams (1 ½”).  When doing riser and bulk material there are times a 10” blade is needed.  As previously mentioned, make a zero clearance insert for you table saw before trying to cut lams with it.

[RedtailMD]

Thanks Walt and Chuck that is what I was wondering. I think I will go with the 7 1/4 since I will not need the additional depth either. I'll make a zero-clearance insert as well.
-Steve

[stringstretcher]

I have and am using that exact blade but in the 10" and it does cut very good.  I was just wondering if it was worth it to make the change. I also have a zero clearence plate for the blade and a helping hand that fits over the top of my fence bar, that once past the front of the saw's table, I lower this down for a push bar to keep everything going the right direction...OUT FRONT!!!!!.  The back end of this helping hand has just the blade kerf in it so nothing can come backwards and allows me to use the fence.

[Ken75]

i found some 10 inch 24 tooth thin kerf irwin marathon blades that are great for a table saw . cut my hickory like it was pine . new in the package on the big auction site for 5 bucks. needless to say i bought a bunch !!

[eflanders]

I think one of the biggest safety issues with using a table saw for cutting lams has to do with how thick your rough stock is before cutting.  The narrower it is the harder it is to control and avoid dangerous kickback, clearance issues and other things.  I actually prefer to cut my lams on the table saw when the rough stock is at least 3/8" thick to start with.  When thinner than that, I use the bandsaw.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Originally posted by Ken75:
i found some 10 inch 24 tooth thin kerf irwin marathon blades that are great for a table saw . cut my hickory like it was pine . new in the package on the big auction site for 5 bucks. needless to say i bought a bunch !!

The 7.25" marathons are good too and priced about the same. Both the Freud and the marathon are thinner in a smaller size, and your saw isn't working as hard turning them either. These things are excellent on the smaller portable saws, and save you a ton of money running them on the big saw.

how often do you really need to cut stock over 2.125" thick? i use a band saw for rough cut lumber and run it through the thickness planer before cutting lams myself.

I'm not a tight wad on buying the best tool for the job at all. These are simply the best way to go if you use your saw a lot like i do.

BTW.... a lot of guys think more teeth are better blades....this is not true at all for ripping. the rerason these little guys cut so well is that they are designed for green wet lumber, and the rakers clean out the sawdust really well.