Saw blade choice for plywood

[jjj240]

I am sure it has been discussed previously, and there are lots of info on the web, but i'd like to revisit for Shopsmith specific due to 1-1/8 HP rating.

For cross cut blades,
Are there any benefits with 80T over 60T for plywood sheet cutting?
Will 80T full-kerf (1/8") make SS work too hard, and cause bind unless feeding very slowly?
What would you recommend for plywood cutting from below?
- 80T full-kerf
- 80T thin-kerf
- 60T thin-kerf

Could 80T be used to cut aluminium?

Your personal experience and advise would be greatly appreciated.

[jsburger]

I use a Forrest Woodworker II 40 tooth full kerf for everything (almost). I have a set of SS carbide blades (rip, crosscut and combination) that I used when I first bought my SS in 1994. They are not the same blades they sell today but they work very well.

Then in the late 90's I bought a WW II and never looked back. At that time I was working out of my garage and only had the SS. I used the WW II for everything. 40 tooth full kerf and no problem with feed rate at all.

When I built my dedicated shop in 2009 I got a Powermatic PM2000 table saw and the WW II resides on it now. I use the SS with the SS 60 tooth crosscut blade and my crosscut sleds now.

I cut some 1/2" Baltic Birch ply today. The first picture shows the top side and the second picture shows the bottom side. Yes it is long grain on the surface plys but cross grain looks the same, no tear out. BTW, the blade has not been sharpened in about 5 years. Yes it is time.

They are pricey but you will never have to buy another one if you take care of it. Forrest will fix anything that is fixable and if you send it to them for sharpening it will come back to new factory specs. Also their repair and sharpening prices are reasonable to me.

[jjj240]

That cut looks great.
I assume it is cut by SS 60T full-kerf.

I use a Forrest Woodworker II 40 tooth full kerf for everything (almost). I have a set of SS carbide blades (rip, crosscut and combination) that I used when I first bought my SS in 1994. They are not the same blades they sell today but they work very well.

Then in the late 90's I bought a WW II and never looked back. At that time I was working out of my garage and only had the SS. I used the WW II for everything. 40 tooth full kerf and no problem with feed rate at all.

When I built my dedicated shop in 2009 I got a Powermatic PM2000 table saw and the WW II resides on it now. I use the SS with the SS 60 tooth crosscut blade and my crosscut sleds now.

I cut some 1/2" Baltic Birch ply today. The first picture shows the top side and the second picture shows the bottom side. Yes it is long grain on the surface plys but cross grain looks the same, no tear out. BTW, the blade has not been sharpened in about 5 years. Yes it is time.

They are pricey but you will never have to buy another one if you take care of it. Forrest will fix anything that is fixable and if you send it to them for sharpening it will come back to new factory specs. Also their repair and sharpening prices are reasonable to me.

[jsburger]

That cut looks great.
I assume it is cut by SS 60T full-kerf.

I use a Forrest Woodworker II 40 tooth full kerf for everything (almost). I have a set of SS carbide blades (rip, crosscut and combination) that I used when I first bought my SS in 1994. They are not the same blades they sell today but they work very well.

Then in the late 90's I bought a WW II and never looked back. At that time I was working out of my garage and only had the SS. I used the WW II for everything. 40 tooth full kerf and no problem with feed rate at all.

When I built my dedicated shop in 2009 I got a Powermatic PM2000 table saw and the WW II resides on it now. I use the SS with the SS 60 tooth crosscut blade and my crosscut sleds now.

I cut some 1/2" Baltic Birch ply today. The first picture shows the top side and the second picture shows the bottom side. Yes it is long grain on the surface plys but cross grain looks the same, no tear out. BTW, the blade has not been sharpened in about 5 years. Yes it is time.

They are pricey but you will never have to buy another one if you take care of it. Forrest will fix anything that is fixable and if you send it to them for sharpening it will come back to new factory specs. Also their repair and sharpening prices are reasonable to me.

No, it was cut on my Powermatic TS with the same WW II I used on the SS. Point being the SS made the same cuts with the WW II as the Powermatic.

[garys]

I use my 40T carbide blade for pretty much everything including plywood. I have 60T and 80T carbide blades here, but they don't cut any cleaner than the 40T blades. It helps to put masking tape along the cut line before cutting and cutting the tape along with the plywood.
The 40T carbide does a far smoother job of cutting plywood for me than any of the so-called plywood non-carbide blades I've tried.

Do some practice cuts and go with whatever works best for you.

[reible]

Not all plywood is the same or plywood does not equal plywood in all cases. If you are just doing general cut on generic plywood just about any blade will work. I have a 50 tooth combo blade and do a lot of my garage level plywood projects using that. Works fine.

If you happen to work with thin veneered plywood materials or laminates is where the use of a blade designed for that sort of work comes in to play. Laminate Blades are just the thing then. The one I have is this:

https://www.infinitytools.com/catalog/p ... egory/643/

For other materials like aluminum or even stuff like MDF again a regular blade will work. If you are planning on doing a lot of that sort of material then it might be a good idea to get one of these:

https://www.infinitytools.com/10-multi- ... t-125-kerf

If you are happy with what ever blade you are using then fine. I personally believe that the better saw blades are good investment and one of the cheaper ways to improve your results.

Ed

[swampgator]

Once upon a time, you could purchase a plywood cutting blade from Shopsmith and Sears. I have looked in the product catalogue and cannot find that blade. I have a couple of them.

On sharpening, I would attempt a good clean up first. I clean mine often and just removing pitch from the blades makes them perform better. A car wash bucket with some saw blade cleaner or mixture of ammonia and water only if not carbide tipped.