Anyone ever use the blade stabilizers I’ve seen in Tool Crib & others?
Do they work and are they worth the 15 bucks?
I’ve seen decent looking 12″ blades at some box stores that come with a stabilizer in the package as a bonus. Am I quick to assume the blade sucks if they know it needs some extra help to get a better cut?
I am using all Freud blades, with the exception of a couple of those DW yellow painted teeth ones.
ADH Carpentry & Woodwork
Quality, Craftsmanship, Detail
Replies
Hook
Absolutely!
Yes they work. I think you can go over to Knots and find a boat load of info on them.
Doug
I bought one for my PM 66 when I got to use with the Forrest blades I bought. I have since taken it off. Even with the thin kerf blade I didn't notice enough of a difference to warrant using it and it decreased the the usable blade depth. For now it is on the shelf.
Andy E
I bought some Forrest blades at a woodworking show, and they gave me one -- raving that it vastly enhanced the quality of the cut.
Maybe that's so, but not in any way that was dramatically obvious to me. Besides, it limits your depth of cut.
So mine is also gathering dust on the shelf.
Depending on what you're cutting and how deep the cut is, the blade will always develop harmonic vibrations. The larger the surface that clamps the blade in place, the lower the amplitude of the vibration. Once the blade gets hot from a deep cut on wet or otherwise difficult wood, it wants to wander. This is a bad thing, especially if the blade is getting dull, the throat plate isn't a zero clearance insert and isn't screwed down. One more thing- if a blade gets squirrely and the cut is wavering, get the wood off of the blade safely and let the blade straighten itself out. Once it's true again, it should be OK. If it doesn't true itself, toss it- it's toast and shouldn't be used again.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Yeah, I know all that -- or at least I remember the Forrest guy singing its (the stabilizer) praises. But my point was that I could never see a discernible difference in the cut quality.
I have a Woodworker II and still use a stabilizer, but can't complain at all about the quality of the cuts. Smoother than any jointer I have used.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
I am assuming stabilizers are more geared toward table saws. I have never really had a problem with the quality of cut, naturally the sharper the better. As I mentioned, my uses would be almost strictly on a 12 DW dual slider.
It seemed to me the premise of the stabilizer might help offset a tiring saw a little.ADH Carpentry & Woodwork
Quality, Craftsmanship, Detail
Re: "As I mentioned, my uses would be almost strictly on a 12 DW dual slider."
Take the blade off of your 12" slider and explain how you could mount a set of stabilizers on such a shallow arbor. I have enough trouble fitting the blade itself in the slot provided. Mounting stabilizers on a miter saw (if possible) would reduce the depth of cut on stand up material. Stabilizers would quickly become a large PITA on a miter saw IMO.Be Constructive
Gord
St.Margaret's Bay NS
Very good points, of course. The ones I've seen are actually advertised towards a miter saw application. Oh well, just a thought of how to improve my capabilities! :)
Thanks for the input.
HookADH Carpentry & Woodwork
Quality, Craftsmanship, Detail
Never used one a miter saw, actually never even thought about it. CMT blades on a DeWalt cut pretty smooth.Table saw...I'm using a 4" Forrest on a DeWalt in the field. It definitely helps. It really helps on a Delta portable.Anybody who says they get jointer like or planer like cuts from any kind of saw with whatever doodads, needs to get another jointer or planer. LMBO! Don't worry, we can fix that later!
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Well, they're not quite like my planer, but they shine when I look at them against the light and they glue-up perfectly.
You need to use featherboards of course, and a steady feed rate.
Alan
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Not only do they limit the depth of cut, they mess up your fence indicator and don't fit in your throat plates. They might help thin kerf blades but why buy thin kerfs anyway. Just another gimmick for hobbyists to spend their dough on.
Beat it to fit . Paint it to match
hate to get off the subject... but saw a lazer deal that bolted up with the blade turned on as the blade spun to line up a cut on your cut off saw... anyone used one?
pony
12" blade?
Blade stabilizers are for table saw applications, the arbor on a miter saw is too shallow to accept them. They work great on thin kerf blades which tend to bend slightly under pressure. Unless the blades are super sharp, I find the full size blades too hard on portable table saws. Thin kerf blades and stabilizers will increase the life of a portable table saw immensely.
I've thought about the laser bolt ons, if you can turn it off, why not?
Be Constructive
Gord
St.Margaret's Bay NS
A typical "blade stabilizer" is just a big pair of recessed washers. Wouldn't expect them to do much unless you're buying really crappy blades.
A blade trueing plate is a different story. See the Lee Valley catalog- they sell 'em. Basically it's a disc of aluminum with a recess on the blade side (leaving a raised rim adjacent to the blade) and a set of evenly-spaced setscrews facing the blade through this rim. You replace the outboard washer on your tablesaw with it, set up your dial indicator and turn the setscrews one by one until the blade runs true within a thou or so.
I was too cheap to buy one, so I made one on the lathe at work and it made a big difference to the smoothness of cuts. It takes out not only blade irregularity but also corrects for run-out on your saw's arbor.
You do lose some cut depth, but it's worth it.
Never thought to make one for my compound mitre saw- suspect the arbor's too short- but I'll have to check. Bet it'd make a big difference there too...
My personal belief -A properly set up, high quality blade should not require a blade stiffener.If there is an existing problem with your cuts - try your basic tune ups and adjustments first, along with a high quality blade, of course.Sharp blades are your friends :)
Did you mark the blade and the truing disc so they're always at the same spot on the arbor?
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Nope. It's not repeatable enough. I use a combination blade for both ripping and crosscutting and get beautiful smooth cuts without the bother of changing blades. If I do have to change the blade out, I true it again- takes about 1 minute.
A good quality blade on a good quality saw will still wobble. A wobbly blade doesn't make a flat cut, it makes a wavy cut as some teeth lean into the work more than others. I can make beautiful flat cuts with my cheap Ridgid saw and a $20 blade, but only with that trueing disc in place.
I'll second everything Moltenmetal said about the saw blade stabilizer. My cuts with the Lee Valley accessorie on 2" oak look like they came from the planer.You do need a dial guage and mag. base, but these are very inexpensive these days.