# Thin kerf or full kerf?



## Marine04 (Sep 4, 2013)

I'm looking to buy a couple new saw blades to upgrade the couple I have. I was thinking about getting a 60 tooth and 50 tooth diablo blade. I am hoping they will both cut clean enough I can glue with no sanding. I noticed the diablo blades are thin kerf blades and am not sure wether to get thin or full kerf. The table saw I have is the porter cable portable saw that lowes sells. I was thinking I would get a 60 tooth for cross cuts and picture frame miters and the 50 tooth for a clean ripping blade. I also noticed try sell an 80 tooth for a fine finish on cross cuts. What do you guys think? Would the 60 tooth make clean enough cuts or should I buy the 80 same with the rip blade what do you guys suggest? I do know my saw is a 15 amp motor and spins at 5,000 rpms. Hopefully that info will help you tell me wether I should run a thin or full kerf blade. Keep in mind I am wanting to get very clean cuts to the point where I can cut a picture frame and glue it and have it look perfect


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## Hunter (May 10, 2012)

I tend to go with thin kerf blades. They take less power to move through wood and they waste less wood. I have never had any problems with them deflecting enough for me to notice.

Hunter


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## bzguy (Jul 11, 2011)

Thin kerf fewest teeth for ripping, 80 tooth for miters/cross-cuts, nice joints.


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## Marine04 (Sep 4, 2013)

Hunter said:


> I tend to go with thin kerf blades. They take less power to move through wood and they waste less wood. I have never had any problems with them deflecting enough for me to notice. Hunter


Cool I'll probably go with thin then. What about the tooth counts for cross cutting and ripping?


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## Marine04 (Sep 4, 2013)

bzguy said:


> Thin kerf fewest teeth for ripping, 80 tooth for miters/cross-cuts, nice joints.


My saw came with a 40 tooth blade. It isn't the cleanest cutting. If I upgrade the blade and stick with the 40 tooth count will it be clean enough to glue or should I buy the 50 tooth blade? The 50 says it's a combo for ripping and cross cutting but I would only use it to rip


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

Marine04 said:


> My saw came with a 40 tooth blade. It isn't the cleanest cutting. If I upgrade the blade and stick with the 40 tooth count will it be clean enough to glue or should I buy the 50 tooth blade? The 50 says it's a combo for ripping and cross cutting but I would only use it to rip


The stock blade on your saw is a poor example. It's not an absolute, but IME the better 40T general purpose ATB blades tend to leave smoother edge than the 50T ATB/R combo blades, but both cover pretty much the same range. Blades like the Infinity Super General, Forrest WWII, Tenryu Gold Medal, and the Ridge Carbide TS2000 are all premium 40T blades that generally outperform the best 50T ATB/R blades available, but it really depends on what your objectives are and how you define better. 

Thin kerf will be easier for your saw to spin. The 50T and 60T have quite a bit of overlap. I'd go with a 60T and a 24T ripper, or a 40T and 80T, depending on what you cut. The Diablo 60T has a fairly good hook angle, and will actually rip well in materials up to an inch or so....it's also great for crosscuts and good with ply. I'd use the 24T for ripping anything thicker. If you cut a lot of plywood, get the 40T or 50T for general cuts and the 80T for fine crosscuts. 

*The ABC's of Picking Saw Blades *

*some good buys* that won't break the bank.


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## Marine04 (Sep 4, 2013)

knotscott said:


> The stock blade on your saw is a poor example. It's not an absolute, but IME the better 40T general purpose ATB blades tend to leave smoother edge than the 50T ATB/R combo blades, but both cover pretty much the same range. Blades like the Infinity Super General, Forrest WWII, Tenryu Gold Medal, and the Ridge Carbide TS2000 are all premium 40T blades that generally outperform the best 50T ATB/R blades available, but it really depends on what your objectives are and how you define better. Thin kerf will be easier for your saw to spin. The 50T and 60T have quite a bit of overlap. I'd go with a 60T and a 24T ripper, or a 40T and 80T, depending on what you cut. The Diablo 60T has a fairly good hook angle, and will actually rip well in materials up to an inch or so....it's also great for crosscuts and good with ply. I'd use the 24T for ripping anything thicker. If you cut a lot of plywood, get the 40T or 50T for general cuts and the 80T for fine crosscuts. The ABC's of Picking Saw Blades  some good buys that won't break the bank.


I cut mainly solid wood. A lot of Hard wood like red oak. I do plan to start working with Purple Heart wood also so I intend to cut the harder type of woods. I haven't actually cut any ply but have been cutting mdf for shop cabinets and jigs


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

Rubbish. Go full kerf and never worry about wood drying stress closing up your cuts.
Thin kerf and wasting wood? Huh? If you were CanFor and cutting 500M bdft/yr, 1/16" would save them millions (the blades can't take the stress.)
In a saw with good bearings, 80-tooth will give you the very least grief for cleaning up.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Robson Valley said:


> Rubbish. Go full kerf and never worry about wood drying stress closing up your cuts. Thin kerf and wasting wood? Huh? If you were CanFor and cutting 500M bdft/yr, 1/16" would save them millions (the blades can't take the stress.) In a saw with good bearings, 80-tooth will give you the very least grief for cleaning up.


A thin kerf or standard kerf will close up just the same...I have both, and wood closes up when ripping exactly the same on each. I can rip thicker pieces with the thin kerf though without stalling my saw. I won't be buying anymore full kerf blades anymore.


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

Robson Valley said:


> Rubbish. Go full kerf and never worry about wood drying stress closing up your cuts.
> Thin kerf and wasting wood? Huh? If you were CanFor and cutting 500M bdft/yr, 1/16" would save them millions (the blades can't take the stress.)
> In a saw with good bearings, 80-tooth will give you the very least grief for cleaning up.


Rubbish? Really? Everyone else's suggestions are trash and your's are right? Thank God they don't build them like they used to....modern TK blades can be excellent and there are plenty of logical applications for them. He's got a small Porter Cable jobsite saw....as stated. It's exactly the type of saw where good quality thin kerf blades make sense....a full kerf blade will add 33% more width and more resistance to his saw....wood savings may never come into the equation, but a straining motor likely will. It's great if full kerf works best for your needs ...they do for mine too, but one size fits all doesn't apply to saw blades.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

If you have a lower powered saw, the TK will work better. I prefer a FK, and a 60T will do crosscuts just fine, to include HPL. For a ripping blade a 24T works good. Next up would be a 32T.


















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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

cabinetman said:


> I prefer a FK


Why?


I have both, and can find no benefit to the fk.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

ryan50hrl said:


> Why?
> 
> 
> I have both, and can find no benefit to the fk.


Maybe you should cut more.:laughing: I like the rigidity of the blade, and having an ⅛" kerf to use in my measurements.


















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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

cabinetman said:


> Maybe you should cut more.:laughing: I like the rigidity of the blade, and having an ⅛" kerf to use in my measurements. .


I agree the older tk blades weren't as rigid as they could have been, but the current offerings are quite good in my opinion. 

Well anyhow....to each their own.


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## Paarker (Mar 20, 2013)

My go to blades are freuds a glue line rip blade 30 tooth count and a 60 tooth for cross cuts and both are thin kerf not had a single problem with either. When I first started out I bought a full kerf but after a little while I learned that thin kerf work so much better in under powered saws like we have.


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## Wizard1500 (Jul 12, 2009)

I use Freud Fusion 40t full kerf......and am very happy with it....I stay with the FK, because it seems to me that a thin kerf would cause a problem with the riving knife...jmho......


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## rbk123 (Jan 10, 2013)

I would recommend a variation on Scott's recommendation - get 3 blades to cover 98% of what you would cut:
- 24t ripping
- 40/50t for all around
- 60/80t for fine cuts
All tk since you have a lower powered saw. Use the blade you have for cutting stuff where you don't want to use your good blades.
You can get 3 good ones for a total $100ish if you follow Scott's guide.


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## jschaben (Apr 1, 2010)

Wizard1500 said:


> I use Freud Fusion 40t full kerf......and am very happy with it....I stay with the FK, because it seems to me that a thin kerf would cause a problem with the riving knife...jmho......


Excellent point!!! The riving knife on my Ridgid 4510 says it is made for a kerf of .094 to .126. As 3/32" works out to .09375 the thin kerf is at the very bottom limit even though the saw has a universal motor which would benefit from thin kerf blades. I do run thin kerf blades, including the Fusion but have to make sure the knife is dead bang on. :yes:


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## RioVistaAndy (Feb 22, 2021)

ryan50hrl said:


> A thin kerf or standard kerf will close up just the same...I have both, and wood closes up when ripping exactly the same on each. I can rip thicker pieces with the thin kerf though without stalling my saw. I won't be buying anymore full kerf blades anymore.


Been there, done that. I only by thin kerf. I did by a 50TPH skillsaw blade for plywood and fount it left far less burn marks


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

Another thin kerf, Freud Diablo, fan here. I have think kerf on all my 10" saws and they work just fine. My 12" compound sliding miter saw has a full kerf, IF I RECALL? It's a Dewalt 96 tooth, so I'll need to check and see. 

The miter saw is one application where a full kerf blade would be better for trimming slivers 1/32" or 1/64" ... off the ends of stock with deflecting. When the blade is cutting anything less than a complete width kerf, it puts a lateral stress on the plate which will tend to deflect it in thick stock. A full kerf cut balances the stress on either side of the blade whether it's a thin kerf blade or not.

All the battery power circular saws come with ultra thin kerf blades now to reduce power consumption. The less material the gets removed means the less power it take to make that cut.


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## Bob Bengal (Jan 2, 2021)

woodnthings said:


> When the blade is cutting anything less than a complete width kerf, it puts a lateral stress on the plate which will tend to deflect it in thick stock. A full kerf cut balances the stress on either side of the blade whether it's a thin kerf blade or not.


I often do less than a kerf cuts on a 10" miter saw and TS. What are the signs you are getting deflection? Have you tried blade stabilizers like this one? STF-4 Pair of Blade Stabilizers 4 Inch Diameter x 5/8 Bore


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

RioVistaAndy said:


> Been there, done that. I only by thin kerf. I did by a 50TPH skillsaw blade for plywood and fount it left far less burn marks


So has the person youre replying to im sure, since their post was made nearly a decade ago


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## RioVistaAndy (Feb 22, 2021)

woodnthings said:


> Another thin kerf, Freud Diablo, fan here. I have think kerf on all my 10" saws and they work just fine. My 12" compound sliding miter saw has a full kerf, IF I RECALL? It's a Dewalt 96 tooth, so I'll need to check and see.
> 
> The miter saw is one application where a full kerf blade would be better for trimming slivers 1/32" or 1/64" ... off the ends of stock with deflecting. When the blade is cutting anything less than a complete width kerf, it puts a lateral stress on the plate which will tend to deflect it in thick stock. A full kerf cut balances the stress on either side of the blade whether it's a thin kerf blade or not.
> 
> All the battery power circular saws come with ultra thin kerf blades now to reduce power consumption. The less material the gets removed means the less power it take to make that cut.


You also don't run a miter saw for more than a few seconds at a time. The motor doesn't get much of a start to build heat. A full kerf should never be a problem. A TS is a different story.


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