I almost never post on this side of the forum, only on the hand tools side, but...
I need to rip a large piece of 4" thick ash and can only do it with my Sears handheld circular saw that takes a 7" blade. It will probably fit a more common 7-1/4" blade, but I'll have to try.
I'll make two cuts from each side and then rip it by hand in the middle section the circular saw can't reach. I've done this before but my old crosscut blade burns too much.
So here's my question:
Any recommendations for a reasonable quality rip blade that won't send me to the bank for funds? Freud? Any one else? Home Despot?
I keep a 7 1/2" combination blade on my table saw for everything it has the height capacity to saw. For your application I would recommend a Freud Avanti (I think Home Depot, or possibly Lowes). It is thicker than the CMT thin kerf blades I normally use. The thicker blade will be less likely to deflect......a substantial issue with what you are doing. Sloooooow feed rate.
But, this job is best done on a large band saw with a blade with few teeth.
Thanks for the suggestion. Yes, I know the best method would be to bandsaw it, but the piece is 4" x 8" x 10 foot long and weighs ~80 pounds. No way I'm going to try to wrestle with it on my 14" bandsaw. Or on a table saw, assuming I had one. So, it bring to tool to the work in this case. But, once it's converted to a ~4x4, I think I can handle it on the bandsaw.
The chainsaw idea is not an option, IMO! Too much waste!
Like Bill said few teeth as possible. Don't get a thin kerf. Most lumberyards have good inexpensive carbide blades at the counter. Just a basic framing blade should work fine. (30 years doing basic carpentry.)
I agree with Walter, betting a 7 1/4" blade won't fit on that saw. Better to borrow or rent a bigger saw. Home Depot (some of them) has a tool rental section. Also, I just looked and Home Depot has a 6 1/2" Diablo saw blade for about $11. I did not do a lot of looking, they may have others. A 6 1/4" blade only "robs" you of 3/8" of cut capacity over a 7" blade. Flatten both sides as best you can to avoid wobbling the blade during the cut.
You could also check local pawn shops for a bigger saw.
I don't think it maters. I have ripped stuff with any number of 7.25 blades. They all seem fine. They are designed to cut wet wood, and nails, not that far from the prescription for what you want. At one point a lot of the catalogs carried super thin blades from Japan, that were in sizes like 8-10 inches, for table saws. I thought that was a great idea, and bought some. Other than the increased diameter, they weren't any better than regular blades for circ saws, despite costing 10 times as much. I mean, maybe they had less run out or whatever, but the deal was narrow resawing, and for that the runout was pretty unimportant. Nothing wrong with them, but up here I have to import them, and pay a lot more. I just found ways to get by, as you are doing. The biggest factor in your situation will be getting the cuts aligned, an edge guide or something of the sort.
In the time it takes you to buy a blade for your old saw, you could schlep this plank over to a pal who has a 12" table saw and rip it in about ten seconds flat -- a nice clean straight cut -- plus save the cost of a blade.
Other than that, I'd agree that typical builders blades are fine, assuming you find one to fit that device.
If I couldn't do it myself, I'd take it to a lumber yard that does millwork and have them do it on a big band saw. The fee would be less than the cost of the blade and would end up with less waste and a better cut.
Re: Good quality 7-1/4" rip blade?... Thanks! *LINK*
John Aniano in Central NJ
Hello Again,
Well, I bit the bullet - it was a nice sunny day and warm here in NJ. Just used the same contractor's blade I had on the Sears saw, a 6-1/2" blade with 16 carbide teeth, a general purpose blade. Took repeated passes from both sides, no more than 1/4" cutting depth per pass. And it took about 1 hour from start to finish, including cleanup. Now I have a more manageable 40 pound piece that I can bring to a friend's shop to surface and rip to final width.
This is the final piece for my long anticipated Roubo workbench top. The base is nearly finished. Actually, nearly finished two years ago. But the top was a problem. I planned to use a large 3" thick American chestnut plank I had, but it had a slight bow to it and in the long run, would have yielded a top around 2-1/2" thick, too thin for a 10 foot long bench. So, I sprung for some nice, kiln dried ash from Horizon Wood Products in western PA and the stock they sent me was just sterling! I am a happy customer! But the stock was slightly oversize and of course rough sawn. Friends Brian Holcombe and Bob Emmons were able to help surface and joint the stock, but for a variety of reasons (and a last minute design change) I opted to make the top from three instead of four ash planks. But one needed to be ripped, hence my blade question.
If anyone in the central NJ area is interested in approximately 100BF of very old, 3" thick, American chestnut (clear with no knots or worm holes), give me a jingle privately and maybe we can come up with a deal you can't refuse! Would be a better fate for this "rareish" wood than to be a workbench top.
I was going to offer to bring over my Festool TS75 Track Saw. I have plenty of track for a ten foot rip. It cuts 2-3/4" deep from either face. It would have given you a glue-ready rip cut, but I see you have already got 'er done. I'll bet you've already found a home for the chestnut, too.
