Well when I Googled that I got non carbide blades from $6-$11. The carbides cost quite a bit more.
There were no blades for my table saw that were not carbide.
There were no blades for my table saw that were not carbide.
If you get a chance to use a $100 Freud or Amana blade you’ll be impressed. I picked up a 60 tooth $20 knock-off-brand at Harbor freight last week, it worked pretty good, but my saw is heavyyyy it makes a difference.
I do think you may be having a problem with the edge that is riding the fence; you can trim them with a router and a super straight edge.
What’s up with the plywood in the jointer, no problem with that, I suspect you may need to upgrade your cutters. Can’t run MDF in the jointer, that will dull it up fast.
Space problems, easy answer if you have the dough and a free wall, they have panel saws that start at $600, and up.
Actually they have something for everything, there is a spiral jointer cutter head made for MDF and anything else you want to feed though it.
www.holbren.com/spiral-cutterhead</SPAN>
I do think you may be having a problem with the edge that is riding the fence; you can trim them with a router and a super straight edge.
What’s up with the plywood in the jointer, no problem with that, I suspect you may need to upgrade your cutters. Can’t run MDF in the jointer, that will dull it up fast.
Space problems, easy answer if you have the dough and a free wall, they have panel saws that start at $600, and up.
Actually they have something for everything, there is a spiral jointer cutter head made for MDF and anything else you want to feed though it.
www.holbren.com/spiral-cutterhead</SPAN>
I don't understand why you want to argue about this. Just because a blade costs less does not mean it doesn't cut as well or anything. A more expensive blade is that way because it costs more to make it. It may last longer, but that doesn't mean it cuts better. It's horse for courses, as usual.
That's an interesting solution, but I doubt they are designed for precision cuts. I don't have a free wall anyway, but thanks.
The European technique (where space is at a premium) is to use a high quality circular saw and a precision straight edge, as for example Festool:
Guide Rails Overview - Festool
Still, big bucks for their stuff.
It's not without reason the only non carbide tipped blades you're likely to find in a commercial cabinet-making shop that aren't carbide tipped will those on planer/jointers, band saws and jig saws. Even at close to $100 for a standard 8 or 10" table saw blade, these pay for themselves many times over in the ease and accuracy and smoothness of cuts - but like any tool, only if machine is properly set up and not over-worked.
BTW, second the comments re the Beissemeyer (et al) fences (many of which have set screw adjustments for parallelism to blade), spraying surface metal surface of table saw with something like Bostik Top-Cote dry sealant/lubricant, and infeed/ outfeed tables. Ideally the latter should be larger in both directions than any sheet of panel material you intend to cut - and for a low friction surface, use melamine or plastic laminate not MDF alone. Binding or catching of a 4x8ft sheet of material may not be entirely life threatening, but even with guards keeping your fingers out of the blade, kick-backs on smaller pieces ain't no f-en fun. (really, it redacted f r iggen)
It's the combination of glue in engineered sheet goods and tip speed that tend to be hard on cutting surfaces - witness the accelerated wear on router bits when plunging and routing holes in MDF with a circle jig compared to flush trimming an edge of the same thickness of material that's been rough cut with a slight overhang.
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DIY home plywood version
We have the Fest**l at work, yes - big bucks. Its okay, last time I used it we were cutting the rubber on the aluminum guide (that’s not a good sign). The saw motor is also pretty wimpy. The fact that it can cut long miters is nice.
A DIY home plywood version, using a skill worm drive saw would be a close second, maybe better in some ways. But they wear out too (the ply rail).
I may have talked myself into a panel saw, always wanted one .
We have the Fest**l at work, yes - big bucks. Its okay, last time I used it we were cutting the rubber on the aluminum guide (that’s not a good sign). The saw motor is also pretty wimpy. The fact that it can cut long miters is nice.
A DIY home plywood version, using a skill worm drive saw would be a close second, maybe better in some ways. But they wear out too (the ply rail).
I may have talked myself into a panel saw, always wanted one .
I used a circular saw jig and router flush bit method that worked excellent:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/multi-way/97043-elsinore-project-thread-95.html#post2698804
Might be a bit more work, but, hard to argue with the results.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/multi-way/97043-elsinore-project-thread-95.html#post2698804
Might be a bit more work, but, hard to argue with the results.
Me too! I thought that was the answer to my straight cuts! Alas, the cheapest ones on craigslist start around $500, that's about $500 more than I want to spend right now.
Holy damn those are some clean cuts, I think I will have to give that a try also.
So I'm guessing you are...
-cutting the boards out will a little extra on each edge
-clamping the circular saw fence down and cutting that line leaving a small amount of wood left for the router?
-clamping a board on the underside of the one you want to trim, and running the router down it using the lower board as the guide...
correct?
It looks like it, but that board on the guide had better be perfectly true and straight. I've got an aluminum 2 piece straight edge, but I want to start collecting these:
E. Emerson Tool Co. Home
Short answer: Yes
Long answer:
I picked up the techniques from various posts, web sites and YouTube videos. While I have aluminum straight edges, I found the jigs handy and if careful during construction, they are true and straight. They are also cheap to make.
For the circular saw jig, I used an aluminum straight edge to mount and true a piece of composite trim onto a piece of 1/2 Inch MDF (48 inch long, about 6 inches wide). I then ran my saw down the trim piece as a guide to cut the MDF to size (about 5 inches with my saw). This produces a nice straight edge on the MDF as well and let's you know exactly where the blade will be cutting. To use the jig, you just clamp it onto the board to be cut and let her rip. This will yield the first straight edge on the board to be straightened. I cut this board about 1/4 inch more than the desired final size.
For the router jig, I clamped my aluminum straight edge onto a piece of 3/4 inch melamine shelving to act as a fence. The finished edge of the melamine shelf acts as the guide for the router flush bit bearing. In my experience, these shelves are pretty darn straight and true, so, they work well and are cost effective. At this point, I placed the piece to be trimmed onto the shelf with the edge from the circular saw cut against the fence. The fence is set to allow the router to take off a bit less than an 1/8 of an inch of material. I used an adjustable square to measure, set, true and clamp the fence against the melamine shelf. The board is then placed on top and clamped down and the flush bit set to the proper height (trim the board and not the melamine!). Let her rip (or is that route?).
At this point, you now have a second straight edge to work with. I then reset the fence to take off another ~1/8 section of material and flipped the board to put the newly routed side against the fence. Take another cut with the router. At this point, you should have a pretty accurate board with parallel sides that are smooth and finished. Also at this point, the board is accurate enough to make a nice square edge on the top and bottom using the same technique but by using the short finished end on the melamine shelf. The setup and cutting technique is the same. Repeat until you have the top and bottom edge you desire at the length you desire.
After getting the ends nice and square, I made a composite fence using the aluminum fence for the sides and a square for the top to check the final accuracy of the cuts and make one last pass to the final desired size. This last pass is probably not necessary, but, I did it to allow for mistakes that might have been introduced during the process. So, if you do it right the first time, then you might be okay to skip this step although I found that with each pass you take with the router, the straighter the edges become (as long as the fence is set accurately at each step, so measure and check constantly during the process).
A couple of points:
- you should really aim to route not much more than a 1/16 of an inch. I went closer to an 1/8th as my router and bit combo handled it with easy (no chatter at all).
- if you have a number of boards to do, perform each step of the sequence in parallel for each the boards. This limits the number of time you have to set the fence and also ensures each board comes out the same after each step. In the end, all of my boards matched perfectly. Be sure to establish some kind of system to track which sides have been routed and which have not.
- Use as many clamps as practical, particularly with the melamine which has a slippery surface. Continuously check to make sure nothing has slipped during each pass for each board. You might consider even screwing the fence down if you are limited on clamps. A self-clamping straight edge is always nice, but expensive.
Sorry this post is so long, hope it helps!
Route Bits I recommend for any speaker project:
This is new: WOW!!– bearing on top and bottom [you can use pattern top/bottom and/or flush cut]
http://www.amanatool.com/routerbits/down-shear-trimmer-47094.html
Other than that ¼”” straight bit, for cutting speaker baffle holes (make wood bracket and swing router) 7” is about all small as you can go with typical router.
I did see these the other day, not cheap but very nice. Click on Extra-Large Diameter Hole Saws
http://www.mcmaster.com/#hole-saws/=e0myd6
This is new: WOW!!– bearing on top and bottom [you can use pattern top/bottom and/or flush cut]
http://www.amanatool.com/routerbits/down-shear-trimmer-47094.html
Other than that ¼”” straight bit, for cutting speaker baffle holes (make wood bracket and swing router) 7” is about all small as you can go with typical router.
I did see these the other day, not cheap but very nice. Click on Extra-Large Diameter Hole Saws
http://www.mcmaster.com/#hole-saws/=e0myd6
That is an interesting guide, that’s two things I’ll have to order this week; that and the spiral bit with top and bottom bearings.
I typically use a ¼” piece of pexi bolted to the bottom of the router (swapping out router base), drill holes as needed on a center line to cut circles.
For smaller holes, I use a General 55 circle cutter; a drill press, single blade cutter. I made 7” holes with it in 1 ½” thick wood the other day; had to make a smaller holes/passes (6 -3/4”) so the cutting edge had room to work.
*The General wing cutter is more for 6” down to 1-1/2” circles.
I typically use a ¼” piece of pexi bolted to the bottom of the router (swapping out router base), drill holes as needed on a center line to cut circles.
For smaller holes, I use a General 55 circle cutter; a drill press, single blade cutter. I made 7” holes with it in 1 ½” thick wood the other day; had to make a smaller holes/passes (6 -3/4”) so the cutting edge had room to work.
*The General wing cutter is more for 6” down to 1-1/2” circles.
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