There are saw blades for the variety of saws on the market, and each saw has a variety of blades to choose from. It is important to not spend more than you have to get a useful blade, but you don't want to render your new power tool less than fully powered because your buying the wrong quality of blade.Understanding What Makes a Quality Saw Blade

Spending good money on crappy power saw blades is what every woodworker wants to avoid. Some distributors of saw blades can "dress up" an inferior saw blade with a bit of paint, some cool packaging and sell a $12.00 power saw blade for $75.00 The only way of knowing what is a good buy and what is not a good buy is to educate yourself on saw blades and how to recognize the good from the not so good.

Saw Blade Selection Guide

Use the handy reference chart below to find the perfect blade for your table saw, miter saw and radial arm saw. You'll find blades for nearly all applications from top manufacturers, including Freud and Forrest.

Saw Blades 101

It pays to be selective when you shop for saw blades - making smooth, safe cuts with your table saw, radial arm saw, chop saw, or sliding compound miter saw depends on having the right blade for the tool and for the type of cut you want to make. There is no shortage of saw blades on the market, and quality and performance varies dramatically from blade to blade.

Choosing Scroll Saw Blades

First thing to consider is what type of wood you are going to use, hard or soft wood? Second is, what thickness is the wood? Third, what are you going to make: just scroll sawing or more detail work with many inside cuts, which by the way is called "fretwork". When doing just outside cutting, which no longer can be done by a band saw, it is called "scrolling".

Blade Selection

By now you have figured out that there are a lot of blades out there to choose from, both in size and brand name. I am going to recommend to everyone, regardless of their experience, to try Flying Dutchman blades. If you were to take a poll of all the people who use a scroll saw on a regular basis, I believe the overwhelming majority will tell you that they use the Flying Dutchman blades. The prices are good on them, and the service you get is outstanding.

Olson Scroll Saw Blades

Scroll sawing is a great hobby that can challenge you each and every time. But when your cutting that pattern into wood you want a dependable blade for your scroll saw and Olson scroll saw blades are what your looking for. They make metal cutting blades, wood cutting blades, and many other great products for all your sawing needs.

How to Clean a Table Saw Blade

Table saw blades take a beating and pick up lots of gunk and grime during use. Dirty blades are not as effective and do not cut properly. You could choose to dispose of dirty blades and buy new ones; however, table saw blades are expensive. If you want to save money by cleaning your table saw blades, you can do so using a bucket, a scrub pad and a cleaner made for the purpose.

How to Align a Table Saw Blade

An improperly aligned blade can bind, cause the table saw to kick back, burn the material being cut, or ruin the edge on expensive plywood by blowing chips out of the veneer. Saw blades get out of alignment over time during use. Fix a blade alignment problem by adjusting the metal tabletop or adjusting the motor. You can use fancy dial gauges, but it's not necessary. If you have a tape measure and a few tools, you can align your blade in a few minutes.