Hollow grind saw blades..

[andrew whicker]

Does anyone use these?

I don't use any particle board or much mdf personally. Was wondering if these are good blades for baltic birch.

[Richard Coers]

Not since the late 70s, before the high end carbide blades were invented yet. I'd buy hollow grind steel blades called plywood blades and then throw them away when they got dull. I see no purpose to use a hollow grind blade now. You just can't beat a Forrest Duraline High A/T.

[Warren Lake]

Andrew years back I worked for a Navy carpenter guy. He had quite a few hollow grind high speed steel with little tiny teeth. There was a wax sort of stick as well that you put into the blade. Cut aluminum with it as well. There were good things about it but as Richard said there are so so so many good blades now. I likely have towards 10 brands and will still try Kanafusa and Tenryu. The Royce Ultimate its great but most I have all work well. More about the right blade for the job. If they were the blades like navy guy had then id not want them for baltic. Its harder than regular birch as the trees grow in a cold environment then many glue lines past 13 to 15 now new world its whatever it is. The last ply I bought I think was 12 and I told the supplier its made wrong.

[Jenifer Emerson]

Choose a blade with the right geometry, quality, and TPI for the specific cuts and wood characteristics.

[Tim Greif]

Back in the 70s and 80s, I recall buying Craftsman blades that were advertised as "hollow ground planer" blades. This was before carbide tipped blades became popular. The claim for these blades was that the cut was good enough for glue line rips. I can attest that they did indeed produce a cut suitable for glue-ups without further edge treatment. I never used them for plywood though. As others have said, I see no need for such a blade any longer with the availability of various types of carbide blades.

[Edward Weber]

I had/have one and where I get my blades sharpened, they didn't have the equipment to recreate the hollow grind. Times have changed

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Is this about hollow ground versus set teeth? My arborists hand saw is hollow ground. It cuts better than any saw I have ever used. It is not intended to be sharpened. I will be sad when it gets dull.

[andrew whicker]

Interesting. Makes sense.

I read about them in a 90's era book on European cabinetry. I had never heard of them before and now it makes sense why. : )

[John Pendery]

I just got finished with a kitchen that was all exposed edge Baltic birch casework with inset doors and drawers using koskidecor ply. So lots of finished edge plywood! I have a couple Schaffer 350mm 72 tooth ATB blades that I rotate in my saw and use 95% of the time. I was expecting to use my Forrest duraline hi-a/t for the job, but after making a few test cuts found it wasn’t necessary and I avoided having to adjust my scoring blade for the wider kerf when cutting the koski ply. My takeaway is a good quality sharp blade with a smooth feed rate makes up for a lot. I find the sheer number of options available downright dizzying, and some of the super specialized stuff isn’t always necessary.

[Bill Dufour]

I think they were the first type of thin kerf blade.
Bill D

[andrew whicker]

I have this one, I think. A while ago a bought 15 blades or so from a school auction and this came with it.

https://carbideprocessors.com/worlds...od-saw-blades/

It's done pretty well. Alternating bevel with a flat grind on the first tooth in each set. I want a 2nd blade soon so that I can swap for sharpening. I'll check out that forrest blade.

20231114_124644.jpg

[Ray Selinger]

This will really date me. I have my Dad's DeWalt Power Shop 1400, an early '60 machine. The most common hollow ground blade was what they called Combination Planer , a combination blade with no set. Less common was the hollow ground Plywood Blade, a fine tooth, again with no set. I have a Craftsman dado set that's hollow ground as well.That one I bought, Sear's 50% off. The blades I use, say Freud on them.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

This will really date me. I have my Dad's DeWalt Power Shop 1400, an early '60 machine. The most common hollow ground blade was what they called Combination Planer , a combination blade with no set. Less common was the hollow ground Plywood Blade, a fine tooth, again with no set. I have a Craftsman dado set that's hollow ground as well.That one I bought, Sear's 50% off. The blades I use, say Freud on them.

Cool!
Image from the web



I have the Craftsman dado as well. It is too bad none of that stuff cut worth a dodo.

[Tom M King]

I think I have various sizes of those that never got used. They're probably from the early 1970's. I built by first set of cabinets with homemade straight edges, a circular saw, and a hollow ground plywood blade.
It must have been along about that time that I saw my first carbide tipped saw blade and the ones I have hanging around somewhere never got used.

That RAS brings back memories. My first building job was to build 200 picnic tables. The only saw we had to use was a 9" RAS similar to that one with a bent, dull blade. I don't think I ever locked up a blade in another saw after jambing that one probably a couple of hundred times. Fortunately, it was pretty low powered. That was also my first time straightening and sharpening a saw blade, out of desperation. That was the only blade we had to use. I think I was 14 and was given one helper. We had a truckload of Pine 2x6's, a few 50 pound boxes of 20 penny nails, a few wooden handled hammers, a piece of plywood to make a form for assembling the table ends, and that RAS.

[Dave Sabo]

Not since the late 70s, before the high end carbide blades were invented yet. I'd buy hollow grind steel blades called plywood blades and then throw them away when they got dull. I see no purpose to use a hollow grind blade now. You just can't beat a Forrest Duraline High A/T.

sure you can………….depending on your saw and what exactly you are cutting.

I get MUCH better results in melamine with. Freud melamine blade on my two saws than I do with a Duraline. It’s not even close, and the Freud has some mileage on it while the Drialine is practically new.

Duraline is better most of the time cutting plywood crossgrain - but not always.