Thin Kerf or full kerf blade???

I perffer full kerf. The blade will flex less and cut truer in thicker wood. The blade I like the most is Tenryu. I picked up one last week and it has been flawless. Smooth crisp cuts and best of all no burning when ripping white oak.

My saw has a similar sized motor. I find, for hard wood, the thin kerf blade cause less loading. This is for straight cuts (blade 90 degrees to the table). As Al pointed out, however, these blades will tend to flex more. Some of the flex can be reduced by using blade stabilizers.

Lew

I use which ever is sharper. Not that big of a deal.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

I have a 1.5 hp Craftsman and use only full kerf blades. It tends to slow down if I am cutting 8/4 stock or bevel cuts but, as Gary said, if the blade is sharp then I don’t have any problem. But when the blade starts getting dull it does tend to burn and the feed rate has to go down to make the cut. With this size motor you should not have any problem with either size blade.

One note I would add is get a good quality blade. The ones that come with the saw generally are not top quality blades.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

I have a 1 1/2 hp Craftsman and use Forrest WWII, thin kerf, cuts much better than the full kerf with this low power saw, I have had no flexing problems even when resawing 8/4×6 hard maple.

-- MARK IN BOB, So. CAL

Have your wife call mine please. I don’t think mine has bought my Christmas present yet.

-- Ron Central, CA

I prefer full kerf Forest WWII blades. I would only recommend thin kerf if you saw is 1 1/2 hp or less. Also, make sure that your splitter matches your blade.

-- Festool4

Is your wife single? Does she have a sister? LOL j/k.

I think you will just have to try both and see what works for you and your saw.

-- Adrian ..... The 11th Commandment...."Thou Shalt Not Buy A Wobble Dado"

I would suggest thin kerf under 1½ HP and your choice above that. If you go thin kerf and are concerned about vibration, you can get a blade stiffener.

Once you decide, you’ll probably want all of your blades to be the same thickness. On right tilt saws, it doesn’t matter if blades are different thicknesses because the right side of the blade is fixed by the arbor. But since your saw is left-tilt, the left side of your blade is fixed, so the right side will be in a different position depending on thickness of blade, so the distance between the blade and the fence (i.e. cut width) will be different. This can be aggravating.

-- http://www.north40custom.com -- http://north40studios.etsy.com --

Hey Peter…..good point about the arbor tilt, I never thought about it. I ahve a Delta cabinet saw that is right tilt and I hate it.

-- Don, Pittsburgh

I’m a left-tilt guy all the way, but I have thin and full kerf blades, and it drives me nuts. All my future blade purchases will be full kerf.

-- http://www.north40custom.com -- http://north40studios.etsy.com --

So I take it that you are changing the splitter with the blade – they must match if they are going to work. If you are not using a splitter, get one! You can get an aftermarket splitter for around 15 dollars.

In the US, there is a tablesaw related accident every 9 minutes.

Woodworking is best enjoyed when you have all of your original fingers.

Frank

-- Festool4

Get the Micro Jig steel splitter , cannot say enough about how goo they are!!!!

-- MARK IN BOB, So. CAL

It really doesn’t make a difference. Just remember to zero out your rip fence if you change sizes.

-- Greg - Charles Town, WV

Greg, I guess you’re right, but changing the zero on my saw is a hassle – it moves all over when you tighten the screws – and I often change blades a half dozen times a day. It would still be much easier (and less chance of introducing error) to leave the scale alone and have a single thickness of blade!

-- http://www.north40custom.com -- http://north40studios.etsy.com --

Hey thanks to everyone for the advice!!!!

-- Hrolfr

For fine joinery full kerf is usually better… less deflection. On a
less than 3 HP saw (which, lets face it, many people are using)
a thin kerf saw blade rips faster and it does a straight enough job.

Get a bigger saw and you can use whatever you want… though if
you’ve got the power you’ll probably just end up using full-kerf
blades mostly.

-- Would you like to recession-proof your present business using the internet? - my revealing 9-page free report gives you the straight facts: http://copymatch.com/rec/cap.html