Which carbide circular saw blade to use?
What's the right carbide circular saw to cut each material, and what's the difference? Look up blades for different uses here. Round serrated blades may be mounted on portable circular saws or on much larger equipment of varying capabilities. Slang: Circle saw.
Aluminum
To cut soft Non-Ferrous metals such as brass or copper, choose a specialized NF blade with tough carbide. Pick a triple chip style tilted back -6° to resist digging in. It works faster, cooler and far neater than an abrasive cut off wheel. For cutting extruded aluminum frames and tubes, select a fine 10 in. 80T. You can prevent smearing by using a wax stick lubricant, flood coolant or mist. Clamp the work. For bar stock, use a coarser one with raised shoulders.
Combination blade
A general purpose combo is divided into sections separated by a deep space. Each group combines 4 crosscut and 1 raker. A 10 inch dia. commonly has 50T, making it a multi-purpose compromise. The combo crosscuts fast and loud, but not necessarily neatly. It is also intended to be adequate for ripping, slowly. If you do mostly one or the other sort of cutting, you are better off choosing a specialized type.
Corian
Solid surface countertop is cast from plastics. Compare to Fountainhead, Gibraltar and Avonite. See: Plastic.
Crosscut
For slicing across wood grain, alternate bevel is the correct selection.
Dado
For crosscutting a broad groove in one pass, set up a dado. The two outer circular saw blades have their points all facing outward. In the middle, chippers and shims are stacked up to the maximum of the shaft length before the threads. Even if the table saw throat lets you use a big dia., the machine must have adequate horsepower and stability. If these factors are limited, a smaller set may be chosen. A dado is not used on hand-held circular saws, nor on miter or radial arm saws. A wobble dado is an adjustable gadget for jobs where the grooving doesn't need to be precise. Adjustability is a minor factor in choosing a dado set.
Demolition
Remodeling, nail-cutting and emergency fireman rescue are practical uses for a coarse, efficient demolition blade. It's tough enough to chop through soft metal and plexiglass, but wrong for glass or masonry. The periphery is almost continuous all around to limit overfeeding.
Fine tooth
How many teeth a blade has will affect both how good a finishing cut it can make, and how slow it cuts. A 10 in. 60T cuts relatively neatly. It does not rip efficiently. 80 to 100T cut slower and smoother, but the tendency of those tiny spaces to trap dust and heat may be a disadvantage.
Groover
For ripping a groove or slot, a groover has a breadth up to 3/4 in. A typical 6 in. dia. has 8T to do rapid grooving.
Hardwood
Typically, hardwood lumber is slower going than softwood. Maple is heavy, dense and abrasive. Teak contains silica. Oak is hard, stringy and used for flooring or stairs. Unlike manmade composites, all these natural woods have directional fibers to consider as you decide whether coarse or fine blades are chosen. Rip is the correct choice of circular saw blade to cut with the grain. Crosscut is the right selection to go across the grain.
If you use rare exotic hardwood species, rosewood or mahogany, conservation of stock is a concern. To waste less, the kerf of thin rim blades only uses up about .090 inch. They are rigid and their cutting depth is shallow due to a raised center.
Laminate
Formica, Arborite, Wilsonart and High Pressure Laminates are composites of layered kraft paper and Melamine, forming a hard plastic surface for particleboard countertops. Laminated materials are known for abrasiveness. HPL is more substantial and absorbs shock more than Low Pressure Laminate, known as Melamine. Double Face Laminate has Melamine on the back as well. Sometimes a panel saw is partnered by a scoring blade on the other face. If you use just one, choose a special DFL design. A 10 in. 80T HATB, laid back -5° and having low side clearance, cuts laminated stock smoothly. Lower it and cut slowly.
Luan
Lightweight panels are made of layers of soft, moisture absorbent luan. A very fine crosscut can manage its stringy, porous texture. It may be scored by a knife or die cut. Compare to: Plywood.
MDF
Medium Density Fiberboard is engineered from compressed granular softwood scraps. It's a heavy, porous and non-directional composite. It won't hold screws well, and may contain formaldehyde. Tools cutting MDF heat up due to abrasion, so choose a durable TCG 10 in. 60T.
Masonite
High Density Fibreboard or HDF, Masonite, Hardboard and cardboard are panels of compressed fibers. Compare to: MDF.
Melamine
Low Pressure Laminate or LPL is referred to as Melamine. It's applied as a skin to low-wear surfaces. See: Laminates.
Miter
An overhead miter saw is suitable for making miters such as for a picture frame. Do not use it to rip. A chop saw may come with a coarse blade which is wrong for molding. A specialized miter design is the best choice. It is similar to a general purpose combination, but there's a difference. It is finer (10 in. 80T) and has neutral rake, which is correct because you don't want it to pull too much. When using a sliding compound mitre saw that can tilt, stay away from blades that flex.
Panels
A vertical panel saw stands the sheet in a tall rack, and its saw carriage travels on ways. It's useful for sizing rectangular panels, but it can't tilt, miter or dado. A horizontal slider can do it all, but you need lot of room for the big slider platform. Panel saw blades may come in pairs. The second one can be as little as 100mm or under 4 in., for scoring. A few kinds have pins, and each make's configuration is unique. The differences are crucial in picking a proper match.
Particleboard
Softwood chunks are compressed together to make particle board similar to MDF, but the flakes and voids in particleboard are bigger. Compare to MDF.
Pergo
This is not like hardwood flooring; it has no grain. Pergo has images of various woods in plastic laminate adhered to a particleboard plank. Its hardness and abrasiveness are remarkable, so use a durable carbide TCG. Choose a fine blade and let the tips enter on the hard surface that is going to show.
Plastic
Use TCG for plastic. (A special no-melt one has chamfers on all its tips.) For Plexiglas acrylic, Lucite, or Lexan polycarbonate, select a 10 in. 80T -2°. A sheet can be scribed by a knife. For long cuts, distribute clamps evenly on a board.
For a heavier cast solid surface like Corian, a slightly more coarse 60T without forward lean is the best choice. If you choose a finer blade and go too slow, it gets plugged up and the countertop melts, leaving it crumbly. Friction abrades tools quickly in solid surface. You can stop vibration and wandering by adding stiffeners and staying below 12 in. dia.
Plywood
Every cut is a crosscut in a plywood panel. It's an engineered wood with several plies or layers stacked going different ways. Plywood holds fasteners well. Select a fine blade. Don't let the sheet vibrate or droop as you cut it.
Radial arm
This overhead machine is generally for crosscutting. Stock is positioned on a stationary table and a carriage slides along the arm. A radial arm saw is often used at 90° but can swing to any position. Since it climbs, choose blades with a retro -2° hook angle that won't grab.
Rip
To cut along the grain, ripping is done on a table saw. A ripsaw has a flat top and an eager +20° hook. Designed for cutting fast, a 10 in. dia. has only 18 to 30T. It has big open spaces to let out dust. A chamfered glue line rip is similar. Slang: Ripping also means swiftly roughing out.
Softwood
Pine and spruce are not as dense as hardwood lumber. To go across the grain of softwood, see Crosscut. The right choice to go with the grain is Rip.
Table saw
Wood is pushed across a slick waxed table saw past a slot where a circular sawblade emerges at an adjusted height; typically vertical but it can tilt. This popular kind of woodworking equipment accepts most blade styles and angles. It is one of the best choices for ripping and can also crosscut lumber. Portable ones are not as stable as cabinet saws.
Veneer
A surface layer of wood veneer is applied to a composite substrate panel. If the core is lightweight, or for cabinet making, a fine Hi-ATB is appropriate. Engineered wood flooring has veneer over plywood or HDF. To decide how to cut it, consider the density of the substrate. For laying a floor, one with a lower slant is adequate to the purpose and can last longer.