Circular Saw Blade Guide

In any home improvement or industrial project whenever it comes to cutting metals, a circular saw can be your best mate. However, these tool is worthless unless you have a high-quality circular saw blade. So, If you searching for HSS blades or carbide-tipped blades for accurate cuts. Then you are at the right place.

There are so many blades to choose from. Circular saw blades are available with more teeth and fewer teeth, there are also some blades with no teeth such as continuous rim blades, also blades with large kerfs and thin kerfs. Some of the blades have negative rake angles and positive rake angles, and finally a multi-purpose blade. This really can be confusing while choosing the right circular saw blade to achieve fine and precise cuts.

Follow this circular saw blade guide to know everything about different types of circular saw blades and find what suits you most.

How to Choose The Right Circular Saw Blade?

When choosing a circular saw blade, consider the following useful and important factors: 

The diameter of the blade, number of teeth, bore, tooth type, and blade material (composition).

Important elements of a circular saw blade:

• Edge: The edge or tip of the teeth is determined by the cutting materials, which can be wood, polymer composites, non-ferrous metals, or plastic.
• Gullet: The gullet (larger gullet = the faster cut).
• Tooth Type: It depends on the cutting material and the type of cut you need.
• Bore or Diameter: The diameter of the hole at the center of the blade, measured in millimeters (mm) can be reduced by reducing bushes.
• Thickness: The thickness of the blade is measured in millimeters.
• Depth of Cut: The cut depth depends on the diameter of the blade as well as on the type of circular saw you choose.
• Material: The blade material or the blade plate and the tips of the teeth depend on the material you want to cut (wood, metals, plastic). You may also have concrete saw blades.
• Number of Teeth: The higher number of teeth, the cleaner will be cut. While choosing a circular saw blade based on teeth Note: (Teeth on blade represented by the letter Z).
• Rotation (RPM): The number of revolutions per minute (RPM) depends on the diameter of a blade. This relates to the capacity of a circular saw blade.

Circular Saw Blade Teeth Guide (Material)

Bore and Blade diameter

Saw blades are toothed metal discs with a central hole known as a bore. The blade is connected to the saw through this opening. If you have a reducer brace, prefer a large-diameter bore to the bore shaft of your saw.

• For apparent safety purposes, the bore's diameter should be at least 5 mm less than the bolt that secures the blade to the bore shaft. 
• The blade diameter should not exceed the full diameter of the blade built for the circular saw.
• It can be somehow risky to use a small thin blade as it can reduce the overall cutting depth.

The Number of Teeth on a Circular Saw Blade

The teeth are the most essential part of any saw blade. They are responsible for cutting.

• Large and wide space teeth containing saw blades are used for rip cuts. These blades are ideal for wood cutting as sawdust is expelled easily by the wide gaps between the teeth (known as gullets).
• Small and narrow-spaced teeth containing saw blades are mostly used for perfection and better finishing, especially when cutting crosscuts. These blades are ideal for metals, synthetic elements, and non-ferrous materials.

Types of Circular Saw Blades

There are numerous types of circular saw blades such as Standard, Rim blades, Turbo rim, Segmented blades, reciprocating saw blades, and Abrasive blades. All of them have their own specific uses. 

If you'd like to know the best circular saw blade for your job or are just looking for an overview of the saw blade styles that exist. Here is a list of the different types of circular saw blades.

• Standard Circular Saw Blades
• Rip-cut & Crosscut Blades
• Continuous-Rim Blades
• Turbo-Rim Blades
• Segmented Blades
• Abrasive Blades
• Plywood Blade
• General-Purpose Blades
• Ripping Blades
• Finishing Blades
• Dado Blade
• Thin Kerf
• Masonry Blades

HSS Blades or Carbide-tipped Saw Blades

 HSS Blades (High-Speed Steel)

The most common type of circular saw blade is HSS blades. HSS or high-speed steel blades are less expensive and easy to sharpen. They are specially designed to cut hard and softwood material. Apart from woodcutting, these blades are also used for metal and non-ferrous materials. The primary advantage of HSS blades is that they make a very clean cut.

Metal filing is used for smoothing or forming metals. The file is a fragment of metal rubbed off with the help of metal files.

Read More: How to Sharpen an Auger Bit

Carbide-tipped Saw Blades

Carbide-tipped blades can cut thirty to 50 times longer than HSS blades. Therefore when cutting hardwood, that can easily dull steel blades, a carbide-tipped blade is a good choice. This is true in the case of chipboard, MDF, and plywood. It's worth noting that this sort of blade is more difficult to sharpen. Tungsten carbide referred to as TC or TCT saw blade (tungsten carbide tips), is a less costly and less reactive material (depending on thickness).

Circular Saw Blades For Non-Ferrous Metals and Plastic

Materials including plastic, non-ferrous elements, and lightweight alloys are sometimes difficult to cut. They are not easy to cut with any saw blade. For accurate cutting of this material, you need to choose tempered steel blades that have multiple tungsten carbide- or carbide-tipped teeth.

To reduce the chance of kickback, these blades have a negative angle of attack. They are often Known as Multi-material or multipurpose circular saw blades.

Conclusion

We hope that this article, How to choose the right circular saw blade clears up your all doubts and confusion regarding finding the right tool for the cutting job.

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