The 80 tooth blade you have on your miter saw would be good for plywood too. The more teeth the better for plywood.

 

Well, my Dewalt DW704 type 1 miter saw takes a 12" blade and my cabinet saw takes a 10" blade. Would a 60T blade do good for cutting plywood? Or is an 80T blade quite a bit better? I think that my local Home Depot carries a 96T Diablo 10" blade for about $80. Would that be the most optimal blade for plywood? I already own a spare 60T blade that is still new in the package and never been used, but if the 96T Diablo is better then I might try and pick it up this weekend. Thanks again for the help Steve!

 

I'd use the 60 tooth Diablo

I just finished a bunch of plywood shelves using my Freud 50 tooth combination for the rips on the table saw and my 60 tooth Diablo for the crosscuts on my RAS.. There was no tearout using either blade. If you have a new 60 tooth try that and I think you'll be happy. You can always go to the 80 tooth if that don't work. I have one also, but have never used it .... yet ...

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f13/building-shelves-my-methods-123314/

 

For best possible cut, get a high quality, high tooth count blade with a Hi-ATB grind.....Infinity Ultrasmooth 010-080, Freud LU80, CMT 210.080.10... are all excellent alternatives to the pricey Forrest blades. If those are too high, the Infinity 010-060 60T Hi-ATB is also excellent and runs < $70.

For best edge life instead of best cut, get a blade triple chip blade (TCG).

 

Why would you not try the blade you have and see how it works, then you will know if you need a different blade or not.

 

I have 24 tooth ripping blade that works pretty good for plywood as long as you cut along the grain. I have a 80 tooth blade they works good for cross cutting plywood.

 

For cutting up construction plywood I would use a 40 tooth combination blade. Stay away from the really cheap blades and the expensive ones. Even AC, or ACX will have knots and of course the glue which is tough on blades. Save your high quality high tooth count blades for precision work where both sides need to be as splinter free as possible, even then with expensive hardwood ply you may want to score, or use tape before you cut.


Plywood sheet goods are most often broken down on the table saw and a 40t comb blade is usually adequate and has minimal tear out on the top surface. It is construction ply after all. Whatever splintering you have can often hide in a dado, or the underneath on the non show side. Like I mentioned, the table saw cuts pretty clean on the top surface. Panel saws, skil saws, etc, may very well have unique cutting characteristics. At some point in time you may even figure special techniques that will rid you of splintering almost completely with the 40t, or buy that $$ blade, or even a scoring table saw. Save you money for now. There are also other construction, sawing, and router techniques that will save time, effort, and money. A really nice high quality blade does have its place, but not so much for general work.


Good luck in your quest.

 

I will take your advice and use my 60T blade for cutting the plywood. I am trying to get setup in my small cabinet shop. Will probably build two sets a month. Maybe more. I will definitely use my 80T on the miter saw for cutting face frame and door material, which will pretty much be noting but maple and some plywood nailers. Eventually I will pick up the 96T Diablo and try to make a zero clearance insert for my table saw. I am not very good with a router, otherwise I would already have that part done. Lol

 

I use a 80t Freud diablo for plywood, but a 60t would probably work just as well. I had bought a 90t diablo but the kerf was too narrow for use with my splitter/riving knife. Something to watch out for FYI.

 

There's more to it than just tooth count. The diameter of the blade and the grind or shape of the teeth are the main determinant of the quality of cut. Most 10 inch plywood blades are 80 tooth.

All the major blade manufacturers make plywood blades that are optimized for cutting plywood. I would start with Freud and Forrest.

You might also google "table saw blades". There is quite a bit of info that you may want to see.

 

plywood blade

My set up is an 80 Freud Diablo, 0 clearance face plate and I get virtually no tear out with or against the grain on the plywood sheet stock.

 

I have been learning a bit more about blades lately.

Plywood is hard on blades no matter what. Plywood will wear out your blades faster than standard wood because of the hard glue and also the cross-grain pattern of the wood itself.

You can use almost any 10 inch blade in almost any 10 inch saw. Most have a 5/8 inch arbor. That doesn't mean that a given blade is optimum for a given cut. The blade will almost certainly cut the wood, but it may not be a good clean cut.

Blades are optimized for certain types of saws, certain types of cuts, and certain types of materials, including those with non-wood components, such as laminates. Blades that are optimum for a miter saw may not be so good on a table saw and visa versa; the hook angles are different.

Some blades are optimized to work reasonably well for multiple types of cuts. You can use general purpose blades or combination blades to make very decent crosscuts, rip cuts, and other cuts in softwood, hardwood, plywood, and other materials. Still, a general purpose blade or combination blade will not beat a specialized blade for a given type of cut, and it may wear out faster.

(Sidebar: General purpose blades and combination blades are not the same, even though most people use them the same way - as all-purpose blades that are "good enough" for many types of cuts.)

Choosing the right kerf makes a difference too. A thin kerf blade takes less effort and is better for low power motors, but wears out faster. A standard kerf blade takes a bigger bite and wastes more wood, but lasts longer.

For plywood, @notskot is right. A Hi-ATB (HiATB) blade is the best choice for cutting plywood. It will give you clean cuts in plywood. You can get Hi-ATB blades from many manufacturers.

If you are cutting a lot of plywood, you may want to think about buying a second blade that you can use while the first blade is out for resharpening. (... and get it resharpened by the blade manufacturer or someone who truly knows how to resharpen a Hi-ATB blade.) As I said above, plywood is hard wearing on blades.

Another thing to think about is keeping your blades clean. The glue and other components of plywood can get on the hot blade and make it sticky and less sharp. I use a bucket lid from Home Depot, a brass brush, and blade cleaner to clean my blades. The bucket lid has a ring that supports the blade; use your finger in the blade hole to lift it out without cutting yourself. When the blade cleaner runs out, I may switch to Formula 409, an ordinary kitchen cleaner, which I have read is just as good and much less expensive.

 

Found this on urube

johnep