Best circular saw blade for cutting off door bottoms?

attofarad

12 years ago

I need to cut the bottom off of several interior doors. These are solid wood paneled doors, poplar, painted.

I'll probably cut them off with my 7-1/4" circular saw blade, using a clamping straight edge as a guide.

What is the best type of blade to buy for this use? Type, number of teeth, and brands would be appreciated.

Featured Answer

sombreuil_mongrel

12 years ago

The low hook angle blade I have used (7 1/4") was not a thin kerf. It was a freud.They cut very slowly and need a lot of pressure but there is no tearout on either side.
You can get a 40 tooth thin kerf from Freud that has a normal fast-cutting hook angle, but there will be more tearout on the top side of the cut, so scoring with a knife takes care of that.
Casey

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Comments (9)

zagut
12 years ago
Type - Sharp

# of teeth - Doesn't really matter as long as they are sharp.

Brands - Not the cheapest you can find.
sombreuil_mongrel
12 years ago
40 tooth blade with a low hook angle. zero hook angle is good, too.
Using a guide should be adequate because you will also bevel the cut slightly afterward with a plane and that will de-fuzz the cut. If it were a veneer door I'd suggest scoring it on top with a sharp knife.
Casey.
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User
12 years ago
Plywood finish blade is another name for what Casey listed. Ace Hardware makes a decent one---mine cost about $30 as I recall.

Freud makes a good thin kerf circ. saw finish blade.
mike_kaiser_gw
12 years ago
I have a Freud industrial blade with, I think, 40 teeth that works really, really well. Unfortunately the model number is long gone from the blade. Freud has a couple of 7" blades available. The LU79 should do it ($42 from Amazon). I haven't tried anything in the their Diablo line for a circular saw, although I have used ones of their 10" blades in a SCMS and was less than impressed.

Forrest offers their Duraline blade in 7" as well but it's $125.

Running a layer of blue painter's tape over the cut line helps too. Actually 3M's green painter's tape worked even better (it had slightly higher adhesion) but it's not as easy to find.

This post was edited by mike_kaiser on Fri, Jun 21, 13 at 8:45
attofarad
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for the feedback and suggestions.

Gary
zagut
12 years ago
You're both cross cutting and ripping at the same time.

Scoring first is a great idea.

So it tapeing first.

Sharp is the key and don't assume a new blade is sharp.

And remember it's the bottom of a door.

Not a lot of close inspection there.
CabinetHardwareEtc
11 years ago
Since you're using a guide, you may want to raise the blade to score the door first (in order to prevent chipping). Then lower the blade for your final cut.
ourwebsmartinfo
11 years ago
You'll really be needing more than 2 saw blades if you want to do things right. Get yourself a general purpose carbide tipped blade for the rough work. Buy a fine tooth blade for things like paneling and other thin stuff and get a hollow ground blade for the close work. Most any cheap carbide tipped blade is fine for the rough work but you'll want to buy better stuff for the close work you'll be doing. Sears has a good selection of blades to choose from and that's where you can get the best idea of what to buy too. site link

Here is a link that might be useful: research