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If you have a mitre saw, table saw, handheld circular saw or any other kind of circular saw then Solent Tools can help you with selecting the best circular saw blade for you. It is important to consider the size of the blade, the number of teeth, the finish you desire and the material you are cutting including wood, aluminium, plastic & more.
We strive to find out the required specifications of every saw and list them on our website under their model number so that you can order with confidence. We also try to put the quality of the blade, what it can cut and the kind of finish you can expect from it. If you have the model number simply put it into the search bar above and hopefully we have already done the hard work, there will be a list of a few options for it. If we have not then we encourage you to contact us with what you have and we can help you find the best blade for your saw and cutting needs.
In short; the more teeth a blade has, the finer the finish it will give.
There is a point where increasing the number of teeth on the blade will have no effect on the finish as the teeth, this is due to there no being enough room to clear the cut material. We do not sell blades with excessive numbers of teeth for this reason.
A blade with more teeth will take longer to cut any material than a blade with fewer teeth.
Whilst the number of teeth on the blade will improve the finish another factor is the depth of cut of your saw. This mainly applies to handheld circular saws and table saws where you can adjust the depth of cut, if you adjust it so that the teeth of the blade just clear the material you are cutting you will see an improved finish as there are more teeth in the material at once.
In the description of every blade on our website we list the kind of finish that you can expect from it and what it will cut.
For the vast majority of wood cutting you would use ‘Alternative Top Bevel’
Should you be looking to cut harder materials such as MDF or Laminated wood and require a fine finish then a ‘Triple Chip Grind’ is worth considering.
For cutting Aluminium (Alloy) or Plastic then a ‘Triple Chip Grind’ is really the only safe option.
Steel & Stainless Steel cannot be cut by a ‘wood cutting’ mitre saw, table saw or handheld circular saw as they rev too high and as such we do not sell such a blade. To cut these materials you would need to use a ‘Dry Cut Saw‘, specific metal cutting saw or something that uses an abrasive cutting disc.
Alternate Top Bevel (ATB) The most common circular saw blade tooth formation. The tips are ground to alternate between a right and left hand bevel. This tooth configuration gives a smoother cut when cross cutting natural woods and veneered plywood. The alternating beveled teeth form a knife-like edge on either side of the blade and will give you a cleaner cut.
Triple Chip Grind (TCG) The TCG configuration is normally found on aluminium and non-ferrous cutting blades but is also excellent at cutting harder materials like laminates, MDF, and plastics. Teeth alternate between a flat raking tooth and a higher “trapeze” tooth.
Flat Top (FT) If fast cutting down the grain is your priority then these circular saw blades do the job. Very fast and quick. The flat top tooth is the most efficient design for cutting and raking material out of the cut.
Combination Tooth (Comb.) This type of blade is fairly rare. (4&1) These blades are designed to do both cross cutting and ripping. The teeth are arranged in groups of five – four ATB teeth and one FT — with a large gullet in between the groups.
High Alternate Top Bevel (HiATB) The HiATB configuration is used for extra-fine cross cutting and to cut materials surfaced with melamine, which is prone to chipping. The high bevel angle increases the knife-like action at the edge of the blade.
General rules for the angle of the hook on the circular saw blade you require is governed by the type of the saw that you have.
If you are cutting wood then a blade with either zero or negative hook angle is best on a mitre saw. If your mitre saw is also a pull cross or sliding mitre saw then zero is the better option. If however you are sawing Aluminium (Alloy) or plastic then always always go for negative hook angle.
A positive hook angle is best on a table saw. This will help pull the material through the blade and reduce the load on the machine.
The best hook angle for a handheld circular saw is a positive one. It will help feed your saw through the material and reduce the chance of kickback.
Generally a zero hook angle is best, this is due to the fact that a radial arm saw allows for a wide range of direction and feed options, it will not effect the material. A positive hook angle is ok if a zero is not available, but it is not the best.
There are 3 levels of quality: DIY, Professional / Trade & Industrial. The price of a blade will generally reflect the quality.
DIY: Normally the cheapest blades. Good for occasional use or using as disposable (if cutting nail embedded wood). They are still Tungsten Carbide Tipped (TCT) and will cut well. The blades will not last as long as the tungsten compound is not as hard. The vast majority of the cheap DIY blades have an alternative top bevel tooth configuration.
Pro Trade: These blades are designed to be run regularly and will easily outlast the DIY quality blades. These can normally be resharpened around 1-2 times depending on the brand and type of tooth. The vast majority will have either alternative top bevel or triple chip tooth configuration.
Industrial: These blades are designed to be run all day long. They can normally be resharpened around 4-8 times depending on the brand and type of tooth. The body of the blade and tips are normally a harder compound meaning they last a long time and can handle the constant use. Industrial quality blades tend to be expensive, but the quality outweighs the cost.
E – Expansion Slots
Expansion slots in circular saw blades make room for the blade to expand without distortion due to heat caused by friction during use.
G – Gullets
The space cut out from blade plate between the teeth of a saw blade. The gullets provide room for the cut material to exit the cut.
H – Hook Angle
This is the amount that the tip either leans toward or away from the direction of the blade rotation. A zero degree hook angle means that the face of the teeth are in line with the exact centre of the blade. This is important and we explain this in detail further on.
K – Kerf
Basically the width of the tip. The width of material the blade will remove. For cordless machines or table saws with Riving knife this becomes important. We will explain this in detail further on.
L – Kickback Limiters
Some blades us kickback to stop the blade from over feeding. I.e. pulling the material in too fast.
P – Blade Plate
The thickness of the blade that the teeth are attached to. This will vary in relation to the size of the teeth but quite often due to the quality of the blade. The thicker the plate is normally a sign of a quality blade unless use defines the use of thinner plated blades.
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