10" Blade: for a table or radial arm saw?

[Ray Newman]

Colleagues: have an older Sears 10, ,72 tooth with 3 expansion slots, carbide blade that was re-sharpened about 10 years ago. Put it away and never cut with it the re-sharpening.

I can not recall if it was for a table saw or a radial arms saw. Had a radial arm and sold in the early 1980's to buy a table saw. And I recall having carbide blades for both.

How can I determine of the blade is for a table or radial arm? Fellow Woodworkers told me to measure the tooth angles. One said the blade angle makes no difference.

But how  do I get an accurate reading off the outer edge and a tooth (or teeth)?

[Bill Wilson]

If you have a table saw, then use it on the table saw.  More important than the saw it was bought for is the function it was designed for.  A 72 tooth, carbide tip blade sounds like it was designed for cross cuts.  A rip blade would have fewer teeth, say 24-30 and a combination blade usually has 40-50.  Even though this may be a cross cut blade and originally purchased for your RAS, it can still be used on the TA, just for cross-cutting operations.

As for the tooth angle, that would be more pertinent, if you intended to use this on something like a sliding compound miter saw or another RAS.  Those saws require low to negative hook angles, due to the way the saws are designed to cut.  If you are cross-cutting on a table saw, then the tooth angle is less of an issue.

[fredhargis]

Whoever told you the blade angle makes no difference has no experience with an RAS. That's true on a TS, but with an RAS you want a more relaxed hook angle to reduce the self feeding tendency these saws have. In years past (many years past) folks used these blades on both type of saws, so honestly the blade could be odd either one. If you want to use it on a TS, go ahead and have no fear....it will work. If you want to use it on an RAS, then check the hook angle. You can search that term and see how it's measured. Now, I may have misspoke when i said blade angle makes no difference on a TS. Blades are made for different purposes and the hook angle is important. You want to match it to the job. I had one of the 72 tooth Craftsman blades, it's generally regarded as a cross cut blade, and doesn't fare that well with ripping. I honestly don't remember what the hook angle was, but I do think it was a positive angle...I usually like a -5° hook on an RAS.

[Bill Wilson]

But how  do I get an accurate reading off the outer edge and a tooth (or teeth)?

Don't know exactly how they are measured, but sometimes a simple visual is sufficient to explain the difference.



I think the vertical line in the picture represents a line from the center of the blade to the forwardmost contact point on the tooth.  The angled line represents the angle of the tooth.  I presume the difference between them is the hook angle.

[giradman]

Colleagues: have an older Sears 10, ,72 tooth with 3 expansion slots, carbide blade that was re-sharpened about 10 years ago. Put it away and never cut with it the re-sharpening.

I can not recall if it was for a table saw or a radial arms saw. Had a radial arm and sold in the early 1980's to buy a table saw. And I recall having carbide blades for both.

How can I determine of the blade is for a table or radial arm? Fellow Woodworkers told me to measure the tooth angles. One said the blade angle makes no difference.............

Hi Ray - you've already received some great comments and apparently want a 10" blade for a table saw - tell us which table saw you own; if a lower power model, then a thin kerf blade (i.e. 3/32") would be a consideration (vs. 1/8") - also, what type of cuts will you be making, e.g. mostly rips or crosscuts or an equal combination?  My suggestion is for you to 'dump' the old Sears 72 tooth blade which is for crosscuts only (I have a Freud 80 tooth thin kerf on my miter saw), and consider buying a good quality combination blade - these typically have 40-50 teeth of different types - Freud or Forrest are considerations - plan to invest at least $50 or more - for my Steel City TS, I use a 50 tooth Freud thin kerf combo blade, but own a bunch more, such as a lower tooth ripping blade to use when needed.  Dave

[R Clark]

I'd keep a blade like that around for use on my table saw to cut acrylic polycarbonate sheets.  The negative hook angle will provide a smoother cut in plastics.

[TDKPE]

You don't really need to know that exact angle, but by slapping a wooden or plastic straight edge of some sort, from center to a tooth, you'll be able to instantly see if it's positive, negative, or zero. Close enough without actually measuring the angle. Once you know what it looks like, you won't need the straight edge (see pic in the post above).

[Alan S]

If you were using a RAS, the rake angle would matter to what you could do safely.  Since you are planning on using it on a tablesaw, there is not the same question of safe use.  Just try it and see if it crosscuts as cleanly as you'd like. 

A rip blade is nice to have as well, and is cheaper than a crosscut or combo blade of the same quality.  Ripping on an underpowered saw it's particularly valuable: going from a combo to a rip blade feels like going from 1.5 to 3 HP.

[Ray Newman]

Gents: I did not properly explain myself.

I have not utilized this blade since I discovered Forrest blades about 30 years ago. About that time,  I had it re-sharpened,  put it in the blade box, and promptly forgot 'bout it.

Recently discovered that I still had it and before passing it on, I would like to know if it is for a TS or RAS cross cutting.

[Alan S]

So you just want to be able to describe to a potential buyer what you have?  In that case, draw a line on a sheet of paper, and put the blade on it so the center of the blade and the tip of a tooth touch the line.  Now put a small straightedge against the face of that tooth, and draw another line.  The angle between the lines is the rake angle, and it's positive if (as shown in the figure posted above by Bill Wilson) the tooth leans forward.