I was using the wrong saw blade for plywood for almost a year

I was getting a lot of chipping on the face of my birch plywood, especially on crosscuts. I figured it was just the nature of the material. Then, last month, a guy at the lumber yard in Spokane asked me what blade I was using on my table saw. I told him it was a 40-tooth general purpose blade. He just shook his head and said, 'You need an 80-tooth crosscut blade for that, or you'll always get tear-out.' I switched, and the difference was night and day. Has anyone else found a specific blade type that solved a similar problem for them?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_ray23d ago

That lumber yard guy was mostly right, but you don't always need a full 80-tooth blade. For a lot of plywood, a good 60-tooth combination blade works just as well and is more versatile. The real key is the blade's grind. You want one with a high alternate top bevel, or ATB, grind. That's what makes the clean cut.

sandra_anderson23d ago

Yeah, I learned about ATB grinds the hard way after ruining a sheet of plywood. My first cut looked like a beaver did it.

the_val4d ago

Oh man, that beaver comment is too real. My first table saw project looked like someone chewed through the edge of the board. Learned real fast that a cheap blade just tears up plywood. Switched to a decent ATB grind blade and it was like night and day, just clean cuts with no splinters. It's one of those things you don't know you need until you wreck some material.