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Best panel saw blades?

d fleming

d fleming

Premium Subscriber
8" triple chip carbide. Nothing else. You can get them from safety speed cut. They are not cheap.
 
pjfmeister

pjfmeister

New Member
+1 on the Safety Speed blades.... You might also check and see if you have a local person capable of sharpening...We have 3-4 blades and rotate them out and get them re-sharpened
 
Brian27

Brian27

New Member
http://www.toolstoday.com/p-5310-non-melt-plastic-cutting-saw-blades.aspx

We use those blades on both our table saws and 3 of our miter saws. We have them sharpened bi-weekly and replace them every year. They're great for both acrylic/plastics and aluminum.

Freud also makes a decent triple chip that's much more affordable but isn't quite as clean cutting and doesn't stay as sharp as long.

http://www.amazon.com/Freud-LU97M010-Laminate-Melamine-Cutting/dp/B00006XMTY


Some other options you might consider:

http://www.toolstoday.com/p-5308-al...erial.aspx?&variantids=7236,0&keywords=510601
http://www.toolstoday.com/c-526-aluminum-composite-material-acm-cutting-saw-blade-sets.aspx
http://www.fastoolnow.com/ac-21060dn.html?productid=ac-21060dn&channelid=FROOG I've heard nothing but great things about Tenryu blades although I haven't personally used them.


In the end you're better off buying a quality blade and having them sharpened for $10-$15 than buy a crap blade and replacing the entire thing.
 
d fleming

d fleming

Premium Subscriber
I have a two year old blade on my saw. The original lasted a decade before it needed replacing. It can be sharpened again, I just haven't done it yet. If you use a panel saw properly the blades can last quite some time. If you have someone running it improperly (usually being in a hurry) it will dull blades quicker. If it runs all day every day I'm sure it will need sharpening /replacing more often than mine but I bet most of us on this forum don't require that amount of use in our shops. Mine cuts everything from mdf to alumapanel as I make wood cabinetry also in the shop for my brothers contracting business so it gets a moderate amount of cutting time. My table, radial, and two chop saws all have triple chip, If I need to cut rough I have a couple of saws set up for that with a combo blades. Just makes it easier.
 
Banners Signs Etc.

Banners Signs Etc.

New Member
The grumpy side of me just thought safety speed was just trying to make money selling their odd sized blades. The one that came with our saw wasn't all that high quality. Guess they have a better one. But any blade I buy has to be triple chip correct?
 
d fleming

d fleming

Premium Subscriber
If you want a clean, machined cut a triple chip carbide is the blade you want. You don't always need that clean a cut but changing blades on a panel saw is a pita. And yeah, spending that cabbage on a saw blade makes me wince too.
 
DerbyCitySignGuy

DerbyCitySignGuy

New Member
Forrest Manufacturing makes really good saw blades. They're a little pricey, but totally worth it.

You can call them and talk to them about your application and they'll help you get the right blade too. Everyone I've talked to there is really knowledgeable.

Festool also makes pretty good blade. I would own Festool everything if it wasn't so expensive.
 
Brian27

Brian27

New Member
d fleming said:
And you're sharpening blades bi weekly.:smile:
Click to expand...

We're in manufacturing, not printing. Dull blades not only produce an unacceptable product, but they're extremely unsafe to work with.

Even our Festool blades, who are universally known for having quality but overpriced products, are only $150. Paying $200 for some generic no-brand saw blade is like soul crushing.
 
DerbyCitySignGuy

DerbyCitySignGuy

New Member
Brian27 said:
We're in manufacturing, not printing. Dull blades not only produce an unacceptable product, but they're extremely unsafe to work with.

Even our Festool blades, who are universally known for having quality but overpriced products, are only $150. Paying $200 for some generic no-brand saw blade is like soul crushing.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with that. There's no information about the tooth style, how many teeth there are, the tooth angle, the kerf... If I'm paying top dollar for a saw blade, I want to know exactly what I'm getting.

I think we paid around $140 for our Forrest blade for cutting acrylic. Which is worth it, in my opinion, and Forrest is generally recognized as making some the best saw blades around.

Banners Signs Etc. said:
Right now I am using
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Banners Signs Etc. said:
"Freud D0860S Diablo 8-1/2-Inch 60 Tooth Fine Finishing Miter Saw Blade with 5/8-Inch Arbor"

Since I could not find an 8 inch blade that my saw calls for I'm using an 8.5''(probably dangerous). Its not the best (kind of chews up or melts coro when it starts to get dull) but I'm not sure what to buy. Do I need more teeth or less or a triple chip as some suggest? I'm mostly cutting coro and aluma(products).
Click to expand...


In general, you want more teeth for thinner metals. If you cut lots of metals 1/4" or less, probably go with an 80 tooth blade. 1/4" or more, maybe a 60 tooth blade. Go with a TCG tooth. The same blade would work pretty well for plastics, but if you can afford it, it probably wouldn't hurt to have one blade for each material.

You'll still have to sharpen the blade, because like Brian27 mentioned, working with blades that haven't been maintained is dangerous.
 
B

Brink

New Member
Brian27 said:
We're in manufacturing, not printing. Dull blades not only produce an unacceptable product, but they're extremely unsafe to work with.

Even our Festool blades, who are universally known for having quality but overpriced products, are only $150. Paying $200 for some generic no-brand saw blade is like soul crushing.
Click to expand...

+1 on dull blades being unsafe. The fastest way to cut yourself is with a dull blade. Holds true for saws and knives.
 
d fleming

d fleming

Premium Subscriber
Brian27 said:
We're in manufacturing, not printing. Dull blades not only produce an unacceptable product, but they're extremely unsafe to work with.

Even our Festool blades, who are universally known for having quality but overpriced products, are only $150. Paying $200 for some generic no-brand saw blade is like soul crushing.
Click to expand...
You're not the only one in manufacturing. I happen to print as well. I also do commercial building and contracting. Someone asked about blade, I gave a good source. Cheapest on planet, no. Only source, no. Just good product in my experience.
 
DerbyCitySignGuy

DerbyCitySignGuy

New Member
Banners Signs Etc. said:
Right now I am using
"Freud D0860S Diablo 8-1/2-Inch 60 Tooth Fine Finishing Miter Saw Blade with 5/8-Inch Arbor"

Since I could not find an 8 inch blade that my saw calls for I'm using an 8.5''(probably dangerous). Its not the best (kind of chews up or melts coro when it starts to get dull) but I'm not sure what to buy. Do I need more teeth or less or a triple chip as some suggest? I'm mostly cutting coro and aluma(products).
Click to expand...

Brink said:
+1 on dull blades being unsafe. The fastest way to cut yourself is with a dull blade. Holds true for saws and knives.
Click to expand...

That goes for anything! Take care of your tools and they'll take care of you. It's also not a bad thing to have a healthy amount of respect (and maybe a little fear, haha!) of your tools, since getting too comfortable is how you lose fingers.
 
Brian27

Brian27

New Member
d fleming said:
You're not the only one in manufacturing. I happen to print as well. I also do commercial building and contracting. Someone asked about blade, I gave a good source. Cheapest on planet, no. Only source, no. Just good product in my experience.
Click to expand...

Sure, but if you or anyone else is going to recommend something that is nearly twice as expensive as some of the top brands, then I feel it's necessary to tell people it's overpriced.

And upon further inspection, the blades they're selling are made by some unknown Made In China off brand.

http://www.cuttingtool.cn/product/544037614-218926855/TCT_Saw_Blade_for_Cutting_Acrylic.html

A little research can go a long ways.
 
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