what blade to cut birch ply?

[mondogenerator]

i have acquired a circular 'skil saw', and it comes with a coarse TCT blade. What blade should i use for a cleaner cut? How many teeth? Thanks for any help that can be offered.

 

[yai]

you can find infos on choosing the blade here: Saw Blade Selection Guide - Rockler Woodworking and Hardware
for birch ply (multiplex) i always use ATB (alternate top bevel) blades with as many theeth as possible (e.g. 96 teeth on my 300mm blade)
http://www.rockler.com/articles/saw-blade-selection-guide.cfm

 

[mondogenerator]

thanks thats a lot of help. The saw comes with a 20 tooth 8 inch blade which i consider a quick rip blade.

 

[LafeEric]

As Yai said look for better quality more teeth blade.

For my skil saw this works very well:
7-1/4 in. x 40 Tooth Carbide Circular Saw Blade-D0740R at The Home Depot

For my table saw a 'combination' blade gives great results with plywood:
10 in. x 50 Tooth Combination Circular Saw Blade-D1050X at The Home Depot

 

[chrisb]

for clean / "chip free" cross grain cuts on veneer faced plywood (such as baltic birch), you can't have too many teeth and "expensive" blades / bits save you money every time you use them

this is a nice one

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

 

[Top Shelf]

+2 for that blade, very long lasting and the carbide is sharp!

 

[kevinahcc20]

The Freud blade shown is a very high quality tool & will work well.

 

[marce]

+3 for the freud.Even if you buy cheep tools, never buy cheep blades, you'll end up regretting it and quite often it will cost you more in damaged wood etc.

 

[fastbike1]

A step up from LU73

Freud LU79R



Amazon.com: Freud LU79R010 Thin Kerf Ultimate Plywood & Melamine Saw Blade 10 inch x 80t Hi-ATB 5/8 inch arbor Perma-Shield Coated: Home Improvement

 

[LafeEric]

Freud LU79R



Amazon.com: Freud LU79R010 Thin Kerf Ultimate Plywood & Melamine Saw Blade 10 inch x 80t Hi-ATB 5/8 inch arbor Perma-Shield Coated: Home Improvement

Nice!

 

[phivates]

60 bux for an excellent blade. Crazy! I have many Freud blades. There may be some equals, Tenryu for instance, but are they Communese?

 

[doorman]

(Pardon the hijack, Canada 2, GB nil--- Olympic women's football!)
Yup, Chris's blade rec. is perfect!
Don

 

[michelevit]

One good trick/tip I learned and works great is to score the wood with a sharp box knife. This prevents chips and tears when using cheap blade.
I use a long metal ruler to accurately score the wood.

 

[Viking777]

One good trick/tip I learned and works great is to score the wood with a sharp box knife. This prevents chips and tears when using cheap blade.
I use a long metal ruler to accurately score the wood.

Agree. I was going to recommend doing this also. It works with melamine too. Even with a good blade, its hard to avoid tearing the veneer, especially when crosscutting.

 

[TundraLTD]

I use this blade Freud LU79R010 on my table saw. I talked to the guys at woodcraft for a while they recommended this blade and said blades with a near neutral pitch were best for what I was doing. Between the table saw and my Festool TS75 I'm set 😀

 

[dmag]

Triple chip or best results will be had with a high alternate bevel with a negative rake angle.
More teeth is always better.
A layer of blue masking tape can help with tearout if its still a proben.
Amana and Everlast used to have very good technical refs in their blade catalogs.
And use a guige for skilsaws.

 

[dangus]

I cut oversize if I'm using the Skilsaw, then do a final cut using a router with a carbide bit. On an inside edge, I'll use the router with a guide. On an outside edge, I'll leave it oversized until the box is assembled, then use a flush trimmer bit.