need advice on tablesaw blade noise

[Bob Hampton]

I have an older craftsman contractor tablesaw ...its all in good working order but im having a problem with blade noise....
I have a new Irwin crosscut 40 tooth blade and its making a terrible high pitch kind of whining noise that i cant seem to get ride of ...it cuts just fine but the noise drives me crazy..never had a blade do this..usually all i hear is the whine from the blade spinning..
I was thinking that maybe i should go to an 80 tooth blade but im not sure...any idea's?

Thank for any info
Bob

[Myk Rian]

I'm not sure what you expect.
All blades make noise. That changes with how high it is cranked up, and different tooth counts create different sounds.
Are you sure it isn't the arbor or motor bearings?

[lowell holmes]

I use ear muffs to eliminate the noise. It will save your hearing.

[shane lyall]

Are you using a zero clearance insert? some blade will scream as the expantion slots pass the insert and be whisper quiet running without it. Remove the insert to test ONLY. Don't cut anything but just step back and let it run a bit. I've seen somewhere that adding wax to the slots will help tone it down if thats the source.

[Terry Beadle]

Another thing to try is putting some floor wax on both sides of the blade. Don't bother buffing.

It may be you have some thing like a cut off thin piece of wood or glue or what ever down in the body of the saw that will go quiet when the wax hits it.

The wax application should also clean the blade some what. The sound harmonic holes in the blade ( I think there is 3 ~ 4 of them ) should also be waxed.

[Tom Walz]

Some blades just scream. Each blade has its own harmonic properties that differ slightly from blade to blade. If the blade matches your saw just right it will scream. Above are good suggestions. Trying a different blade is probably the best solution.

[Callan Campbell]

Plus 1 on what Tom said. I have several blades for my Unisaw, most are quiet , but one is so noisy as compared to the rest that I tend to never use it unless I have to. Try a different blade if you can afford to.

[dave toney]

I have a couple of blades that whistle very loudly, it is the expansion holes, they are for my radial arm saw so it is not a matter of zero clearance inserts in my case.
Dave

[Bruce Page]

Not mentioned, 80 tooth blades are not good for general purpose work, they are more suited for cross cut operations and some sheet goods.

[Bob Wingard]

If the blade has the laser cut expansion slots, you can glop on a little RTV caulk ... it will fill the gaps, but still allow the blade to expand/contract as needed.

[scott spencer]

The Irwin Marathon and Sprint blades are fairly low quality IMHO....noise is only one of their many issues. The only decent Irwin blade I've encountered is the Irwin Woodworker series made in Germany by Leitz, but unfortunately they discontinued those. Honestly, I'd return it for another brand....Freud/Freud Diablo, Infinity, CMT/CMT ITK, Amana A.G.E., Forrest, Ridge Carbide, Tenryu, Onsrud, Oshlun, Ridgid Titanium, DeWalt Precision Trim, etc. Some of these run less than $30...I'd consider anyone of them to be an upgrade from the Irwin.

[Gene Howe]

The Irwin Marathon and Sprint blades are fairly low quality IMHO....noise is only one of their many issues. The only decent Irwin blade I've encountered is the Irwin Woodworker series made in Germany by Leitz, but unfortunately they discontinued those. Honestly, I'd return it for another brand....Freud/Freud Diablo, Infinity, CMT/CMT ITK, Amana A.G.E., Forrest, Ridge Carbide, Tenryu, Onsrud, Oshlun, Ridgid Titanium, DeWalt Precision Trim, etc. Some of these run less than $30...I'd consider anyone of them to be an upgrade from the Irwin.

+1. Nuff said.

[Carl Beckett]

Another consideration is the drive belt. I had a contractors saw once where I swapped out the belt for a link belt drive. It made a big difference in noise and vibration. Ran much more smoothly and quieter after the belt upgrade.

[Bob Hampton]

thanks guys for all the advice..its all good ...i spent the day trying different ideas but no joy at all ..next is another blade ...i did change the belt a few months ago to a link belt and did make a big difference ..run almost vibration free ..other then this blade whine it does a fine job for me .
again thanks for all the good advice
Bob

[Tom Walz]

I just talked to Tony Pense of Superior Saw in Tacoma Washington.

He pointed out a couple things about screaming saws. The first thing he suggested was making sure that the expansion holes are plugged. On better saws they use copper plugs or epoxy, as mentioned above, for less expensive saws.

He said that they can sometimes change the grind on the tips and improve the situation. He also pointed out that it is a matter of harmonics so that changing the tension in the saw plate can help with the screaming or solve the problem entirely.

He has seen situations where the saw blade will scream on one machine but not on any others. This brought up the concept that you might want to trade your blade with another woodworker.

You might be able to exchange it wherever you bought it. There are tool suppliers that have a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Somehow this is really bothering me. Screaming blades can be really horrible. If you can't get it solved any other way, then send me a PM and I'll send you a Popular Tools saw blade free. Write an online review of it and we’ll call it a promotional item.

Tom