Saw Blade Teeth Number

[Old Bill]

Going to change the blade on my 10" miter saw. The markings on the blade are worn but I think I see 104T. I use it for basically cutting 2x4s, 1x2s and the odd pieces of molding. Is a 104 tooth blade pretty much standard? And are they still available.

 

[cheechi]

thats a trim saw blade if that's true, but my guess is 84 tooth sounds more likely. for a 10" blade, 2x4's you could do on a 40T if you wanted. The 1by and molding would need a finer tooth, that 84T would do it just fine. Get a 60 if you have to do all of it without changing, its a good medium but its not best for either.

 

[carcajou]

Better count the teeth on that blade again, i bet it's a 40 tooth-10 inch model.

 

[kythri]

Here's a 104-tooth 10" saw blade:

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-10-i...1x000001&kpid=00926813000&kispla=00926813000P

I honestly would love if someone could come in and provide a quick primer on coarse-tooth vs. fine-tooth saw blades and what each is good for, in relation to miter saws, radial arm saws, etc, because that's a bit'o'knowledge I don't rightly have.

 

[G_P]

Fine tooth blades are used for plywood and other thin wood.
Coarse tooth blades are used for ripping and crosscutting most wood. Especially 2x4's.

I have a Diablo blade on my radial arm saw that cuts anything from 2x12's to 1/4" dowels and thin plywood like a hot knife through butter with no splintering and a super smooth edge. Can't recall the tooth count but its either 60 or 80.

Sent via carrier pigeon

 

[CWP1616L]

If you get a Diablo blade, you don't need as many teeth. My 24 tooth framing blade will leave a cut so smooth, it looks like it's been sanded with 600 grit sand paper.

 

[TwoInch]

If you get a Diablo blade, you don't need as many teeth. My 24 tooth framing blade will leave a cut so smooth, it looks like it's been sanded with 600 grit sand paper.

diablos are good blades, but determining tooth count by brand is not how you approach saw blade selection. there is much more to a saw cut than how smooth the cut edge is. the hook angle and shape are different, the gullets are different, and the kerf..

a thin kerf 24t framing or ripping blade would be a bad choice for a 10" miter.... they have very high hook angles, where with a miter you want a very low, or even negative hook angle. it helps keep the feed rate right, and keeps the blade from climbing out.

i would stay around 40t to 60t standard kerf, with small gullets for the miter, which will be doing mostly cross cuts obviously..

 

[katotter]

I have a 24 tooth blade on my 10" Hitachi mitre saw, also cut construction timber all day with it, zero issues. By saying that, I would like a finer toothed blade for such everyday cuts. if the timber is a bit warped and it shoots up it makes some bad blade marks.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

Use 80+ tooth. I use 80/100+ on all 10"/12" saws. Clean cuts. You want 24, grab your 77. (Or like katotter said, that's heavy timber number)

 

[CWP1616L]

diablos are good blades, but determining tooth count by brand is not how you approach saw blade selection. there is much more to a saw cut than how smooth the cut edge is. the hook angle and shape are different, the gullets are different, and the kerf..

a thin kerf 24t framing or ripping blade would be a bad choice for a 10" miter.... they have very high hook angles, where with a miter you want a very low, or even negative hook angle. it helps keep the feed rate right, and keeps the blade from climbing out.

i would stay around 40t to 60t standard kerf, with small gullets for the miter, which will be doing mostly cross cuts obviously..

I was not implying that the OP get a 24 tooth 10 inch miter saw blade. What I was saying is that the OP won't need to get as high of a tooth count as he normally would if he got the Diablo brand. I don't know about tooth angle or none of that stuff. All I know is that the Diablo blade is the best blade I've ever used on a circular saw and if I was looking for a blade for a miter saw, brand selection would be a no-brainer.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

All I know is that the Diablo blade is the best blade I've ever used on a circular saw and if I was looking for a blade for a miter saw, brand selection would be a no-brainer.

Agreed. Diablo is the best bang for the buck. Run 'em on my 77s (40T even for rough-do it, you'll like it better), and all my 10/12" compounds and sliders. The only time I've bought high dollar blades for my big slider was doing Brazilian Teac for a patio at the beach. Each board was something stupid like $594. Imported blah blah blah...customer was keepin up with the Jones I presume. The better cut was negligible, but it did last a long time. No sense in getting something better than a Diablo unless you are working with exotics and cabinets etc...at which point you wouldn't be asking b/c you'd be familiar with $200 blades.

So yea, find a killer deal online, and get Diablo. Buy 2, so you don't get caught with your pants down while finishing a job.

 

[lilscorpion]

Fine tooth blades are used for plywood and other thin wood.
Coarse tooth blades are used for ripping and crosscutting most wood. Especially 2x4's.

I thought coarse tooth blades were for cutting aluminum...half joking.

I rarely use a high tooth count blade in my miter saw no matter what I cut. Even on trim I use a blade in the 40's. I'm exactly the opposite on the table saw. I usually keep a high tooth count blade in there regardless of what I'm cutting. I almost never cut construction grade materials on it though.

 

[IHI]

Pretty basic formula:
Rough work- less tooth count
Finish work- high tooth count

Table saw/Miter saw for use in rough construction was always a 40T count

Finish in either saw was always 80-100+ tooth count.

80 tooth in a 12" blade "can" cut trim work and such pretty cleanly, good enough for painted trim that gets minute imperfections caulked before priming/painting. Stained wood is always a 96 or 100T. Just my preference.

 

[TwoInch]

I was not implying that the OP get a 24 tooth 10 inch miter saw blade. What I was saying is that the OP won't need to get as high of a tooth count as he normally would if he got the Diablo brand. I don't know about tooth angle or none of that stuff. All I know is that the Diablo blade is the best blade I've ever used on a circular saw and if I was looking for a blade for a miter saw, brand selection would be a no-brainer.

i know you werent implyinh the 24t would be the choice for a miter, my point was that there are only a couple choices when it comes to tooth count for normal material blades. 24t, 40t, 60t, 80t, and so on.

brand has nothing to do with tooth count, and tooth count has nothing to do with the smoothness of the cut per se... it all depends on what you are doing with the blade. a 24t blade would not be the best for a miter doing cross cuts, in any brand.

doesnt matter if you buy a cheap irwin blade, a middle of the road diablo, or a forrest, the tooth count will be the same for whatever application you are going for. there is no going with less teeth for one brand over the other was my point.

i agree that the diablos are a damn fine blade, especially for the cash, and local availability. the freud and forrest blades are the next rung up, and while they are killer blades, and cut better than anything out there, they arent THAT much better than the diablos or other middle road blades. for your average homeowner and even contractor type guys, there is no reason to go higher than diablo blades.

 

[G_P]

I thought coarse tooth blades were for cutting aluminum...half joking.

I used a rather coarse blade on my table saw to cut some plexi. The fine plywood blades got too hot and started melting the edges.

Plywood blades do work well though to cut thin aluminum sheet.

 

[Old Bill]

A lot good information here, thank you. Seems like an 84T will do. I do not use the saw very much but as I wrote I cut a lot more 2x4s than anything.

 

[CWP1616L]

The Diablo 1060S 60T 10 inch blade will be fine for cutting 2x4s. The Diablo 1080X 80T blade would be way overkill unless you're cutting laminate flooring.

 

[cheechi]

Each blade on a miter or table saw is like a tool in itself. I personally don't like 'all in one' blade sizes like 60T but I have seen some 60T blades that do a 40T's job better than the 40T does.

If I had a 10" miter I'd go with a good 40 or 60 for framing, and that 84T I linked for trim. I hope you didn't have that 104T from sears, that thing looks like it would make the worst cut possible on any wood type. You might encounter a cut that needs something other than the 2 I described, but I would skip all the 50T 'general' blades, and I would not use the framing/crosscut blade on trim pieces, or vice versa the 84T while a good blade will burn 2x4's.

I don't have a 10" anymore, I prefer my 12" but on the table saw those are the ones I'd go with. I have a 10" 96T for my table saw, but I wouldn't want it for molding or 1by.