: Hello All,

: Seeing the post about table saws made me think to give an update on
: the Ridgid saw that I used to cut strips and it kept
: overheating. Well I had to rip some more wood for the next build
: and used the same saw, but this time I bought my buddy a
: thin-kerf 7 1/4" blade, and it went through the strips like
: butter. When we were changing the blade I looked at the one on
: it and it looked like heck. I said, "Is this the blade we
: used when we cut the last strips?" He said "Yep,
: hasn't been used since." Good grief, I should have looked
: closer at that blade.

I'll second the importance of good blades. My workshop is too short to cut the lengths I need on a table saw so I use a handheld, but the importance of the blade cannot be overstated. My blades cost about the same as the saws they are mounted on, thin-kerf, finish cut, the best I can find and afford. And they last - with my first one I once hit a 1/4" bolt embedded in what I had assumed was a clean piece of pine, the blade went through it before I realized what happened, and still cuts clean - although I am a lot more careful since that happened!

They can cut at double the speed of a cheap blade if I'm in a rush, never kick back, are quieter, effortless to push with no strain on the saw, and I can get a glue-ready finish which needs little sanding for painting or varnishing. As a (former) rough-and-ready woodworker more used to fences and wall partitions than boats and furniture, who once thought smoke was a normal part of power sawing, it was a revelation. No more cheap blades for me, even my reciprocating saw that I use only for hack work gets decent blades.

One extra note: after watching my furniture maker buddy spend serious time eliminating runout on his table saw, I clean the blade and saw arbor (or is it mandrel?) very carefully when changing a blade, and check the kerf width on a sample cut; each blade is slightly different and I write their kerf widths on the blades.