Types of Blade Miter Saw Trim

Blade Requirements

• Miter saws are available in 6-inch to 12-inch models. The size of the blade is not as important as the quality of the tool. Because larger tools are better quality, they operate with less vibration than their smaller counterparts. Larger tools are also more expensive. However, it's the quality, not the size, of the tool and blade that is important for trim work. Miter saw blades used for trim work are finely ground and well-balanced. The better blades have more teeth. Since each tooth takes a smaller cut out of the wood, blades with more teeth make a smoother cut overall.

Steel Blades

• Plain steel blades can be used for miter saws, although they are not often the blade of choice. A plain steel blade normally is not manufactured well enough to avoid vibrating at high speeds. The increased vibration of the blade can ruin a miter cut on expensive trim such as large crown molding. However, for the carpenter looking for an inexpensive alternative to a high-cost, carbide-tipped blade, the quality of a "hollow ground planer" blade is suited for miter saw trim work.

Carbide Tipped

• Carbide-tipped blades are used most often for miter saws' trim applications. High-quality 8-inch and 10-inch blades made by Freud, DeWalt and Oldham are excellent choices for all-purpose blades on a power miter saw. The blades differ in how many teeth they have, and in the shape and angle of the teeth. Blades with larger teeth, or teeth that are ground with greater angled tips, cut faster, but are more likely to leave chatter marks in the wood. The carbide blade tips are wider than the body of the blade so that the tips do all the cutting, and the blade doesn't bind when cutting through thick or dense wood.

Thin Kerf Blades

• Until the 1990s, the typical U.S.-made carbide-tipped blade was 1/4 inch wide. When higher quality steel and laser cutting technology entered the market, thin kerf miter saw blades were introduced. Only 1/8 inch thick, thin kerf blades spin up faster, cut with less resistance, and sell for half the price of their thicker bigger brothers. These blades have become very popular in the market, and now high-quality American and import saw blade manufacturers feature traditional and thin kerf blades.