Saw Blade Dictionary

Saw blades are available in configurations for most applications, from general purpose blades to highly specialized designs. Everything depends on how much blade you want, and that’s often a question of construction material and amount of use. Below is a list of terms and illustrations to assist you in selecting the right blade for the right job.

Anti-kick: A shoulder design that is engineered to improve the ease of cut and reduce the effect of the saw blade kicking back due to feeding to fast.

Arbor: The mandrel or saw motor shaft that rotates the saw blade.

Bore: The arbor by which the saw blade is mounted on the saw. Available in various sizes.

Bevel: Angles on a carbide tooth blade. Teeth can have a single bevel, double bevel or no bevel at all. Types of bevels can alternate from tooth to tooth on a given blade. The bevel is what gives the blade its specific cutting pattern.

Chipper: A cutting tool that is placed between the outside blades of a dado set to adjust the width of the cut.

Chipping: A condition caused when the saw blade lifts and tears the wood fibers as it exits the material. This causes the edges to be ragged.

Coating: Specially formulated coatings that stays slick. Coating a blade reduces heat in two ways: It minimizes friction and binding and resists pitch and gum buildup.

Combination saw blade: A blade used for both ripping (cutting with the grain of the wood) and crosscutting (cutting across the grain).

Crosscut: To cut or saw against of the grain of the wood.

Cutter: Outside blades used in dadoes.

Dado: A flat-bottomed recessed cut made across the grain of a board. Also, a set of blades used to produce precision grooves.

Dyanite Carbide®: A Vermont American proprietary carbide formulation that adds fracture toughness and allows up to 5 times edge retention compared to conventional carbide.

Expansion slots: The spaces that allow a blade to expand as it heats up during cutting. It eliminates warpage by cooling the blade.

Ferrous: Of or containing iron.

Finishing saw blade: A saw blade with a higher tooth count to provide smoother cuts. Typically refers to 7-1/4″ blades with more than 40 teeth and 10 in. blades with more than 60 teeth.

Framing saw blade: A carbide tipped blade used to make fast cuts in all types of wood. (The fastest cutting is achieved with lower tooth count
saw blades.)

Kerf: This is the width of a cut, including the steel plate thickness plus any overhang on a carbide blade.

General purpose saw blade: A saw blade with a lower tooth count. Used primarily for fast crosscutting and ripping.

Gullet: The space between teeth that clears the workpiece of chips after the cut.

Grind: There are many types of tooth grinds.  You can see four basic types below or see our Circular Saw Blade Anatomy and Grind Types.

• Flat Top Grind (FTG) – best for ripping
• Alternate Top Bevel (ATB) – for crosscutting, cut-off and trimming
• Triple Chip Grind (TCG) – perfect for hard, abrasive materials like non-ferrous metals, hardwood and plastics
• Tri-Grind (TRI) – combination grind

Hook angle: The “attack angle” of the teeth. Harder, more brittle materials need a shallower angle to ease pressure against the materials and reduce chip out. Softer materials require a sharper angle to reduce chip out.

Miter: The process of cutting material for an equal angle joint.

Nonferrous: Materials and metals not of or containing iron, such as aluminum, copper, brass and lead.

Plate: The steel body of a carbide blade on which the teeth are welded.

Plane: In woodworking, to make a surface smooth or even.

Rabbet: An open-ended cut made along the edge of a workpiece that receives or interlocks with another piece to form a joint.

Ripping: The process of sawing a board in the direction of the grain of the board.

Runout: The amount of left-to-right movement a saw blade makes during operation. Often referred to as wobble or warp.

Stiffening collar: A flat collar that mounts on a saw’s arbor directly next to the blade. It is used to make more accurate cuts and dampen the sound the saw generates.

Shim: A thin, often tapered piece of material such as metal or wood used to fill in space between things. In dado operations, a round disk used to make a wider cut.

Tear-out: A condition in which the saw blade tears out the grain of a workpiece.

Tempered: To bring the steel plate of a saw blade to a desired hardness by reheating and cooling.

Thin kerf saw blade: A saw blade with a reduced kerf, or cut width.

Questions and Answers

What's the difference between Kerf and Thin Kerf?

Thin Kerf is a saw blade with a reduced kerf, usually less than width than the Standard 1/8 in. cut or about 3/32 in.. The Thin Kerf blades are usually used on lower powered saws and allow less dragging on the blade during the cut.

How do I distinguish metal from masonry discs?

To distinguish between the two different applications on the most manufactures will have them labeled with the information bar on the front of the product. Also, they usually have very few teeth as compared to masonry blades that do not have any teeth at all. Diablo discs for metal applications contains a blue information bar with metal icon. Diablo discs for masonry applications contain a green information bar with a masonry icon.CMT Blades are labeled with information in the bottom center of the blade.

How do I get the best results with my saw blade?

Maintain a proper feed rate. Feeding too slow causes burning of the material. Feeding too fast can be dangerous and produces a poor dull cut. If you experience burning on one side of the cut you should check and adjust the saw's alignment. Consult your saw owner's manual for alignment instructions.

What is the recommended blade depth for best results?

For best results, set your saw so that one half of a carbide tip extends above the material to be cut.

What's the difference between a combination blade and a general purpose blade?

Combination blades are designed to crosscut and rip. General Purpose blades can be used for most wood cutting applications including plywood, laminated wood and melamine.

Saw blade safety

• ALWAYS thoroughly check all blades for damage and flaws before using. Do not use blades with missing or damaged teeth.
• ALWAYS wear safety glasses and ear protection when using power tools.
• ALWAYS thoroughly read the owners manual and manufacturer’s instructions before working with tools.
• ALWAYS use a fence and splitter when using the table saw.
• Do not make freehand cuts.
• ALWAYS use pusher blocks or a pusher stick, especially when working with small or narrow pieces.
• ALWAYS unplug your saw before cleaning or adjusting the tool, or before making blade changes.
• ALWAYS keep your tools sharpened, clean and stored in a safe place to avoid breakage and accidents and to extend the life of your bits and blades.
• ALWAYS feed the work against the rotation of the blade on table saws.
• ALWAYS be sure your workpiece is completely supported, before and after the cut.
• ALWAYS keep hands away from blade and cutting area. Never perform operations freehand.
• ALWAYS keep body, clothing, and hair clear of spinning blade. Do not wear jewelry while operating blade.

• NEVER cut curves with this circular saw blade; ONLY make straight cuts.
• NEVER use blade in any saw machine that will exceed maximum recommended blade RPM indicated on the blade. Be sure that the saw blade is compatible with your machine.
• NEVER operate a saw machine without proper saw guards and protections in place and working properly
• NEVER remove the splitter or anti-kickback devices from table saws.
• NEVER use dull or damaged blades.
• NEVER use blades with missing or chipped teeth.
• NEVER force the cut or overload the saw.
• NEVER change blades with the saw plugged in.
• NEVER make adjustments to any saw while the blade is turning.

WARNING: Drilling, sawing, sanding or machining wood products can expose you to wood dust, a substance known to the State of California to cause cancer. Avoid inhaling wood dust or use a dust mask or other safeguards for personal protection. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/wood.