Jigsaw Blades - Cut Quality Question

[Chet]

Submitted on the old forum by bushwacked

Have yall ever noticed the difference between a wood cutting and a metal cutting blade?

I was working on another shop project today and ended up bending my wood cutting blade so I slapped in the metal cutting blade to make the final few cuts instead of going to HD and spending more money.

The dang metal cutting blade went through the ply like butter and just felt better. The wood cutting blade felt jerky and somewhat hard to push through/control. The metal was easier and I think left a better finished edge I thought. I may switch of to these metal blades full time once I test it out on some hardwood and see how it goes. Anyone know a reason I just flat out should not?

Here are the blades I was using ... The BR-10 and BR-13 were not as good as the BR-22 

Follow up posts

1) The metal blade probably has more teeth and in ply probably helped by not getting caught up in the individual plys

2) Ah the BR 10-13 we 9 and 10 teeth each ... the metal was 22, guess that makes sense, but dang those were supposed to be the fine wood cutting ones, not the rough. 

Maybe I will try these ... 20 TPI

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KL3XMG/ref=crt_ewc_title_dp_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER 

3) Like the Bosch blades I have been using them for years. I could be wrong but I don't think you would have the same results in hardwood, I think it may be because you are cutting ply.

4) You guys, some of you, talk about rough cutting lengths with a jig saw and I’ve never had good results. I’m assuming it’s the blade. If there are multiple cuts,I usually resort to dragging out the miter saw. If it’s a one or two cuts, it’s with a circ saw. Say I have a 4/4 x 6” piece of hardwood, is there a recommended jig saw blade that would make my cut safer than the circ saw?

5) For starters, these are all rough cuts to length so, we're not looking for perfection from the jig saw.  It's a rough tool. 

 As for "safer" than the circular saw, I would argue that the jig saw is safer as there's much less chance of kickback.  I'm actually trying a circular saw this year for rough cuts and will toss my opinions after a few projects.

Regardless, either of these options are better than the chop saw.

6) Ken,  I tend to use the Bosch T101BF Blade 90% of the time it is made for hardwood and is long enough to go through 8/4 stock.

www.toolnut.com/bosch-t101bf-5-pc-4-10-tpi-variable-pitch-clean-for-hardwood-t-shank-jig-saw-blades.html

7) Thanks Chet for the blade recommendation. 
Kev, why do you figure the circ saw is safer than the chop saw? I thought you would go just the opposite? On my original post I said 6” but meant 6’. But say I have an 8’ piece that I want to cut in half. With the miter saw, the board would be supported on both sides. With the circ saw, I usually lay it on the lawn, supported on both sides of the cut. So far, I’ve never had a problem with either but certainly like to go with the safest, for my benefit and future readers.

8 ) Because the circular saw doesn't have a fence which is just one more piece to jam the blade.  With the circular saw, it usually starts binding and the normal reaction is to let off of the trigger where with the chop saw, you often times don't get that warning.  Also, if the circular saw does kick, you're holding in your hand so, it's going to go with the saw.  One additional piece, the circular saw is most likely less HP than the chop saw.  In my case, I'm trying battery operated.

If I do use the circular saw, I have the piece clamped to the bench.

9) I like using the circular saw over the jig saw for breaking down wider boards. Just cuts faster. If the board will fit on my miter saw I will break it down there. Just make sure your bow is towards the fence or that right at the cut line it’s tight to the fence. Kev is right on the kick back, on a miter saw you don’t typically know it’s coming. It is usually very a violent when it does happen. As far as jigsaw blades go I typically use Bosch brand, depending on what I’m cutting but typically have a down cut in.

10) Quiet often, I have cross cut the boards in my hand with the circ saw, unsupported and have had a couple of near misses. After joining these forums and realizing how foolish that is, they now get clamped as Kev says or supported from both sides laying on a surface. Hopefully this thread will help others in the future.