Best TS55 Blade for Walnut Plywood

[wmarazita]

I am getting some fuzzy edges when crosscutting 3/4" Walnut plywood with TS55. I have a 48 tooth Festool blade on it currently that came with the saw when I bought it years ago (#491952). This blade appears to the older version of the current 48T blade that they sell (495377). My blade cuts Baltic birch plywood very cleanly still, but I realize it may need to be sharpened. Most of my plywood edges will be buried in dadoes in solid wood, but some edges will have a 1/4" piece of solid walnut edging so those cuts need to be as clean as possible.

Is there a better suited blade to try with the 3/4" Walnut plywood which I can expect to get cleaner crosscuts? I don't mind a non-Festool brand blade if there is a good one for this purpose.

Thanks

 

[Michael Kellough]

The stock blade should be perfect for walnut ply. If your blade is clean and still isn’t giving the results you need you it probably needs to be sharpened. If you can’t wait for that to happen and can’t get a Festool blade fast enough you can get a similar Freud blade from Amazon.

Walnut veneer is much thinner than the surface ply of Baltic ply so it’s more prone to chipping and splintering. You can try the trick used for cutting Melamine. With the track clamped make a first scoring pass cutting only a mm or so deep. Then follow with a full cut pass to separate the part.

 

[wmarazita]

Thank you for the suggestions.
I will try them.

 

[Bob D.]

What about the condition of the splinter guard on your track(s)?

 

[bertv]

If it is only a few cuts where it matters, you could pre-score with a utility knife. And a good clean of the blade helps too.