Hi all, newbie (ish) woodworker here…I have all kinds of tools for general woodworking and DIY projects, but now I am planning on making my first woodworking projects…a small finger jointed chest to hold my daughter’s D&D stuff (books etc).
I have done a lot of research and to do finger joinery, I see that it is recommended to get table saw blades that have a flat tooth so the joints are tight…Since this is the first time I am doing ‘fine woodworking’ and I do not know if this will become a long term hobby, I don’t want to drop big $$$ for blades for what could be a one time use.
Can anyone recommend a blade they like that won’t break the bank? Thanks in advance!
Replies
Most rip blades are flat top grind. Many woodworking catalogs will tell you what the grind is on the various blades. Try Woodcraft, Rockler, Highland, Lee Valley, and others. Also, there are blades especially made for finger or box joints. Dado sets are also commonly used for this.
The correct term is a box joint. There are two ways to do them, with a table saw or a router. If you have a router the bit will be a lot cheaper than a blade.
A flat top rip blade can be used. They are usually 24 tooth and there will be a little tearout even with a backer board, so I usually leave thickness to hand plane or sand. Your other option is a dedicated box joint blade set.
If the joint is wider than 1/4" or so I use a dado blade.
Big $$$ being relative, I suggest you buy the best you can afford. I've had excellent results with Freud, CMT, Amana, for example.
Hope this helps!
If you look for Freud brand saw blades with (COMB) combination teeth or (TCG) triple chip grind, you'll find that every few teeth you'll have one that is flat. This will help you have a good saw blade that can do multiple jobs for you until you're ready to get a dedicated set of box joint blades. One example is the Freud LU83R010, which is a thin-kerf combination blade for lower-power table saws. Another, is the LM75R010, which is a dedicated ripping blade. If you search for them, you'll see that Freud prints a nice diagram of the tooth arrangement right on the blade.
Of course other manufacturers make them as well. Forrest and Ridge Carbide are some other brands. They aren't cheap, but all of them are good quality that can also be resharpened numerous times.
- Helder
The Freud heavy duty rip blade has flat teeth. It works very well for ripping harder woods, like hard maple. And it's great for drawer grooves and other flat-bottomed cuts. I also find that occasionally it is the best blade for crosscutting some woods.
In total agreement with mschlack. Buy a Freud heavy duty rip blade. They have flat teeth and can be used for ripping and some cross cuts beyond making box joints. Additionally the teeth are a full kerf 1/8th inch. They make a great blade and good value. Amazon also sells them.
If you cannot find a suitable blade, you may find that a local sharpening service can sort it for you. I had to have a blade repaired and was delighted to find the price of sharpening or re-grinding was pretty low.
I'm in New Zealand so not a great example, but for a high-end Felder blade, the cost was less than 10% of the price of the blade to have it ground any way I wanted.
I ended up finding a good deal on the Freud SBOX8 8" Box Joint Cutter Set ($80) and went with that since my saw (Bosch 4100-10) can handle dado blades.
Good call. If you find you never use it again it's easily sold.
Redman822,
Sorry, but NIS240SHU is misinformed. A TCG blade can do multiple jobs, but only jobs that do not require a flat-tooth blade. You will be disappointed using it for spline slots, box joints, etc. With TCG blades, there are other teeth sitting proud of the flat teeth. You need a blade where no other teeth sit higher than the flat teeth.
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