Using Circular saw blades on Miter Saw

[made2hack]

Hi all,

I've got a technical question of sorts. I have both a circular saw and miter saw. The circular saw uses 230mm (9") blades but the miter uses 255mm (10") blades. Can I use circular saw blades on the miter saw?

Aside from the fact that they spin in the other direction, would there be other issues with this? The bore is the same 25.4mm (1").

There are many stainless steel blades for circular saws that come in 230mm (9") and 305mm (12") sizes for circular and chop saws but none that I have found in 255mm (10") size for miter saws. I don't know why that is.

Thanks for your input,

[ncollar]

The answer to your question is YES, BUT do not put the 10" blade on the 9" saw.

[Drew1966]

Mitre saws generally do not use stainless steel blades because, as they are designed to be mobile, do not cool the blade as efficiently as a table saw and stainless steel blades are thought to be more susceptible to warping.

[ncollar]

Drew
That was interesting. I do not own a miter saw but I do have a radial arm saw and table saw. Depending on what I am cutting I will use a rip or crosscut. On my table saw I mainly use a combination blade. I guess it is all about what you are cutting. All blades have a purpose but I still hold to one first reply, the blades can be used on either saws, the real concern is what are you going to cut that will affect the life of the blade.
Nelson

[Beserkleyboy]

There is a trap for young (or inexperienced players) here....
Mitre saw blades and RAS blades should have about 5 deg NEGATIVE hook angle. Positive hook will lift work dangerously on both saws. Negative hook pushes work down and against fence. Rip blades can be used on RAS when turned for ripping, but work holdown MUST be in place as violent lifting will occur.

Table saw combo blades, frequently Alternate Top Bevel (ATB) typically 15 deg hook - cuts clean, pulls work down to table.
Table saw Rip Blades may have square top teeth with deep gullet and 20 deg hook - cuts well in direction of grain, clears large amount of sawdust, pulls wood down.
Table saw Triple Chip blades - more teeth ATB and Triple chip teeth, typically 10 deg hook - cut veneer, melamine, laminates and composites with little chipping.
Don't hurt yourself for an $80 blade.....please...
Saw Tip Angles Explained

Cheers guys,
Jim in South Coast NSW

[Frank S]

There is a trap for young (or inexperienced players) here....
Mitre saw blades and RAS blades should have about 5 deg NEGATIVE hook angle. Positive hook will lift work dangerously on both saws. Negative hook pushes work down and against fence. Rip blades can be used on RAS when turned for ripping, but work holdown MUST be in place as violent lifting will occur.

Table saw combo blades, frequently Alternate Top Bevel (ATB) typically 15 deg hook - cuts clean, pulls work down to table.
Table saw Rip Blades may have square top teeth with deep gullet and 20 deg hook - cuts well in direction of grain, clears large amount of sawdust, pulls wood down.
Table saw Triple Chip blades - more teeth ATB and Triple chip teeth, typically 10 deg hook - cut veneer, melamine, laminates and composites with little chipping.
Don't hurt yourself for an $80 blade.....please...
Saw Tip Angles Explained

Cheers guys,
Jim in South Coast NSW

Back when I had both a radial arm saw and a table saw I kept the spare blades for each in a cabinet next to the saw. On of my workers grabbed a blade for the RAS and put it on the table saw the result was the piece he was cutting a grove in bounced up and was ruined no body hurt just the work piece tossed around
My 12" miter saw has a carbide tipped blade probably 5 years old now still cuts like a charm but I don't use it often

[Beserkleyboy]

Well put Frank,
Yes, storing blades with or near their machine is the best and safest way to go. In big shops, workers are trained to use the right tools for the machine. Too many hobby woodworking magazines tell the punters to 'make this or that flash rack to hold ALL your sawblades in 1 place!' And BTW, arbor size is not something randomly selected by manufacturers. One reason is to keep people from using the wrong blade on the wrong tool. Their are a few crossovers, like the one the OP is in trouble with; namely the 1" chop saw and 1" industrial table saw. Most handheld circular saws and most table saws designed to be used by NOT professionals or in an industrial environment, have 5/8" arbor. The big problem is that now there are so many different types of tools pitched at so many markets, that confusion will occur.
And just BTW, most 10" table saws with that pissy little 5/8' arbor would perform much better with 1"!! My Taiwan Wadkin clone is a sliding table, Tilting arbor 12" with 1" arbor and I have a HEAP of CMT and Freud blades, all laser cut blanks, nice and quiet and only cost $20 to sharpen...I can never stress enough to folk starting out, to spend as much as you can and learn as much as you can ABOUT the tool before using it willy nilly...I've seen way to many accidents in my 40 years in the Timber business...sorry for the rant, but I feel strongly about this stuff. Cheers
Jim

[made2hack]

Saw Tip Angles Explained
Cheers guys,
Jim in South Coast NSW

Hi Jim, thanks however the link you posted seems to not display the images (is it just me?) so I can't tell what kind of angle I'm supposed to look for.

So I figured I would add some images to this post to see if I get what you guys are saying.

Below are two blades sold as steel and stainless blades that seem to have a positive angle. And the one from Bosch with a negative or 0 angle. Is this correct?

What is your take on the two first blades?

Also, what do you make of "multi-material" blades like the last one posted? That angle seems to be odd.

Regards,

[Beserkleyboy]

Mate, #s 1,2 &4 are not MADE of stainless steel, they are for cutting stainless steel. Stainless steel is not used for the blade's blank. Some, like CMT, 'Chrome Coat' some of their blades for rust resistance, sort of like a dull chrome plating..#4 is the 'universal' cut anything blade,(meaning, in reality that it does not do any job well...). It is designed to be used to cut through materials that may have nails embedded, metal parts or flashings attached etc. Notice on 3 & 4 the small gullet with a 'bump' after it. This common on metal cutting blades. It keeps the blade from grabbing the hard material too aggressively, which will cause problems. #1 is the closest to what you might want for a chop saw or RAS. The 'hook angle' is the slope of the face of the carbide tip relative to the radius of the blade. So, draw a line parallel with the face of the tooth and compare it to the radius of the blade. #s 3 & 4 have negative hook, and are for stationary chop /mitre saws, cutting metal. #s 1 & 2 have perhaps 5 deg forward hook and for cutting metal in circular saws or table saws.
What are your uses? What materials and of what thickness do you cut? What make and model of tools do you have? Where are you located? If you can help with the details, I happy to make recommendations for you, as it is a real minefield these days trying to select saw blades! Cheers
Jim
30 yr expat in AUS

[ncollar]

I respond to threads without enough information of what the intent is. But I did mention in my reply earlier the crosscut and the rip, if anyone know anything about saws they would already know I was referring to wood. The brown stuff. I forget today there are blades designed to cut metal and as the 4th blade you posted can be used for that. It is all in the design and the insert that is brazed on it. This blade will not do a great job on wood even if it says it will. It also says it will cut plastics, I would be very surprised if it did a good job. Plastic get hot and starts to melt with nothing but disastrous outcome. I have seen some videos of chaps cutting steel, flat and angle stock with good results. I think it might be worth a try but first I would need to clean all the wood dust up. With the sparks generated it would be very easy to have a shop fire and burn your equipment up.
Safety First
Nelson