Doug White wrote in
:

I'm building a special work bench, using one of Grizzly's 1.5" thick
"butcher block" bench tops. I need to cut two irregular pockets into
one edge of the bench to mount equipment.

The top is 25" x 48", and way too big (and heavy) to manuever around
my bandsaw. I'm assuming the best approach is to use my trusty
ancient B&D saber saw. I'm wondering which the best sort of blade
might be to A) minimize the load on the saw, and B) minimize the risk
of scorching the maple. I was planning on drilling out the corners to
start, which will keep most of the cuts fairly straight. That way I
can use a moderately wide blade. I've had good luck with a "fleam"
ground blade on softer wood, but I have no idea what it will think of
the maple. The saw uses the the old style blades with a hole, not
thenewer Bosch T style.

Alternatively, should I use this as an excuse to buy a super-duper new
saber saw? If so, what should I look for?

Any ideas, warnings or suggestions would be appreciated.

Well, I _finally_ got time to finish this job. I bought a new Bosch saw,
and got some of the new "clean" blades to go with it. I used the biggest
blade I had for extra rigidity.

The results were very good, but not exactly perfect. Crosscutting was a
dream. Nice stright cuts, no blade wander, and a smooth, accurate,
vertical cut.

Ripping was a different story. The blade bogged down a LOT. The sawdust
blowing on my left hand (which was guiding the front of the saw) was HOT,
and dark brown. I tried varying the speed & pressure, but never came up
with a combination that cut especially well. The resulting cut was smooth
& accurate, except that the blade flexed in the cut (fortunately, _into_
the material to be removed) so that the cut wasn't vertical. Despite the
hot sawdust, the cut was not particularly burned. Maybe "lightly toasted"
is a better description. I'm going to clean it up with a router &
template, so it's no big deal.

All in all, the new saw is quite a success. Ripping 1.5" hard maple is
definitely a chore, even for this puppy. I can't imagine what it would
have been like trying to use my old Black & Decker saw with conventional
blades. I'd probably still be at it.

Thanks for all the suggestions & info.

Doug White