We may receive a commission when you use our affiliate links. However, this does not impact our recommendations.
Combination tools are invading the woodworking area. Last year at AWFS, Jet Tools and Grizzly Industrial introduced jointer/planer machines. At the most recent IWF in Atlanta, Grizzly unleashed a machine that will plane a board and sand the piece as it passes through the machine , a helical-head planer and widebelt sander all in one. Sometimes, however, the most effective tool is a simple design change or adaptation. The tool that makes you slap your forehead and wonder why you didn’t think of that. The Final Cut saw blade could be just that tool.
Final Cut has designed and patented a 10″, 40-tooth saw blade that’s fitted with a sanding disc (#100 grit is the only available grit) on both sides of the blade. The cost of the blade is $75. I have to admit I was skeptical and had questions when this blade landed in my in box. Gimmicky for sure, was my thought.
According to the company, the blade works because the sanding disc extends beyond the cut of the teeth, so the blade makes the cut and the sandpaper smooths the cut all in one motion. I installed the blade on our table saw and made a cut, fully expecting a less-than-spectacular result. To my surprise, the cut was clean and fully sanded. And I made that cut in 8/4 red oak. I was intrigued.
Then another set of questions came to mind.
- How long would the paper last? According to the company the sandpaper should last as long as the blade is sharp, or a single blade installed on a miter saw should make about 2,000 cuts through 2-1/4″ pine casing.
- Can these discs be used on other manufactured saw blades? Yes you can, but this blade and this sanding were specifically designed to work together. The Final Cut blade is a 0.070″ plate with a 0.104″ kerf carbide tip. The relationship between a sanding disc and a saw blade manufactured by a different company may not yield the same results.
- If I cut to my layout line, how much additional material is removed by the sanding action? I was thinking I would have problems with hitting my mark, however blade sanding removes only an additional .004″ after the cut. Working beyond those tolerances, for me, would be a little finicky.
- How costly are replacement discs? Sanding discs (pressure-sensitive and adhesive-backed) are available at the company store (click here) in packs of 10 priced at $60 and four-packs are $27.
- Besides a smooth cut, what are some other benefits? One issue with table saw cutting is the possibility of kickback. Not that this blade will eliminate kickback, but a Final Cut blade may reduce those possibilities by continuously sanding the workpiece even if it begins to pinch the blade, which is the major cause of kickback. Additionally, blade longevity is said to increase due to a reduction in friction, with the teeth no longer continuously rubbing against the cut surface.
I doubt I would use this blade on my saws full time (most of my ripping cuts are not the last step prior to assembly, and a lot of my miter saw cuts are to crosscut stock before milling), but I can see applications where the blade would be useful, such as mitered corners for frames or cabinet mouldings. The company’s web site has additional information, click here. Also, I suggest a dust collector be used when cutting with this blade. The amount of generated dust is substantial.
What do you think? Leave a comment with your thoughts or ways in which you could see a final cut saw blade being used. Or, if you think this is a gimmick, tell me why.
Update: I just got word from Final Cut that two 12″ blades should be available late next week , a 32-tooth blade with #100-grit discs for $96.95 and a 72-tooth blade, also with #100-grit discs, for $124.95. Both 12″ blades have a 1″ arbor.
Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.
Aside from the price being on the high side, my concern is how long the sandpaper will stick. Hot blades tend to shed adhesive when spinning at high rpm.
I have to admit this blade cuts better than I expected, but if I’m being honest, the quality of the blade makes a poor first impression. It looks comparable to a stamped steel $5 blade sold at those traveling tool sales, so expectations weren’t so high. The sandpaper quality is quite high. Final Cut’s literature talks about how large the carbide is but the 40T blade has by far the smallest teeth of any of the 15 blades in my rack….I didn’t understand why they make a claim about large teeth when they’re literally roughly 1/3 to 1/2 the size of the teeth on most other quality blades (power of suggestion?). If you’re short on time, Final Cut’s offering might be of some use, but IMHO this blade is simply not in the same league as the premium blades from Infinity, Forrest, Freud, Ridge Carbide, CMT, Amana, or Tenryu, yet is priced comparably to their street prices. Nice folks for sure, but a bit more meat on the teeth and some laser cut slots would help improve the visual impression, value, and likely the end performance. I do wish them well.
I used one that the company sent out to some of the members of Sawmill Creek who wanted to try it out. The sanding disc does not really extend past the teeth, but does essentially extend to the edge of the tooth. The rip cuts that I made with it were very smooth, and I liked it. In addition, the blade is a good quality blade in its own right.
Doc
I’d think using usch a blade on a table saw would be INCREDIBLY dangerous. Since the sanding disc extends past the teeth, there’s an excellent chance with a high feed rate that the sandpaper on the back of the blade will grab the wood and chuck it back at you at a very high velocity. A neat gimmick, but I’ll stick with a jointer plane.