djeddy
23rd September 2019, 01:13 PM
Problem: Making flat-bottomed cuts on a sliding saw with no dado prep and a 30mm arbour with pins (so no, I can't use the Timbecon 1/4" kerf blade which I thought might be the ideal solution). Sliding saw blades are almost universally either ATB or TCG grind, neither of which leave a flat-bottom cut, and flat grind blades are difficult to find, especially taking into account the pins around the arbour.
Solution: Felder SilentPower slotting cutter blade 03.0.030. I stumbled across this by leafing through the Felder catalogue (the "silver book"). They list it on the same page as their wobble dado cutters and the like, and I almost missed it since I didn't think I was looking for that. Still, I saw it - one phone call to Con of Felder Perth and it was on its way.
Anyway. This is a 300mm blade with a 5mm kerf and a flat-top grind. It's designed for making grooves, not through cuts, in wood - perfect! It cost me $215 all up - quite a bit, but cheaper than getting pin holes drilled in a Timbecon blade, and as it happens I got some interesting tooth grinding technology as well.
461716
The blade is actually quite heavy since it has a 4mm thick plate, but my 3hp saw spun it up with no problems and the 4mm plate means it's very rigid. The teeth are flat radially (so they leave a perfectly flat slot) but I was surprised to discover that they are alternately skew-ground to give a slicing action. This results in an amazing finish, no doubt helped by the thick plate. Here is the result of my first experiment in Jarrah, fresh off the saw - no rubbing, no sanding, no planing - just saw cuts.
461717
Note the slight change in colour half way across - this is where I turned the piece around so I always had the bulk of the piece on my side of the blade for better control. (I held it with a Fritz&Franz jig, for what it's worth.) The finish is not quite is smooth as a planed cut but it's darn good - a quick lick with 180-grit and it's ready for finish. If you look at the full-size image you can see a full-width kerf on the right side of the cut where I made an error with work holding. I'm super-happy with the neat, clean cuts, and there is basically no resistance even with jarrah cutting 20mm deep.
As for the "Silent" part of its name... well, it doesn't shriek but it's not super quiet either. It's got some laser-cut reliefs in the gullets and it has a vicious hissing sound rather than the loud ringing of some blades. I wouldn't go without hearing protection but it's not a problem to use in a backyard shed either.
Highly recommended.
Solution: Felder SilentPower slotting cutter blade 03.0.030. I stumbled across this by leafing through the Felder catalogue (the "silver book"). They list it on the same page as their wobble dado cutters and the like, and I almost missed it since I didn't think I was looking for that. Still, I saw it - one phone call to Con of Felder Perth and it was on its way.
Anyway. This is a 300mm blade with a 5mm kerf and a flat-top grind. It's designed for making grooves, not through cuts, in wood - perfect! It cost me $215 all up - quite a bit, but cheaper than getting pin holes drilled in a Timbecon blade, and as it happens I got some interesting tooth grinding technology as well.
461716
The blade is actually quite heavy since it has a 4mm thick plate, but my 3hp saw spun it up with no problems and the 4mm plate means it's very rigid. The teeth are flat radially (so they leave a perfectly flat slot) but I was surprised to discover that they are alternately skew-ground to give a slicing action. This results in an amazing finish, no doubt helped by the thick plate. Here is the result of my first experiment in Jarrah, fresh off the saw - no rubbing, no sanding, no planing - just saw cuts.
461717
Note the slight change in colour half way across - this is where I turned the piece around so I always had the bulk of the piece on my side of the blade for better control. (I held it with a Fritz&Franz jig, for what it's worth.) The finish is not quite is smooth as a planed cut but it's darn good - a quick lick with 180-grit and it's ready for finish. If you look at the full-size image you can see a full-width kerf on the right side of the cut where I made an error with work holding. I'm super-happy with the neat, clean cuts, and there is basically no resistance even with jarrah cutting 20mm deep.
As for the "Silent" part of its name... well, it doesn't shriek but it's not super quiet either. It's got some laser-cut reliefs in the gullets and it has a vicious hissing sound rather than the loud ringing of some blades. I wouldn't go without hearing protection but it's not a problem to use in a backyard shed either.
Highly recommended.