Cross cutting and ripping blades?

[njc110381]

Hi guys. Following on from my post a few weeks back about a sawbench, I've now managed to source one and hope to pick it up at the weekend. This of course brings on the next question...

 

I've got myself a flat table saw. Reason for this is that I would really like in the future to be able to plank up any decent logs that I get to make stuff with around the garden and in the house. That brings me to my first potential problem - which blade do I need or should I have both?

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but I understand that to cross cut the teeth should be pretty much in line with the centre hole of the blade and ground on an angle to produce an edge on one side of the tiop and side of the tooth. With a ripping blade though it needs to be more flat topped and faced so it hits the wood square on and also needs more of an angle so the blade hooks the fibres of the wood?

 

Is there such a thing as a blade that does both? The way I see it a blade with too much hook will snatch when cross cutting and I really don't want that! How will a cross cutting blade do at ripping though? Will it work or not cut properly?

[agg221]

There is no such thing as a blade which does both well. There are compromises which will sort of do both, slowly, but you're trying to cut fibres in different directions and it needs a different profile to take the wood out.

 

So, really you need both, although if you're startng by cross cutting you don't need both at once.

 

There are different profiles for rip and cross-cut, and for hardwood and softwood. There's a handy guide in Spon's Mechanics Own Book:

 

Filing And Setting Saws

 

(it runs over several pages).

 

Alec

[njc110381]

Thanks for that link, it's very interesting!

 

I've read it once but only scanned it - I've saved the page so I can go back to it when I get more time.