General advice on circular saw blades.

[elsmandino]

Hello,

I recently bought a Mac Allister plunge saw and note that it comes with a 165mm 24-tooth TCT blade.

I have yet to use the thing but thought I would do a bit of research first, before using it.

I am glad I did, now, as I am not convinced that the blade that came with the saw is the best.

I would be really grateful for any general advice on what additional blades I might need to buy.

 

[SFK]

What and how are you planning on cutting, fast, fine, worktops etc?

And also note that it says that this saw uses a blade of: 165mm dia x 22.23mm bore.

Is bore size that correct??? Or a typo on their website?


I ask as I have not seen blades with a 22.23mm bore (hole in the middle) for cutting wood. Most are 20mm bore.
You many want to consider if you want to keep this saw if you cannot get blades for it.
(I once had this with a SF ripsaw that I had a strange bore size that was a nightmare to get blades for).

And I note that Screwfix said in their Q&A for this saw:
"We do not currently have any blades of this size. I have passed this onto our buying department so that we can try to stock these in the future."

SFK

 

[elsmandino]

Thanks mate - never occurred, to me, to even have considered the bore size.

What is really confusing is that the (seeimingly) same saw seems to confirm a different bore size, from two different sellers:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/mac-alli...d=335936#product_additional_details_container

https://www.diy.com/departments/mac...240v-165mm-plunge-saw-lt63006s/1803075_BQ.prd

Is it possible that these two products are very slightly different models?

 

[SFK]

Yes and just looked up manual and it shows a 20mm bore size.

http://www.free-instruction-manuals.com/pdf/pa_2127423.pdf

I guess you need to have a look at the label on the blade itself.


Regarding blades in your original question: Which blade.
These are all the SF 165mm blades (all with 20mm bore):
https://www.screwfix.com/c/tools/cu...t5990012&productdiameter=165_mm&sort_by=price

I tend to have two blades. One with lots of teeth for slow precise cuts and one with less teeth for fast bought cuts.
I find that both are excellent when I start, but they do get worse as their wear, and the diffoculy is always knowing when to change a blade (as money os money, but quality matters).
Also typically the more you spend the better.

sfk

 

[Deleted member 174758]

For cutting veneered sheet, melamine faced chipboard (Contiboard, etc) and the like you need something like a 42 to 48 tooth ATB (alternate top bevel blade). For carving-up plywood or chipboard for, say, flooring (where cut quality is less critical) then a 24 to 28 tooth blade is better as it cuts more freely and the saw is less likely to bog down. Also will generally be better for trimming solid wood doors than the 48t blades. Saxton and Dart are both reasonable quality blades - better than Titan or Silverline

 

[foxhole]

Very rough motor on those , gave mine away as it would trip fuse on start up .

 

[elsmandino]

Panic over the blade is indeed 20mm. I bought a 60-tooth blade and the cut was pretty impressive.