TS75 Saw Blades

[phmade]

I have never been able to get perfect, chip free cuts on melamine with my TS75.  I have been able to get good results with the 52 Tooth Fine Blade and the 60 tooth TCG blade but not perfect.  In my Table Saw, I use a HiATB grind and I'm able to get PERFECT chip free cuts on melamine.  Does anyone know if I can get a hiATB blade for the TS75?  Should I just get one custom ground?

 

[Michael Kellough]

The Freud LU79R006M20 is excellent on the 55 saws but I don't know of anything similar with a 30mm arbor.

If you want to cut melamine with the 75 saw (single sheets of 3/4" stuff) maybe you could just get that Freud blade and get it bored out to 30 mm. The smaller diameter blade will also give a better attack angle than the full size blade. If you are only plunging an inch with the large blade you need a super aggressive hook on the teeth to get the equivalent attack angle on the work.

As far as using smaller blades than normal, I use Freud D0436X Diablo 4-3/8-Inch 36 Tooth ATB Cordless Trim Saw Blade with 20-Millimeter Arbor a great deal of the time when cutting sheet goods (but not melamine) on my older ATF 55.

 

[phmade]

I never considered using a smaller diameter blade... Would I still be able to use the riving knife on my TS75?  I'm also wondering what it would cost to have a blade custom made / ground?  Has anyone ever done this?

 

[Oldwood]

I think the larger diameter blades should chip less on the top side as the cut is more parallel to the surface & less vertical. I think you can get the high angle ATB melamine blades in 8" & then have them bored to size. I have considered doing this but have not had a great need as I have a panel saw with a scoring blade. The down side of the high angel ATB blades is the points are quite fragile and they don't last as well between sharpening as some of the other blade styles.

Keep us posted on how it gos if you find a blade that works for you.

Gerry

 

[phmade]

I spoke with my local sharpening shop and they can definitely change the bore size on a saw blade for a pretty small cost.  I've been searching for the right saw blade and I can't seem to find one.  I'm looking for a blade that's 220mm in Diameter with a HiATB grind with 2.4mm kerf.  I can't seem to find one that meets these criteria.  I would even go smaller than 220mmDIA but the kerf is either too thin or too thick and I really want to use my guide rails with all my blades.

I've checked Leitz, Frued, Amana, and Tenryu.  Does anyone else have any suggestions?

 

[phmade]

This seems to be the best I can find. 
Forrest Blades DH08807100.
It is 8" DIA, only slightly smaller than the TS75 usual 220mm.
It has a 5/8" Bore which I can get enlarged.
It has HiATB ground teeth.
It has a .100 kerf which is only .006 wider than the Festool standard.

It costs $168 so it's kind of an expensive experiment but I'd like to try if it gets me chip free cuts on melamine.
Any thoughts or recommendations?

 

[rljatl]

Did you actually call Forrest and talk to them or just look at their website?  I would call them.  Bet they can do it all for you.

 

[phmade]

I talked to Forrest today on the phone and ordered a blade.  I ended up purchasing an 8" blade which is slightly smaller than the 210mm Festool Blades.  They told me they could custom make a blade, but it would be about $325.  I expect to get the blade next week and I'll report back with a performance review.

 

[amt]

I wonder if you could make a first pass with the blade just barely cutting in to the material, so that the teeth that are cutting are nearly horizontal when making the cut.  Then follow up with the blade deep enough to cut the material completely.

 

[phmade]

I have tried using a "scoring pass" first - both backward and forward.  I was never able to achieve consistent results with that practice.  Not to mention, it took too long to make two cuts...

I received my new Forrest blade today and I'm hoping to try it out within the next couple of days.  I'll report back with a review.

 

[phmade]

I just wanted to report back; I finally used my new Forrest blade and it worked fantastic!  I now have chip free cuts in melamine!  I'm eager to see how long this blades performs before it needs sharpening - I've processed about 4 sheets of melamine so far.