Gogs wrote:

It came with the run of the mill blade but I am intending to cut
laminate worktop with it so on the look out for a new blade.

The standard blade will cut it without any difficulty,

Do you need to buy a special blade ie designed for laminate or just use
a fine toothed one for wood.

Finer is better - but nothing special required.

Just cut the worktop with the laminate side down, and start the cut at
the roll edge. That way any chipping will be on the paper side of the
worktop and not the laminate.

Also does the make of the blade matter.

Only in the sense that some brands of blade will be better than others.

Would any of these be any good, Toolstation do a 3 pack for just over
£10, seem to be made by Silverline finest one is a 40 tooth blade :
http://www.toolstation.com/messages....5597&mainWin=1

Probably no better than the default blade.

Summit seem to do a 60 tooth blade for around £9 :
http://www.summitsawblades.co.uk/saw_blade_153.htm

Would be better for very fine cross cut work than the supplied blade
which is typically a compromise general purpose blade (not that thick
chipboard counts as fine!)

Also when cutting say 40mm worktop with the Makita which has a max
depth of around 66mm I think, should the saw be adjusted in anyway or
just leave as is.

leave as is.

Take it you still put masking tape where cutting to stop any chipping.

No need if it is on the underside.

Also do you justt always leave the riving knife as is and what is the
exact purpose of it,

The riving knife can be left in place all the time. Its main purpose is
when rip cutting natural wood. Sometimes it is possible to release
tensions in the wood that can cause the cut to spring apart (not a
problem) or clamp together. If the latter happens this can trap the rear
of the blade, which will tend to throw the saw at you. The riving knife
prevents the wood closing up onto the trailing edge of the blade.

Can anyone offer any advice on this matter.

Try the FAQ:

http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/powertools/circularsaw.htm


--
Cheers,

John.

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