Blade for sliding table saw

[Bobby Robbinett]

So we got our first sliding table saw which is a Griggio SC3200B a couple of weeks ago. Electrician should be here to wire it up sometime this week. We will pretty much only be cutting plywood sheet goods with this saw. We already have several other table saws for dedicated ripping and dado’s. What would be a good blade for this saw? I have been looking at the Amana DT14109-30 and their DT14108-30 but wondered if you guys have any other suggestions? I believe this saw has a 30mm arbor and can accommodate up to something like a 14” or maybe even a 16” blade. Got to check the manual on that. These Amana blades are 108 tooth and one is a TCG and the other is a ATB. Any other suggestions?

[Mark e Kessler]

I have been out of production cutting for awhile but 108t TCG seems like a lot for ply, I only used a TCG on mela and lami. Does it have scoring and will you be cutting melamine, double sided laminated panels? If it is mostly ply I don’t think I would go with TCG grind unless you plan on very little if none solid cutting, I get good results with 48 ATB 300mm and scoring and use it on ply and solid, if I went to all ply tomorrow I would probably stick with the 48 until I had issues (if ever) then move up to a 60t. Don’t think you need more than 300mm, I just went through this thought process as my new saw will take a 400mm blade, the smallest dia blade that will do the job, less flex, runout, less money to buy/sharpen

[Jim Becker]

108T on a big 14 or 16" blade isn't excessive for sheet goods as it compares similarly to smaller diameter blades with suitable tooth count for their size. I'm not familiar with blades for that large size so can't make any suggestions. I'm pretty much standard on Forrest for my slider which is a 12" machine.

[johnny means]

I've never noticed any substantive difference in blades from manufacturer to manufacturer. I settled on Amana's A.G.E. line just because it met a good price point that allowed me to just keep more blades and keeping a fresh one in service.

[Scott Buehler]

I agree with Amana, for the price. Although Forrest is a great blade and I concur with Jim, 108 teeth on a blade that size is not that much.

[Mark e Kessler]

108t on a 14” isn’t alot? Based on what? It’s about double tpi compared to a 48” 12” blade 14” is about 2.45 tpi and 12” is about 1.27tpi and a 12” 48tpi does the job well. of course my quick math could be wring...Why would you need a 14” blade to cut panels? Unless you are stacking them I would go with a 250mm and the least amount of teeth required of thats all I was going to cut

I agree with Amana, for the price. Although Forrest is a great blade and I concur with Jim, 108 teeth on a blade that size is not that much.

[Jim Becker]

Mark, if the saw is designed for a 14" blade, then the tip speed for cutting is going to be optimal at that blade size. Going to a smaller blade is going to result in a slower tip speed which can affect quality unless there's a speed adjustment on the machine to accommodate smaller blades.

[Erik Loza]

I've never noticed any substantive difference in blades from manufacturer to manufacturer. I settled on Amana's A.G.E. line just because it met a good price point that allowed me to just keep more blades and keeping a fresh one in service.

^^^ My experience, as well. Everybody has their favorite brands but I honestly have never been able to tell a difference. "Yes", big difference between jobsite-type blades and real table saw blades but most of the bad results I've seen (or experienced) has been from either dull tools or using the wrong blade for the job.

I'm not familiar with that particular Griggio but to add to Jim's point, "if" it takes a 14" or 16" blade, is it only a single-speed pulley? You can cheat bigger blades in there on some of the Italian saws but blade speed becomes terrifying if it's only a single speed (300mm blade) pulley. Just an FYI and good luck with the machine.

Erik

[Mark e Kessler]

Jim, you are making a generalized assumption that his saw does not have different speeds, most saws that take a larger than 12” blade have multiple speeds to pick not just one like on yours. We are all making assumptions based on the OP’s general questions and as always more details are needed....

Mark, if the saw is designed for a 14" blade, then the tip speed for cutting is going to be optimal at that blade size. Going to a smaller blade is going to result in a slower tip speed which can affect quality unless there's a speed adjustment on the machine to accommodate smaller blades.

[Jim Becker]

Jim, you are making a generalized assumption that his saw does not have different speeds, most saws that take a larger than 12” blade have multiple speeds to pick not just one like on yours. We are all making assumptions based on the OP’s general questions and as always more details are needed....

My reply did mention alternative speeds... ...right at the end. I have no knowledge of the specific saw's capabilities.

[Scott Buehler]

Mark, I have a 10" blade with 100 teeth for cutting plywood/ melamine. The OP says he has a 14" saw and will also be cutting mostly plywood,so yes, a higher number of teeth are usually preferred. A 48 tooth blade(on a 10" blade) would be a good general all around blade, but a higher number of teeth would give a smoother cut..48 teeth on a 14" blade would more than likely equate to a ripping blade.

[Mark e Kessler]

Yes I understand this - I have been a cabinet maker/furniture maker for 30+ years, i owned a business with 5-7 employees and several sliding panel saws, I have stood behind a panel saw cutting sheets for days on end 100’s if not 1000’s of sheets. My point is he doesn’t need a 14” blade with a 108t to cut 3/4” ply unless thats what he wants i.e the extra cost, noise etc... I get very good cuts with a 300mm 48 atb there are so many variables here, if he needs a glass smooth cut then maybe he needs a high tooth count and he would need several or maybe he has an edgebander with a premill and is more concerned with through put of the saw, who knows... he probably asked his question on a professional blog and got an answer which is why we haven’t heard back...

Mark, I have a 10" blade with 100 teeth for cutting plywood/ melamine. The OP says he has a 14" saw and will also be cutting mostly plywood,so yes, a higher number of teeth are usually preferred. A 48 tooth blade(on a 10" blade) would be a good general all around blade, but a higher number of teeth would give a smoother cut..48 teeth on a 14" blade would more than likely equate to a ripping blade.

[Mark e Kessler]

See Jim, that's what I get for blogging at work while making sure no one is watching

[Jim Becker]

See Jim, that's what I get for blogging at work while making sure no one is watching

Work? What's that???