Blades for cutting worktop, jigsaw and skillsaw, table saw

[eyup]

First post. Thanks for the forum its been a great read. I am (or more appropriately my girlfriends father is) fitting our kitchen. He is not qualified fitter but has done a couple and is a joiner by trade. We're just about to buy the bits for fitting and wanted recommendation for bits and bldaes. We have at our disposal, table saw, 1/4 inch collet router, jigsaw and skill saw. I've seen the Bosch t10brf recommended for jigsaw blade- is this still the best option for cutting despite the one poor review on screwfix?

Does anyone have any other recommendations for the blade/bit to use for each

1) table saw
2) 1/4 inch router
3) jigsaw
4) skill saw

Ideally we want to avoid using the table saw because the blades are so expensive. The current blade is good for stuff not to be seen, we have used in to cut down cabinets but not the the worktop.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. One of our local tool shops suggested Freud Pro blades would be good option which I am looking at now.

Or does blade choice not matter too much if go for correct type from well respected brand?

Cheers

 

[paul_v]

if he's a joiner surely he should know all about different blades and what not but anyway,

skill saw and table saw, the more teeth the finner the cut will be so ideally you want a 60+ tooth tct blade

jig saw you would need a down cutting blade for work tops or you can use any wood blade just cut the work top with the good face down

router can you change the collet to accept a bigger cutter? you need a good straight cutting bit with a work top jig to cut any joints

 

[eyup]

Its not really the time of blade that the issue it is whether any specific recommendations for make, specific blade for its quality etc. Maybe its me being a little over zealous (I do like to read about things) but there are enough negative reviews out there about blunting blades quickly, items not up to the job I thought it would be best checking.

Cheers

 

[27neth]

A table saw is pretty useless for fitting a kitchen, maybe to cut plinths down nothing else..
1/4 router is no use either, you need a 1/2 for the worktops.

john..

 

[petern12]

I used a 1/4 inch router with a straight cutter and a jig to do my worktops.They were perfect. you just need to finish of with a hand saw.

 

[R5GTT]

1/4" router will be underpowered & you risk burning it out.

On Jigsaw blades either the T101BR downcut type which will give you a less than perfect finish on the bottom of the worktop, or if you want to have a good finish on both sides then go for the T308B.

 

[flameport]

They were perfect. you just need to finish of with a hand saw.

If they were perfect, why do you need a handsaw?

Why would anyone use a router to cut worktops and then use a handsaw?

What were you cutting with this handsaw?

 

[petern12]

Because the straight bit on the 1/4 inch isn't long enough to cut through a 40 mm worktop,there is a small amount left on the underside of the worktop.you just need to finish this off with a saw.it doesnt matter how good this cut is as long as the joint closes up. You don't see the underside.in answer to burning the router out.I did 4 joints on my own kitchen and my router is in use most days 6 years on.I wasn't suggesting you use a
1/4 inch router as a regular method.I used to save cost.

 

[27neth]

Because the straight bit on the 1/4 inch isn't long enough to cut through a 40 mm worktop,there is a small amount left on the underside of the worktop.you just need to finish this off with a saw.it doesnt matter how good this cut is as long as the joint closes up. You don't see the underside.in answer to burning the router out.I did 4 joints on my own kitchen and my router is in use most days 6 years on.I wasn't suggesting you use a
1/4 inch router as a regular method.I used to save cost.

What do you do when you need to do the cut out on the joint from the bottom of the worktop ??? cut through the face with a handsaw??

John.....

 

[petern12]

Hi, In answer to your question of how did I finish off the bottom face of the butt joint. We are talking about the bottom 8mm of the face below the bevel of the worktop which is approx 1mm thick. i used a tenon saw to cut through the face and then shamferred the rest of the underside of the wood back with my hand saw. this made sure the joint closed up. I am not a joiner and last time I had joints done in my previous kitchen cost me £38.00 per joint. I worked with the tools I had and with a little bit of initiative got a great result. Just because you dont have the proper tools, doesnt mean you cant do the job,although if I could have afforded to, I would have used a half inch Router with the proper bits.

 

[eyup]

Just a quick follow up for the benefit of future readers. Slight double post given my jig thread so apologies if your reading this twice but useful none the less.

Opted for the Unika Budget Jig 616 jig as per http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Hand Tools/Router Jigs/Standard Worktop Jig/d10/sd220/p68000

Ended up buying 1/2 inch router, Erbauer ERB380ROU on offer for £99.99 (http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-erb380rou-2100w-router-230-240v/81664)

After recommendation from local tool shop we used with a 50mm Freud straight cutting bit with the router (http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Power+Tool+Accessories/Router+Bits/Freud+Straight+Bit+12+127+x+508mm/d80/sd2579/p47453)

It was still performing well after cutting 2 x male and 3 x female joint cuts (5 cuts in total), 5 x worktop bolt holes (ie 10 cuts) and one curved end across a 900mm breakfast bar. Note we messed up the first female cut by not reading the instructions and ended up cutting from wrong side of the worktop and chipping it in the process. Anyway, solved by doing another cut.

I misquoted above, it was actually 3/8 collet router we had but took no chances plus good excuse to expand the tool collection with the 1/2 inch router.

Long cuts were done with a circular saw using 190mm Freud Pro blade. http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Pow...+Saw+Blade+190+x+30mm+x+38T/d80/sd3137/p91810

Used Bosch Wood Jigsaw Blades Bayonet T101BR (reverse cut on jigsaw).

All worked excellently.