Circular saw blades are fundamental tools to have for many projects thanks to their versatility, from woodworking to construction. Different types of circular saw blades are designed for different materials and tasks, such as wood, plastics, metal, concrete, and masonry, just to name a few. It is of great significance to choose the right circular saw blades for your project because a proper blade results in better performance and ensures your safety during operation. In this article, we’ll explain everything about the 11 circular saw blade types and their uses. When finish reading, you can determine which one is best suited for your cutting needs.

1. Ripping blades

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Ripping blades, or rip-cut blades are designed to produce straight and long cuts along the wood grain. Typically, they have fewer teeth (around 16 to 40) than cross-cut blades, with deep gullets for the efficient removal of wood chips and sawdust. The teeth of ripping blades have a shallower hook angle to stop the blade from grabbing the workpiece during operation. Rip-cut blades require faster cut speed, resulting in rough cuts. It is not advisable to use a ripping blade for crosscutting because it leaves poor-quality cuts and causes kickback.

2. Crosscutting blades

Contrary to ripping blades, crosscutting blades, or cross-cut blades are ideal to create cuts across the wood grain. They have more teeth (around 60 to 80) with shallower gullets, thus perfect for cutting solid wood such as hardwood and softwood. Cross-cut blades can produce extremely clean and smooth cuts with less tear-out. They feature a steeper hook angle to realize more aggressive and smoother cuts at a slow speed. Also, do not use a crosscutting blade for ripping.

3. Combination/General-purpose blades

Combination blades are sometimes known as general-purpose blades. They are designed to produce both ripping and crosscutting. With a combination blade, we don’t need to switch blades when changing the cut direction. Combination blades also combine flat teeth and alternate-top bevel teeth to ensure performance. The flat teeth can cut quickly like rip-cuts and the alternate-top bevel teeth can produce clean and precise cuts like cross-cuts. However, for more specific tasks, dedicated ripping or crosscutting blades are recommended.

4. Plywood blades

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With the cross-graining design, plywood is very stable in spite of temperature changes. However, it also flakes and splinters easily when cutting. Therefore, plywood blades usually have more than 40 teeth with a tooth geometry (alternate-top bevel) that is designed to create nice cuts on materials like plywood, MDF, and particle boards. with minimized splintering.

5. Dado blades

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Dado blades are typically designed for making wide and shallow cuts which are dadoes, grooves, slots, and rabbets for interlocking applications. There are two types of dado blades that are wobble or adjustable dado blades and stacked dado blades. Wobble dado blades contain one offset blade. By adjusting the center hub, we can change the cutting width. During operation, the wobble dado blade spins in an “S” pattern. Apart from making joinery, it can also create moldings, such as a cove or crown. Stacked dado blades consist of two or more blades that are stacked together and separated by shims to create a desired width of cut with more versatility and better performance.

6. Thin-kerf blades

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The term “kerf” is the width of the cut in woodworking. As the name suggests, thin-kerf blades feature a thinner kerf which is 3/32 inch, compared to a full kerf which is 1/8 inch. With such a thin kerf, this blade removes less material when cutting, resulting in less waste and a faster cutting speed. However, it generates more heat and is easily bent. Thin-kerf blades are usually used in cutting dimension lumber and should not be used to cut rough wood.

7. Finishing blades

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A finishing blade, as the name implies, is designed to create super clean and precise cuts on parts of the workpiece that will be visible after the project is finished. They usually have at least 80 teeth with a less aggressive hook angle to ensure smooth cuts and protect the workpiece. Finishing blades are particularly ideal for cutting veneer, plywood, laminates, and hardwood.

8. Framing blades

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As a highly utility blade, the framing blade is a must-have for any home workshop thanks to its versatility and ability to serve multiple purposes. With framing blades, most of your cutting jobs can be finished. In particular, they are ideal for cutting rough framing lumber, plywood, and sheathing materials. Typically, a framing blade has 24 teeth, similar to a ripping blade, perfect for aggressive and fast cuts. Jobs that require cut speed and volume over precision should use a framing blade.

9. Compact blades

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Compact blades, also known as mini circular saw blades are small-sized blades (with a diameter of 4-1/2 inches) that are designed for cutting various materials, such as wood, plastics, metal, and tile. They are frequently used in detailed work that requires precision, such as cutting intricate shapes. Besides, compact blades can also be used to cut in tight spaces where standard-sized blades may not work.

10. Cold saw blades

Cold saw blades are circular saw blades designed for metal cutting in fabrication, welding, and construction applications, such as cutting metal pipes, tubes, and solid bars. There are two types of cold saw blades: solid high-speed steel (HSS), or tungsten carbide tipped (TCT). They usually require relatively low RPMs (below 300) and a high chip load per tooth. They are named “cold saw blades” because their tooth geometry and count transfer all the heat created during operation to the chips, thus creating clean and cool cuts.

11. Masonry blades

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Masonry blades are designed for cutting masonry materials, including concrete, brick, stone, tile, ceramic, and more. They are commonly applied in construction applications, such as cutting bricks and paving stones. Masonry blades are usually made from steel with diamonds embedded in them, enhancing the ability to cut through hard and dense materials. Similar to cold saw blades, masonry blades also operate at low RPMs, preventing overheating. There are three major types of masonry blades: segmented blades, continuous rim blades, and turbo blades. In addition, masonry blades can be used for wet or dry cutting.