Shopsmith Forums

This is a pricy blade but it is a great alterative for Shopsmith Mark 5 users who have not upgraded to the PowerPro. With a 1/16” blade it requires half the horsepower and produces half the saw dust when compared to a standard 1/8” blade. That means you can boost the relative performance of your 1 1/8 HP motor to 2 ½ HP when using this blade instead of a 1/8” blade. Even when compared to thin kerf 3/32” blades it show a huge improvement (33% more) that has the effect of boosting performance to 1 ½ HP. I have one of these blades as well as a Forrest 3/32” 40 tooth Woodworkers II blade. The performance on a standard Mark 5 is astounding. Ripping 2” stock with the WW II would bog down my motor so much I would have to come to a stop during the cut or slow the feed down to a painful crawl. With the Laser Thin Kerf I was able to make the same cut with ease. There was no burning and the edge it leaves is very smooth. While ripping thick stock is its strong suit, it also does outstanding crosscuts making it an ideal combination blade for Shopsmith Mark 5 users.
Now for the downsides. Since the Laser Thin Kerf is only 1/16” thick, means you can’t use your Shopsmith upper saw guard nor the standard riving knife. Instead you will have to invest in a special splitter and a custom table insert in addition to the blade. Infinity Tools sells the Laser Thin Kerf blade for $169.90 and the splitter for $19.90. Watch the video and read the review here.
http://www.infinitytools.com/10-Laser-K ... o/010-046/
I purchased the table insert from Peachtree Woodworking at $19.99. http://www.ptreeusa.com/table_saw_zero_clearance.htm
I like them better than the zero clearance inserts Shopsmith sells because they seem to be better made and definitely look better. You will have to extend the kerf in the insert after you make the initial cut with the Laser Thin Kerf so you can install the splitter. I used a scroll saw for that, and then use the two screws provided to install the splitter. I also made sure the blade and fence were in good alignment because the only kickback protection will be the splitter. So for a total of $209.79 and a little work you will be in business. Quite a bit for a saw blade but a lot less expensive than a PowerPro upgrade. You certainly could make your own table insert reducing the cost a bit. The last downside here is that the maximum depth of cut the Laser Thin Kerf is capable of is 2”. Not an issue for me because I never cut anything thicker than that anyway.
In summary I believe the Laser Thin Kerf blade is a great alternative to a PowerPro upgrade but certainly does not replace it. It allowed me a few years of higher performance table sawing before I recently upgraded to the PowerPro .

GREAT!

If only they made an 8 inch blade.
My antique ShopSmith won't spin a
10 inch blade.

steve

For those that do a lot of projects this saw blade might be a good deal, but for the average hobbiest, $200+ will buy a lot of wood. It would be the rest of my life to pay this price for a blade just to save an additional 1/16" or less (using a thin kerf blade) of saw kerf.

Goodness, the measuring raw boards isn't anywhere near as close to justify such a small saving.

The added HP is a bit of junk science. It all depends......

You certainly couldn't justify it with savings in wood stock but the performance increase is significant if you have a standard headstock. If you have a PowerPro it makes no sense. If most of your work is with 1" thick or thinner stock it would be hard to call it more than a luxury. Ripping 2" maple or oak is where the real pay off will come.

I've been using a Total Saw Solution Micro Kerf blade. It claims that it is also 1/16" of an inch, but instead of cutting the width of a penny, it cuts the width of a dime. It's an expensive blade too, but I paid no where near retail for it. It's very interesting to use, the sound it makes is very much different than a traditional blade.

And yes, it cuts like a hot knife through butter on 8/4 white oak with my 1 3/4hp saw.

http://www.totalsawsolutions.com

skou wrote:GREAT!

If only they made an 8 inch blade.
My antique ShopSmith won't spin a
10 inch blade.

steve

Forrest makes their WWII in 8" and I doubt the Infinity cuts any better. The Forrest can be had for right around $100 not $180 for the Infinaty. Why not go with a proven company with a solid reputation. There sharpening service is second to none and will put your blade back to factory specs. Forrest has been in business since 1946, enough said.

letterk wrote:I've been using a Total Saw Solution Micro Kerf blade. It claims that it is also 1/16" of an inch, but instead of cutting the width of a penny, it cuts the width of a dime. It's an expensive blade too, but I paid no where near retail for it. It's very interesting to use, the sound it makes is very much different than a traditional blade.

And yes, it cuts like a hot knife through butter on 8/4 white oak with my 1 3/4hp saw.

http://www.totalsawsolutions.com

Well, if you had to pay retail why would you? As I said in a previous post the blade to buy is Forrest. People think Forrest blades are very expensive. Now we have Total Saw and Infinity pushing $200 for a 10" blade and the same Forrest is $120 IF you pay full price. I seriously doubt if these new fangled blades make a better cut than Forrest. I can joint an edge on a piece of stock and then cut it to width on the saw it is nearly impossible to tell which edge was jointed and which one was cut with the Forrest blade.

I cut 8/4 hard maple on my 520 all the time with a Forrest WWII standard width blade with no problem.

A thin kerf blade is not needed on the SS due to the power of the head stock. What is needed on all saws is a properly maintained sharp blade. If you are cutting $100 a board foot wood then I guess a micro thin kerf blade is appropriate (Band Saw). Other than that, what is the point?

I suspect that there is a demand for this blade. If I am wrong, they will soon go out of business. But then what do I know? I am still operating with blades I bought from Shopsmith.

dusty wrote:I suspect that there is a demand for this blade. If I am wrong, they will soon go out of business. But then what do I know? I am still operating with blades I bought from Shopsmith.

I have a regular-kerf Forrest WWII (which I have always sent back to Forrest for re-sharpening) and I have the new, foreign-made, thin-kerf Shopsmith carbide blades, which I purchased about six months back when they went on special.

While comparing a regular-kerf blade to thin-kerf blades may not be an apples to apples test, so far, I've been so impressed with the quality of cut of the new Shopsmith thin-kerf blades that the WWII hasn't been back on my 520. I'm not saying they give a superior cut than Forrest -- only that I don't feel the cuts are inferior either. They are also much less expensive than the Forrest.

algale wrote: While comparing a regular-kerf blade to thin-kerf blades may not be an apples to apples test, so far, I've been so impressed with the quality of cut of the new Shopsmith thin-kerf blades that the WWII hasn't been back on my 520. I'm not saying they give a superior cut than Forrest -- only that I don't feel the cuts are inferior either. They are also much less expensive than the Forrest.

A-Men!!!