[mx13]

I need to crosscut some maple 1x lumber to make drawer fronts and cabinet doors. I clamp another board across the piece to make a fence to guide my skilsaw without any wandering, and I'm getting cuts that are quite straight and square, but the grain is chipping out in little splinters about 1/4" or so back from the edge in spots. Not the effect I'm going for.
:sad:

This is with a carbide blade, which isn't exactly new but since I use the saw infrequently, I can't really remember how many cuts I've made with it. I kinda doubt it would be considered high-milage, but...

Other than getting a shiny new saw blade, any tips to prevent this?

 

[Nealtw]

I need to crosscut some maple 1x lumber to make drawer fronts and cabinet doors. I clamp another board across the piece to make a fence to guide my skilsaw without any wandering, and I'm getting cuts that are quite straight and square, but the grain is chipping out in little splinters about 1/4" or so back from the edge in spots. Not the effect I'm going for.
:sad:

This is with a carbide blade, which isn't exactly new but since I use the saw infrequently, I can't really remember how many cuts I've made with it. I kinda doubt it would be considered high-milage, but...

Other than getting a shiny new saw blade, any tips to prevent this?

Is more about what the blade is made for than the age of the blade.



There are few tricks
1. Cut the board from the back side.
2. put tape over it before you cut.

3 Do a deep knife cut and cut just beside that.

4. buy a new blade.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DIABLO-7-1-4-in-x-60-Tooth-Fine-Saw-Blade-D0760R/100627136

 

[SeniorSitizen]

I find both long rip and short crosscut shop built saw guides for your particular saw and blade are helpful and quick. The guide edge is where the tear out is occurring and assists some in supporting that edge we like to look better. Put the masking tape - - Neal's suggestion -- where the 2 pencil marks will be and try that.


The pic with the saw horses I believe are from Popular Mechanics magazine. The other, not so professional looking, is a guide i made several years ago. If i ever buy a new blade with different thickness or tooth set i'll need to modify mine.

 

[Bud9051]

Is your blade a combination crosscut and rip? How many teeth?

A specific purpose crosscut blade will reduce the splinters and give you a smoother end grain. End grain is always difficult to stain or finish and often needs to be sanded for that purpose.

Bud

 

[mx13]

Is your blade a combination crosscut and rip? How many teeth?

It is a 24 tooth blade that came with the saw (Makita), so combination, I guess.

Sounds like I should get a 40 or 60 tooth blade, and/or try the knife trick along my cut line. Lowes claims to have 40 and 60 tooth Dewalts and a 60 tooth Craftsman in stock near me, so that is an option.

 

[Bud9051]

I would do both, better blade for that purpose and the knife trick previously mentioned. Once you see a smooth end grain you will understand how nice using a specific blade can be.

Bud

 

[mx13]

Other than cost, what is the drawback of a 60-tooth blade? Is the price the only reason people don't use them all the time?

I will also be needing to make a few cuts through some 1.5" thick maple butcher blocks soon. Any reason not to use a 60-tooth blade on that thicker stuff?

 

[ZZZZZ]

Put a piece of scrap plywood or whatever under the maple when you cut it, That will reduce tear out.

You don't have to cut all the way through the bottom sacrificial piece, only enough so the blade teeth clear the maple.
.
.

 

[Nealtw]

Put a piece of scrap plywood or whatever under the maple when you cut it, That will reduce tear out.
.
.

It is not the bottom that rips out with a skill saw.

 

[Bud9051]

Slower cutting and for me longer time sharpening.

On the other extreme is fewer teeth set to destroy the wood as it cuts. But they are fast and for a lot of construction neatness is not needed. The combination tries to hit the sweet spot in the middle between speed and quality.

Bud

 

[Nealtw]

Other than cost, what is the drawback of a 60-tooth blade? Is the price the only reason people don't use them all the time?

I will also be needing to make a few cuts through some 1.5" thick maple butcher blocks soon. Any reason not to use a 60-tooth blade on that thicker stuff?

The blade that came with the saw could be called a construction blade. It will cut both with the grain and against the grain and give a good enough cut for construction. A 60 tooth blade would give you good cross cuts but likely would not rip very well. If you are doing finish work you buy blades for each kind of cuts you will be making. Most people will have table saws and other tools for finish work but if you are just using a skill saw you want to be able to change blades for good cuts or have a couple saws with different blades in them. The thickness doesn't matter although you may go a little slower with thicker wood.

 

[lenaitch]

If you search 'best bade for cross cutting maple' you can really get into the weeds, with talk about number of teeth, blade designs, hook angle, kerf width, etc., etc. I tend to like Freud and I think around 50-60T would do it depending on what's available for you saw. All of the other suggestions here are good.
In addition to chipping, you have to watch for burning, which is often dependent on feed speed and comes with practice.

 

[mx13]

I have a jobsite tablesaw which I might use for the drawer fronts, but the cabinet doors are big enough that I think I would find that awkward. Also, the miter guide on the table saw is not that great, so I think I can get things straighter and squarer with my clamped-on fence. It's a slow method, but I'm not going anywhere right now!

(Except to Lowes, wearing gloves and a mask) :wink2:

 

[Nealtw]

I have a jobsite tablesaw which I might use for the drawer fronts, but the cabinet doors are big enough that I think I would find that awkward. Also, the miter guide on the table saw is not that great, so I think I can get things straighter and squarer with my clamped-on fence. It's a slow method, but I'm not going anywhere right now!

(Except to Lowes, wearing gloves and a mask) :wink2:

There are jigs so you can cut almost anything with almost any tool and there is always room for you to invent your own jigs. Building a sled for the table saw is a good pastime. A sled is like that mitter guide but better.

 

[lenaitch]

I have a jobsite tablesaw which I might use for the drawer fronts, but the cabinet doors are big enough that I think I would find that awkward. Also, the miter guide on the table saw is not that great, so I think I can get things straighter and squarer with my clamped-on fence. It's a slow method, but I'm not going anywhere right now!

(Except to Lowes, wearing gloves and a mask) :wink2:

Are you still talking about cross-cutting? I can't picture a large single panel cabinet door that would involve long cross-cuts.

 

[mx13]

I made a couple of cabinet doors by gluing the edges of maple 1-bys with epoxy. Rather than struggle to make all the pieces exactly the same length, I left them all a little long and will now trim them even (after sanding the glue joints flat). They're not that large, but still big enough that the slow method seems worthwhile, and again, I don't trust the cheap miter guide as much.

 

[Nealtw]

I made a couple of cabinet doors by gluing the edges of maple 1-bys with epoxy. Rather than struggle to make all the pieces exactly the same length, I left them all a little long and will now trim them even (after sanding the glue joints flat). They're not that large, but still big enough that the slow method seems worthwhile, and again, I don't trust the cheap miter guide as much.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=cutt...g&ei=4kyTXrPCFceD0PEPg8SfgAw&bih=502&biw=1093

 

[mx13]

Should I set the saw depth so the teeth clear the underside of the wood completely, or so they only protrude half-way?

 

[Nealtw]

About an 1/8" below the wood I think.

 

[ront02769]

A generalization that I’ve found to hold true over many years: the blade that “comes with the saw” is crap. That said, you have basically a skil saw which was never meant to do fine woodworking....or virtually any woodworking. Unless you are going with something like festool, you are buying the skil saw for construction, excels at cutting two byes, ripping plywood, decking, deck posts, flooring, etc. as mentioned, you can make a Self contained sled for the table saw....or just drill a couple of holes and add an auxiliary fence to your miter gadget to enter support the workpiece. Or just grab the60 tooth blade, use the razor knife cut idea, clamp a straight edge securely and push hard against it, and see what happens with some test cuts. Trick for cutting large pieces, like hundred buck sheet of 3/4” red oak cabinet grade plywood, rough cut with your circular saw like a quarter inch or so to two bye four foot....or whatever sizes you need...and then clean up on the table saw.....or even with the circular saw....having gotten the thing down to manageable, clampable size. 30 years ago I cut things close and then use a a “hollow ground planer” blade to give a perfect smooth edge....but blades have progressed since then. Ron