I finally looked up why my mitre saw blade kept burning the wood

Was reading a random forum post last night and found out the blade teeth need to be at a certain height above the material, like barely an 1/8th inch. Been running mine way too deep for like 2 years now, no wonder everything looked like toast. Anyone else find out a basic thing way later than they should have?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_joel10d ago

Actually its more like 1/4 inch for most blades, not 1/8th. The gullet of the tooth needs room to clear the sawdust or it just packs up and burns. I messed that up for a long time too until a guy at a job site pointed it out. He pulled out a little plastic gauge that had the tooth pattern printed on it and showed me exactly where the blade should sit. The real trick is the bottom of the tooth's gullet should be just below the top of the material, not the tip of the tooth. If you set it too low the tooth tip drags across the cut and bakes the wood instead of slicing it clean.

roberts.jordan10d ago

Stopped counting how long I ran a dull blade on my table saw before realizing you can sharpen them with a diamond plate. Three years maybe. Felt like an idiot standing there with burnt edges on every board.