Chopsaw blade for turning shop

[Michael Schneider]

Hello All,

Our woodturning group has a new shop and I took a class there last night, very nice setup and alot of fun.


I Used the chop saw to trim down a piece before taking it to the band saw.

The saw struggled mightily.

It was a very basic 12" saw and had the orig blade.

I was going to pick up a new blade for the shop and was curious on what blade you guys use for a chopsaw.

The needs of a woodturning shop are a bit different then a cabinet shop, but I am not sure what to pick up

• Thick wood
• Wet wood
• Dry wood
• Basic saw , nothing fancy or top end
• Note: target use is rough cutoff of blanks, not segmented work

Thanks,
Michael

[Hayes Rutherford]

Michael, you might just replace whatever blade is currently in the saw with an exact replacement, considering it might just be dull. Even cleaning the blade with oven cleaner might help.

[Matt Schrum]

I thought the original blade on my chop saw was doing fine until I replaced the blade with a Diablo blade. The first cut I made with the new blade was like going through butter-- I hadn't realized that my old blade was dull as I had nothing to compare it to until that point.

I'm sure other blades are just as good or better out there-- but on my table saw (and now this new blade) I've had good luck with Diablo's blades. In my experience they have made clean cuts easily without completely breaking the bank and you can generally find them in stock at your local HD.

[Michael Schneider]

Hayes,

Thanks for the suggestion, the problem is that the saw is a no name saw with a no name blade. It will do the job, but
would work better with an improved blade installed.

I should have asked a better question. What tooth count, grind and maybe a specific blade do you recommend for
a turning shop.

Basic thick turning stock, some wet some dry.

80 tooth count saw does not seem to be the best for turning, even though it is great for cabinet making. I am not current with blade technology or makers.

Thanks
Michael

[Matt Schrum]

I was looking at the 44 tooth Diablo, but the wife surprised me with a 60 tooth. I haven't had a chance to test it on wet logs yet, but it cut through damp, treated lumber without hesitation.

[John K Jordan]

I'd say almost any blade would do, I'd get one with carbide teeth the same width as what is on it now.

But I'm wondering, why use a chop saw at all? Are you cutting bowl blanks out of very long, thick boards?

I use my bandsaw (18") for nearly all wood processing for turning, wet or dry. If I have a long slab like the thick cherry from my sawmill, I will often just grab a hand-held circular saw, a reciprocal saw (sawzall), or even, [gasp] a hand saw. I only go to the sliding miter saw when turning a slab into a bunch of square-ended pieces that I will cut further into spindle blanks on the bandsaw. I did a hundred of these not long ago for a class.

The precision of the cut is not the least important if you are about to round a blank with the bandsaw.

BTW, using a sharp hand saw is a very quick operation even on a wide and thick board. And a whole lot quieter.

JKJ

[Reed Gray]

Well, I don't know what tooth count would be on a 12 inch blade/12 inch chop saw. There are 'combination' blades for table saws that do a fairly good job of both cross cutting and ripping. If the chop saw is a 'no name' type, then I would guess that the blade that came with it is about as good as the bandsaw blade that comes on a new saw... The only real down side to using the bandsaw for cross cutting and ripping boards is that the tables are so small. They excel at uneven surfaces. I had a piece on the chop saw yesterday that bound up the blade when I got to one end. I needed a 24 inch cut off. Lots of levering and some bad words, and I did get it off... That type of cutting problem doesn't seem to be as bad when using a bandsaw.

robo hippy

[David Bassett]

I've got to mention Carbide Processors as a resource. I wasn't shopping for chopsaw blades, but the amount of information on tracksaw blades, both from them and from manufacturer's catalogs they provide, answered all my questions. Even the questions I didn't know I had. Besides their prices and service were superb and they support SMC.

[Hayes Rutherford]

I just re read your original post and realize a band saw was available so as JKJ said, you should concentrate on setting it up to process blanks.

[Michael Schneider]

Thanks Everyone,


Sorry for not being clearer. The band saw is used to process blanks, but long boards are sometimes cut down to better fit on the bandsaw. It is not used very often, so it is a very basic chop saw, with a pretty awful blade. I was just looking at donating a very basic blade for a basic saw.

Thanks to all,
Michael

[Jim Bell]

Any new blade will most likely be far better than the original blade on your chop saw. 12" blades are typically more expensive than smaller blades because of their size. Put a good blade on that cheap saw, it will perform much better. FWIW wet wood on a table or chop saw is never a good idea.