Hello all! I have the following tools and seek recommendations on "starter sets" with different sizes & types of blades, sanding discs and belts, which I can buy either as sets or individually.

Blades:
B & D 7358, 7 1/4" Circular Saw
B & D BDEJS600C, 5.0-Amp Jig Saw
Chicago Electric 61971, 10" Sliding Compound Miter Saw
Chicago Electric 61219, Variable Speed Oscillating Multi-Tool

Sanding discs and belts:
B & D BDERO100 5 in. Random Orbit Sander
SKIL 7313 Belt Sander 4.5 AMP 3/4HP 3" X 18"

Thanks!

 

I'm not sure I understand the question Generally the more you pay the better the quality although I've gotten good service out of the cheaper carbide circular saw blades .... but I'm not a pro carpenter. For rip cuts you want less teeth, for fine cuts more teeth. Cheap jigsaw blades often dull quickly and/or warp - better to go with a name brand!

 

You have the lower end of tools.
Any Lowe's Home Depot has a variety pack of jigsaw blades, sanding disk, or belts.
All depends on what exactly what it is your trying to do with the tool what you need.
Big differance from trying to cut plywood to framing, sanding a deck, to refinishing a piece of funiture.

 

The circular saw and miter saw probably came with combination blades that you can use for general purpose cutting, and they're probably not the best quality, which is not uncommon, no matter how much you pay for the saw itself. For the time being, use them to get accustomed to the saws and see what they will do. Down the road you can decide if combination blades do what you want or if, say you want to invest in something like a fine tooth plywood blade, or whatever. That's when you will see how much individual blade prices can vary, so you buy up to the level of what you want to accomplish. Even the combination blades that you will probably use the most will vary a lot, so sort of a matter of how much use they get, as well as what "general use" is for you. In regard to the oscillating tool and sanders, again, you'll have to see how you use them, but assortments of 3 or 4 different sanding grits, as well as a few different blades for the saw will give you enough to play the field a bit and see what you really want. The jig saw is someplace in the middle, because I know some guys who never get theirs out and others who use one regularly. If you want to make seasonal figurines for the lawn, bird houses, or whatever, you will probably want some thinner shanks that cut tighter radii. The good thing is that, for "general use", whatever that means, blades and sand paper are readily available at your local hardware store, home center, lumberyard, or big box, so it's not something that you need to over-invest in on the front end, except to the degree that you want to experiment. Now, if you get to the point that you want to build a piece of furniture or whatever, yeah, you're probably going to want to invest in higher level blades, so that's all part of the planning process as you're getting into the project.

 

I understand I have the lower end of tools, which is why I feel blades, etc are important. For example, I also have HF Reciprocating saw item # 61884, for which I bought Milwaukee Sawzall Reciprocating Saw Blade Set (9-Piece) Milwaukee Sawzall Reciprocating Saw Blade Set (9-Piece)-49-22-1145 - The Home Depot, which covers me for wood, metal and wood with nails. For pruning, I picked up HF item# 68946 Warrior® 9 in. 4-5 TPI Reciprocating Saw Pruning Blades 5 Pc 9 in. 4-5 TPI Reciprocating Saw Pruning Blades 5 Pc to cover the most bases.

I have the following projects and/or goals.
1) Repair & replace sections wooden fencing and gates.
2) Remove & repair section of rotten plywood under 2nd floor toilet.
3) A flooring project including baseboards, scraping adhesive from plywood subfloor, under cutting threshold trim and refinishing oak staircase and rails.
4) Begin to learn basic woodworking and DIY Furniture building i.e. Adirondack chairs, wooden benches, simple storage cabinets/doors, bookcases, shelving, etc. FWIW, I'm saving up for a table saw and router.

I have the following blades:
Circular saw blade: Unknown


Miter saw blade: HF


Jig saw blade: (Included)


Multi-Tool blades (Included 2 different blades & sanders )


I have the following sanding discs and belts:
Random orbit sander discs
1 disc, 120 grit. (Included)

Belt sander belts
4 belts, 50 grit
5 belts, 120 grit

As for an assortments of 3 or 4 different sanding grits, which grits would you start with to cover the most bases?

 

Your belt sander grits should be fine, I probably use 80 grit more than any other. With your orbital sander it depends on what you are sanding. I usually use 80 grit thru 120 grit. Generally 120 is the finest you need for raw wood although you might want a finer grit for sanding finishes [paint, varnish]

Using your tools will give you the best idea of what blades or sanding grit you need. If the cut is too coarse - you want something finer, too slow - you want a more aggressive blade or sandpaper.

 

Just don't be swayed by terms like "lifetime carbide" or "titanium", as neither is appropriate and only sells as eye candy. The carbide will always be carbide, for a lifetime. It doesn't mean they won't dull, so there is no warranty on that. Titanium is nowhere to be found in tool blades, so I don't see how they are getting away with luring customers into buying such drivel. Go for proven brands. I like Diablo blades, but caught Avanti pro blades on sale last week, so I stocked up.

As far as 10" or 12" blades, buy good quality and have them sharpened. They are too expensive to discard when they get dull. I keep about 20 of each ready to use and have a great machine shop to sharpen them.

Jig saw blades are a conundrum. I buy bulk blades cheap for general cutting, but keep a few fine tooth trim blades for fine work. You'll just have to cut to see what you need, to borrow from some politician

Multimaster blades, you can't afford those at box stores, period. I buy mine in bulk online, for about $2 each. Just received a box of 30 in assorted tooth designations.

 

Thanks!
Sounds like adding 80 grit to the mix might be a good idea.

Anyone tell what type of blade is on the circular saw? Is IT worth keeping and sharpening?

Where do you all buy bulk online?
Where do you all buy proven brands like Diablo blades and Avanti pro blades?

 

I catch the Diablo and Avanti pro's on sale at big orange. Bulk online usually ebay. Search for US locations, as you don't want China crap. The spot welds break too easily. Watch for shipping charges. You should be able to get them with free shipping.

7 1/4" blades often aren't worth sharpening. 25 cents a tooth x 40 teeth is $10. New blades are less than that on sale.

 

The blade currently in your saw looks like a Dewalt 20 tooth carbide... made for cutting wet treated wood (decks). Examine every tooth. If any of them are chipped or missing, it has hit a few nails in its lifetime and is ready to be thrown away. The only circular saw blades that aren't automatically disposable are your nicer finish blades (usually 60 tooth) that you save for fine projects like ripping plywood or cutting down doors. Otherwise a skilsaw is not really anything that you worry overmuch about what kind of blade you use.

Belt sanders aren't used too often... when you do use them, you don't usually need course grit because belt sanders work quickly, and you can do a lot of damage with one if you aren't careful. So for example, if you rip a board on a table saw and you want to smooth out your cut edge, 80 grit would be fast but pretty aggressive, so you might want to use 120 grit instead. If you are doing the same thing with the 5" oribital, you might use 80 grit followed by 120 grit just because the tool is slower and easier to control. I seldom sand anything past 120.

For your oscillating tool, I would highly recommend the Oshlin 2 2/3" blades sold on Amazon in the 10 packs. The aren't for cutting nails at all but they are a pretty decent wood cutting blade and cost a lot less than some.

For any trim work, whether it's on your miter saw or skilsaw you want the most teeth possible on your blade for fine cuts.

If you need jigsaw blades, you can't beat the Bosch Progressor blades, but if you are doing coping or tight curves, they have thinner blades that work best, like the T119BO. Course the blade you use also depends on the thickness of what you are cutting.

 

Thanks!

Never had much luck on ebay but will keep my eyes open to stay away from China crap. Yes, the blade currently in my saw is 20 tooth but not sure if it's Dewalt & carbide. It looks like it's had netter days but no teeth missing nor chips but in OK condition. Just saw red Diablos on TOH tv show about saws focused on circular saws. FWIW: On sale for $9.99 at Ace thru 12/24 Dewalt 2 pack 7-1/4in Saw Blades (DW3578D2) ...Thoughts?

As for the oscillating tool, are those Oshlin 2 2/3" blades the type you'd want for undercutting interior door trim?

As for the jigsaw blades, can those Bosch Progressor blades be used for "plunge" cuts?

What's a "skilsaw"?

 

A skilsaw is a brand of circular saw, many [including me] call all circular saws skilsaw.

I'm not aware of any jigsaw blades that can be used for a plunge cut in wood. It's common to drill a hole first and then insert the jigsaw blade.

 

Thanks!
Found this 2-pack Dewalt 7-1/4in Saw Blade (DW3578D2) on sale for $9.99 at Ace Hardware thru 12/24. Thoughts as replacement for current 20T on my circular saw?