Wood Talk Online #61
Questions or Comments?You can get a hold of us by either dropping us an email at woodtalkonline@gmail.com or you can pick up the phone and leave us a message on our voice mail at 623-242-2450.
What’s on the Workbench?
Marc – Just finished the Wall-Hanging Tool Chest for the Guild.
Matt – installed his bandsaw riser block…wow that’s tall!
News:
Norm is retiring!! Woodworking Magazine interview with Russ Morash, producer of the New Yankee Workshop.
International Dress Like Norm Day
In honor of Norm Abram, the folks at Woodworking Magazine and Popular Woodworking are asking all Norm fans to dress like the man, take a photo of yourself in costume and send it to me by midnight Monday, Nov. 2, at chris.schwarz@fwmedia.com. The person who sends in the best photo (as determined by our staff), will win a great prize.
Magazine Roundup:
Matt’s Pick: A Woodworker’s Journal article on green finishing by Micael Dresdner.
Marc’s Picks: Fine Woodworking’s “How to Design Furniture” book/magazine thingie and The “Build or Buy” article in the latest issue of Popular Woodworking.
Around the Web:
A couple cool iPhone Apps to try out- ID Wood and Boardfeet
Official website for Splinter “the car”- check out the veneer loom and more
Skateboards from fallen limbs and axes
Holiday Project Templates at Eagle America – Get ‘em while they’re hot!
PBS’s The Router Workshop Video Series ($4.00 for each month)
You will receive one episode per week of the Router Workshop. There are 183 episodes in this video library.
An Interesting Scenario to ponder:
17yr old kid wants to be a woodworker. Already has some shop experience and is showing great potential. Does he aim for a woodworking school or business school?
Listen to the show to hear advice from your fellow woodworkers, as well as the staff of Popular Woodworking.
Magazine Website Roundup (Pt. 2):
WOOD-
User-generated videos
How to Videos from the Wood Magazine Editors
Free tool demos
Over 100 Pay-per Download titles
Forums
Free Weekly Newsletter (no sales pitches)
More than 1000 woodworking plans for sale in the Wood Store
A comprehensive index of every article that has appeared in WOOD magazine
Woodworker’s Journal Offerings (Rob Johnstone – Editor in Chief, and don’t you forget it!)
Homepage
eZine (an online woodworking magazine emailed every two weeks)
There’s also two other sites of interest: WomeninWoodworking and FreePlans.com.
In addition to these websites, they also offer a fully digital version of the print magazine with supplemental digital content.
Of course there’s also an online store selling back issues, downloadable digital plans, books, CDs.
And they also have a blog page with Chris Marshall as it’s main blogger. But all of the staff at one point or another use from time to time.
Sweet Deals:
FREE Super Saver Shipping on ANY SIZE ORDER at Eagle America! Use promo code WOODTALK61 at checkout and select Free Shipping as your shipping method. (Offer valid for two weeks only, now thru 11/9/2009).
20% off Sorby turning tools and free shipping on Jet Lathes now through Nov 1st at Woodcraft.com
It Came from the Forum:
Woodworking in the Cold
Voicemail:
Roberto has a great question concerning planer/jointer blades: to sharpen or to buy?
Tom’s Tip (TomsWorkbench.com): BBQ’s make great mobile carts?!?!
Village Carpenter’s Tip: (Village Carpenter): Dental tools, for more than just torture!
Which Saw Blade Should I Buy? – Question of the Week
This week’s question comes from Pat who asks: “Marc, sorry for writing a book here. I am shopping for a blade for my used TS-3650 I just bought and will be buying a Dado blade also. I’m on a budget but good blades and safety are a must. Any light you can shed will be appreciated. I am still confused as to why some blades have fewer or more teeth than others. To which, the DeWalt #DW7647 has 80 teeth; the DW7646 has 60 albeit with the same Hook Angle. Wherein lies the advantage of one over the other?”
“As I write, I have five new blades in front of me, purchased this evening. Welcome to ‘Blade City’! Four will be returned unopened but I wanted all specs in front of me. The differences astound me. All are 10″:
(1) FREUD Woodworking, 80T, Thin Kerf, “Ultra Fine Crosscut”
(2) FREUD Combination, 50T, C4 Carbide
(3) CRAFTSMAN Carbide C300, 80T, “Fine Finish Trim”
(4) DEWALT WOODWORKING SERIES, DW7647, 80T, ATB, “Recommended Applications: Crosscuts”
(5) Oldham WOODWORKERS SIGNATURE SERIES, 40T, Combination/Table Saw Premium Carbide. (Note that Pentair purchased Oldham).”
“But why the variance in quantity of teeth? What I am gradually picking up here is that some blades are better at Crosscutting, others at Ripping. My needs will be both. I am not a professional Woodworker by any means but in due time I’d like to get into Cabinet making, etc. For now though until my skills are honed, it’s going to be lots of pine boxes, plywood, small items such as outdoor planters, indoor planters, Jewelry boxes…bookcases…bookshelves…you get the idea.”
“I may find myself having to crosscut anything from 1×4 to 2×4 to 2×6’s. Or ripping 1×4’s. Maybe just having one blade isn’t going to suffice for what I need to do. And on top of it, I want a clean, neat cut. (I.e, the Woodworker-II claims to essentially cut a finish where sanding isn’t required. How much I believe that…well, common sense tells me it’s probably cleaner than most but also a bit of advertising embellishment in there. Or is it actually THAT good?). Am I trying to mix too many Worlds into one blade?”
And here is my response:
“Hey Pat. Like most things in woodworking, too many options can simply muddy the water and do more harm than good in terms of confusion. So let’s simplify. More teeth equates to a smoother cut with less tearout. Less teeth equates to a more aggressive cut with potentially more tearout. Having less teeth means less heat buildup and more room between teeth for exiting sawdust, which makes this scenario idea for really plowing through wood.”
“So a dedicated ripping blade should have a relatively low tooth number, because most rips are long and the cut is with the grain. So tearout is kept to a minimum and we can afford to use a more aggressive blade here. Cross-cuts, on the other hand, are usually shorter in duration and because you are cutting across the grain, they are more likely to tearout. So we like a higher tooth number for cross-cuts. Mitersaws, for instance, usually do best with a higher tooth number since every cut is a cross cut. But if you use a cross-cut blade (like an 80-tooth) for ripping operations on a tablesaw, you are likely to have lots of burning and a tougher time pushing the wood through. And likewise, using a ripping blade on cross-cuts isn’t exactly a good idea either. The cut will be fast and easy, but the quality will be bad. You’ll have a good bit of tearout to contend with.”
“Now in most shops, we have one other issue to consider, and that is plywood. We always want a smooth crisp edge, and a cross-cut blade with a high tooth count will do that for you. So ideally, you would have both a ripping and a cross-cut blade in your shop. But if you ask me, its a real pain in the butt switching back and forth from one blade to another. I am just too lazy for that. So what I opt for is a combination blade (usually 40-50 tooth). A high quality combo blade is capable of giving you excellent results in both rips and crosscuts. Is it as good as using high quality separate blades? No. But for the convenience and savings in time, I will deal with what little tearout I experience, if any at all. And after about 5 years of working with a Forrest WWII, I can honestly say I have never once thought, ‘Boy that cut would have better with an 80 tooth blade.’”
“Is it capable of producing finish-ready cuts? Well, in my opinion, no. The cut might be super smooth on its best day, but I will always prep my materials by hand before finishing. So mill marks never really bother me.”
“In summary, 30 tooth and below for rips, 40-50 tooth for combo, and 60 tooth plus for cross-cuts. My favorite? A 40T Forrest WWII. “Hope that helps!”
“Oh and by the way, if you want to try a blade that actually does produce nicely sanded edges, check out the Final Cut blade. I am reviewing it as we speak. http://www.finalcutblade.com/ ”
New Tenryu Blades for Festool Products
One common complaint I hear about Festool products (besides the obvious one), is the fact that their blades have an odd arbor size. This means you will need to buy your blades specifically from Festool or have your favorite blades modified to fit their saws. Personally, I find Festool blades to be of very high quality and competitively-priced, but I can understand why people want the freedom of choice. Given the popularity of Festool’s TS-55 and TS-75 plunge cut saws, and all the buzz surrounding the recently-released Kapex miter saw, its no surprise that a leading blade manufacturer like Tenryu would begin making blades to fit these tools.
Tenryu recently sent me a few samples of their latest offerings for the Kapex and I’ve been playing with them for the last few weeks. Overall, the quality is exactly what you would expect from a high quality blade manufacturer. How does it compare with the stock Festool blade? My initial non-scientific tests showed that the Festool blade produced a smoother cut on 8/4 bubinga. I tested this by feel and by rubbing the endgrain with chalk to observe the surface imperfections. Tenryu explained the reason for this phenomenon and it has everything to do with the grind on the teeth. The Tenryu ATAF (Alternate Top/Alternate Face) grind makes a more aggressive shearing cut, while the Festool blade has an ATB (Alternate Top Bevel) grind which essentially burnishes as it cuts, resulting in a surface that feels smoother. I also noticed less tearout at the back end of the cut with the Tenryu blades. But given the fact that they have higher tooth count, this isn’t too surprising.
I honestly didn’t do enough testing to tell you one blade is better than the other. But if you are looking for an alternative to the blades Festool offers, its nice to know that these are available. Tenryu already has two on the market and you can purchase them here. I also heard from Tenryu that they will soon offer thinner kerf blades for the TS-55 plunge cut saw (.063″, 52 tooth and be supplied with its own riving knife). They hope to have the blades by the middle of October.
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