What are Different Types of Circular Saw Blades?
Circular saws blades are strong cutting tools to cut wood, metal, plastic, concrete, and more. Any circular saw, however, is just as effective as the blade you use, and for the job you are working on, it is important that you choose an appropriate circular saw blade.
Types of Circular Saw Blades
There are various kinds of circular saw blades such as Standard, Rim blades, Turbo rim, Segmented 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 circular saw blade styles that exist.
Here we have all the details you need about the types of circular saw blades.
1. Standard Circular Saw Blades
Standard circular saw blades are perfect for cutting hardwood & wood composites. The blade tooth helps to determine the rotating speed, and finishing cut. A circular saw blade with less tooth perform faster cutting, and a blade with more tooth provides a better finish.
Gullets present between the teeth helps to eliminate the wood chips from the workpiece. As it expands and contracts during use, expansion slots cut into the rim help prevent the blade from warping. They also minimize vibration, providing a smoother cut.
2. Rip-cut & Cross-cut Blades
Rip-cut wood grain cutting blades (along the length of a board) have fewer teeth, usually 16 to 40. The teeth are designed to cut aggressively, and effective chip removal is provided by deep gullets. Made for cutting through the wood grain (across the face of a board), the cross-cut blades are between 40 and 80 teeth long and are built for clean cutting. The teeth are separated by smaller gullets.
Both rip cuts and crosscuts can be made by combination blades. They have different teeth groupings separated by deep gullets. For ripping, each group has one tooth and four for crosscutting.
3. Continuous-Rim Blades
Continuous-rim blades are a kind of diamond-edged blade designed for use on materials such as tile and slate (sometimes called diamond blades). Diamonds attached to the blade's edge cut through the material.
Continuous-rim blades provide a very clean finish. Some operate only in dry-cutting applications, some are for wet-cutting applications and some can operate in any application.
4. Turbo-Rim Blades
They are similar to continuous-rim blades. Turbo-rim blades are diamond blades that have a serrated rim that cuts materials such as brick and concrete. These blades cut more powerfully than continuous-rim blades but don't leave as clean of a finish. Some work only for dry-cutting, while others are ideal for both wet and dry applications.
5. Segmented Blades
Segmented blades are often cut with diamond tips, but have a rim identical to those on a regular blade separated by gullets. The segments produce the diamond blades' most violent cut.
These blades cut quicker than the other styles and can handle tough materials, such as concrete and stone, but leave a rougher finish. Others work for dry-cutting, much like continuous- and turbo-rim blades, while others can handle wet or dry applications.
6. Abrasive Blades
Abrasive blades are used to cut hard materials such as concrete and stone. Like a metal-cutting 7 1/4 saw blade, some abrasive blades are acceptable. They don't have teeth, like the blades of diamonds. They are cut with an abrasive material such as aluminum oxide or carbide silicon.
Looking for more circular saw blades. Let’s have a list of some common types of circular saw blades on the basis of application and uses.
General Types of Circular Saw Blades and Uses
7. Crosscutting Blades
Crosscutting blades are perfect for cutting hard and softwood materials, and sheets. Especially in comparison to other circular blades, these blades have more teeth and a gullet that is shallow, so they are best for wood cutting. Crosscutting blades provide a smooth and clean cut at a slow speed.
8. Plywood Blade
The plywood blade has more teeth than the crosscutting blade since the plywood flakes and chips are not rough. They usually have more than 40 teeth. The blade is intended to be used on smooth surfaces, thereby helping to minimize wood splintering during cutting.
9. General-Purpose Blades
General-purpose blades are also known as combination blades, they somehow placed between crosscut and rip cut blades. As we have already discussed crosscut and rip cut blades in this article (see section 2).
10. Ripping Blades
These blades are not designed to cut through a grain of the wood, but along with it. A few teeth, not more than 24, are distinguished by them. They have deep gullets and are ideal for the faster development of rough cuts.
11. Finishing Blades
Finishing blades are used on wood and other soft material to make clean and effective cuts. They allow cuttings on a wood that will most likely be visible after completion of the desired job. They have more teeth for making cuts that are smooth. They don't do any harm to the wood due to the extra teeth.
12. Dado Blade
A dado blade is a type of circular saw blade, commonly used with a table saw or radial arm saw. It is used in woodworking for the cutting of dice or grooves. These blades are usually applied to cut precise grooves in the wood.
13. Thin Kerf
These kinds of blades are crafted to cut through the wood in a shallow way. The width of a cut is regarded as a "kerf". These blade types are often used for cutting dimensional wood material. In rough woods, they are not meant to be used as it will cause them to flex, making it difficult to have a straight cut.
14. Masonry Blades
Masonry saw blades are designed for cutting through the materials of brick, stone, ceramic, tile, and other kinds of masonry. In different applications, such as detail work, tile work, and precision cutting, masonry blades can be used.
