Hello,

I'm a beginner woodworker and took the plunge to buy my first Forrest
WWII table saw blade.

I was doing some research online for pros/cons with regards to buying a
blade stabilizer. I
noticed the various discussions in this newsgroup about noise reduction
and cleaner cut benefits
when stabilizers were used. I ran across the following Sept. 2006
research study from the
Michigan Tech University which shed some light onto this issue, as well
as general issues about
table saw noise, which is beneficial to read. The paper is only 6
pages long.

http://www.me.mtu.edu/courses/meem47..._table_saw.pdf

After reading this paper, I guess there is still some controversy about
noise reduction in using
stabilizers. Here are my thoughts and summary:

- study was done on Craftsman 10-inch open stand contractor table saw
- main contributing noise frequency range is 2.5kHz to 8KHz
- motor and blade components contributed the most noise (quite obvious)
- adding stabilizers did not reduce noise level. In fact, it increased
the noise level, both
under no load and load condition (wood was cut)
- recommended a chasis with open-cell acoustic foam be added as best
method in reducing
noise to the table saw
- conclusion did state that the stabilizer did not reduce noise but
they think that it may improve
the cut quality (not tested). They also recommended further studies
using diferent blade
designs and other blade stabilizers to be more thorough
- in general I'm not too concerned with noise levels since I always
wear hearing protection.
This study was addressed specifically at the construction trade,
where hearing loss is a
common hazzard

I would agree with the last statement since they only tested one blade
and one stabilizer.
What was surprising was that adding in the stabilizers increases the
noise level. Compare
graphs 3 versus 4 and you'll see that even under no load conditions (no
wood cutting), just
adding on the stabilizers increased the noise level. But I'm skeptical
since only one
blade and one type of stabilizer was used.

I have not used stabilizers before therefore was curious if those who
have good blades and
good stabilizers find that adding increased or decreased the noise
level?

For now, I will use my Forrest blade without stabilizers and then one
day I'll add them in to
see if the cut quality improves.


Cheers,

-Win