charlie b wrote:

DJ wrote:

I have used a think kerf CMT General in my original contractor saw for
years, then when I got my cabinet saw, it's been with that for about two
years and I'm very happy with it. My brother is just putting together
his shop and he is choosing a Griz 1023SL TS and I was going to get him a
Forrest Woodworker II as a shop warming present. The problem is that I
can't decide between full or thin kerf. Why would I ever want to use
more
kerf than necessary - there must be a reason, but it escapes me. Thanks
for any input.


I'm betting that most folks here work with stock that's considerably
less than an inch and a half thick - David Eisen being the exception
(see his table legs - out of ash as I recall). Just finding stock
thicker
than 3/4" can be an adventure.

????? Where do you live that finding a 2x4 is an "adventure"?

And no one works with ply thicker
than 3/4".

Ply, no, MDF, yes. And some projects use two pieces of ply bonded
together--with those it's easier to rough cut, bond, and finish cut than to
cut two identical pieces.

So for a table saw, and the stuff you typically do with
it,
blade flexing isn't an issue - assuming the blade and fence are set
parallel to the miter slot - a BIG assumption in some shops. So a
thin
kerf blade works just fine - for me. In fact, I leave a 7 1/4" blade
on
my Robland - Freud and CMT make some nice carbide tipped blades
for circular saws that work just fine. Why spin a 10" full kerf
blade
when it isn't necessary. And kickback, if it should happen, is a LOT
less dramatic with a think kerf than it is with a full kerf.

No on a miter saw, compound miter saw, sliding miter saw or sliding
compound miter saw - you NEED a thicker blade - and a 12" will give
you more cutting capacity - both in height and width. But with the
thicker blade and larger diameter comes the opportunity for Mach
10 UFOs. There are always trade offs in life - the trick is to
minimize
the likelyhood that one of those trade offs doesn't damage any
body parts you really need.

My vote - unless it's for a miter saw, go with a thin kerf.

And BTW, you can get three or four thin kerf, carbide toothed 7 1/4"
blades for the price of one really good full kerf 10". At the first
hint of dulling I'll replace a blade, putting the "less than perfect
one"
on the carpenter's circular saw. I still haven't sent my original
WWII
back for sharpening and it's replacement WWII wasn't as sharp as
it had been - which is how the 7 1/4" thin kerf discovery was made.

charlie b

--
--John
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(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)