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I have read repeatedly the value of the Freud blades for cutting bindings and many other lutherie operations, but my table saw has a 1" arbor. Is there a way/place to accurately re-bore the 5/8" hole to 1", and is it worth doing? Most of my blades have leave a kerf of 1/8"- 3/16", and I don't care to turn valuable wood into more sawdust than I have to! Thanks for any direction on this!

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

Do you have a cabinet saw? Some allow the change of arbor size from 1" to 5/8" and vic-a-versa.

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Doug

Don't let fear or common sense stop you from trying to build something

Not just for small cuts, I use them for pretty much everything possible, and that means 95% of all table saw operations. You still get a bit better than a 2" cut with them, so by flipping the work over, you can cut 4" stock...

They have a knockout piece, but I don't think that will open them up to a full inch.

Perhaps there's a smaller, thinner blade available for 1" arbors? What kind of saw do you have there?

The saw is a General 550-T50. It will take up to a 14" blade. I do have a 12" Freud combo blade that has a kerf of about 3/32". I'd like to get a 6" fret blade, as well, but there would only about 1/8" above the table - not enough for a sled.
I don't know if there is a 5/8" arbor available from General, Doug, but I'd rather change blades than swap out arbors.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

Sounds like your saw may be too big. I think most of us are using the 7 1/4" blades on a 10" table saw.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Yup, that's a monster!

I guess fret saw blades are out for that bad boy. If you have room why not find an inexpensive old timer with a 5/8 arbour. Thin kerf blades can save a lot of wood when you are cutting small bits and a great way to cut fret slots.

Unless I can get the blades re-worked, I'll likely get a small benchtop saw down the road for small stuff. I would love to have another saw just for cross cutting, Danny, but my shop is only about 650sq.ft including a clean room for staging and finishing.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

I was wondering the exact same thing, since I was thinking of getting a Diablo blade. I have an Inca 10" saw with a 20mm arbor. When I first bought the saw I had all the blades I bought bored out for the 20mm arbor. A good sharpening service can do it, or Freud will actually do it. On the Diablo blades I would think that the diamond knockout would create a problem for enlarging the bore.

I just measured the knockout, and it appears to be 20mm, so methinks you're all set, Wendy.

I wonder where I got the idea that the knockout was diamond shaped. So it is round and 20mm?!? Well, looks like I am in luck!

Si I just went on the Freud website and they are showing the Diablo blade knockouts as being diamond shaped. So are you saying that it is ok to use a diamond shaped opening on a round arbor? Or am I looking at the wrong blades?

I think it'll work. I measured one of my blades every which way, and it looks like with the knockout removed, it's a perfect fit for a 20mm arbor. Worth buying the cheapest blade you can get(the 24 tooth Diablo is usually around $12-15) and trying it. If it works, you will have a limitless selection of blades at your disposal!

Silly me, I totally forgot about the center punch-out! I guess I'll be looking for a benchtop saw.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

Look around for an old "Sears Craftsman" 8-1/4" table saw. I have one from 1948, and it was a decent saw, and way better than the junk benchtop saws sold today. They are easy enough to find, if you start asking around. In fact, you can have mine, as I'm taking it, along with a bunch of other steel, to the scrap yard soon... Though you'll burn more gas driving here to get it than what it would cost to buy one locally.

I have an Inca with the 20mm arbor, too, and put the Diablo sans diamond knockout on it. It's slightly loose, so I cut a scrap feeler gauge strip into 0.06" wide pieces, sanded flat, then CA'd those to the inside of the diamond. Then carefully slid it on the arbor. IIRC the feeler was 0.013" thick to give a nice fit. I don't have the saw running, yet, so haven't tested it. When I got the saw, it had a cheap knockout blade loose on the arbor, so that probably works with some vibration.

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David Malicky

I find that all blades have the arbor holes quite a bit oversized, and I always give the blade a split-second spin to check that it is running true. It's about a 50/50 chance as to whether it runs true or not, and if it doesn't, I just loosen it slightly, and tap the blade down where it was running a bit high(easily seen by turning it by hand). Just guessing, but I'd bet that I can take any blade off the shelf and have it running at least .026" from true, so you likely don't need the feeler gauge spacers, though they certainly won't hurt and will eliminate the "go, no-go" that I do when I change blades. Takes but a few seconds, but still....

My fret-slotting blade is notoriously difficult to get running true! It is so thin that it wants to sit in the arbor's threads...