Circular saw blades are of different types and sizes and are made of different materials.
All have their own different purposes and specialties. But to narrow it down, they are mostly made of high-carbon stainless steel. This steel has undergone multiple hardening, straightening, and polishing courses before reaching the final finished state.
This process determines their performance and durability.
This also brings us to another question: Are they universal? Obviously, an accessory that offers so much service cannot be manufactured solely to be used with one single only. They must be open to using multiple models of circular saws if not different brands.
The question cannot be answered with a simple yes or no; you’ll find out why as you go through this write-up.
Why Get A ‘Circular’ Saw Blade?
Most woodworkers will tell you that circular saw blades are the most durable and powerful, and they have a point. Because of their elaborated manufacturing process, circular saw blades come out perfectly designed for cutting straight, as well as in angles.
They are also capable of cutting through almost every kind of material there is, including wood, plexiglass, concrete, and even metals like steel.
Circular saw blades come with several advantages. The first and foremost one is that they don’t get stuck into the material that it’s cutting. Even if it happens occasionally, you can simply pull the blade out, readjust the position of the blade, and keep on working.
Additionally, circular saw blades deliver top-notch angled or straight cuts performance. To top it off, a circular saw will allow you to do both deep and shallow cuts into tough materials. This makes it one of the most versatile tools in the market.
Why Circular Saw Blades Are Not Interchangeable?
Because they come in different sizes. When it comes to circular saw blades, size does matter. These differences in size may include their diameter and the number and density of teeth the disk has.
Moreover, circular saw blades are typically designed for specific tasks. Each saw blade is made for cutting a specific material or a group of materials.
This means if the blades are interchanged between two circular saws meant for cutting different materials, they might not fit, or even if they do fit, they might not work.
Then… there are specialized blades designed to work with a certain brand or model of circular saws. They won’t fit into others. Chances are that those circular saws will also be inhospitable for any other blade other than the one specifically designed for them.
Types Of Circular Saw Blades
As we said, circular saw blades come in various shapes, sizes, materials, and designs. This is one of the primary reasons why not all circular saw blades are interchangeable. Let me elaborate a bit.
So, circular saw blades are divided into different types and categories. This is done based on their build, structure, material, use, and many other aspects. Here they are:
The Types
- Crosscut
- Ripping
- Combination
- Fine-Tooth finish
- Finish/paneling
- Nail-cutting
- Metal-cutting
- Abrasive wheel
- Dry-Diamond
- Dado-cut
The Categories
- Wood cutting
- Metal cutting
- Tile cutting
- Light-gauge material cutting
As you can see, circular saw blades are categorized based on what type of materials they can cut.
Typically, circular saws can be cut through wood, butcher block, metal, ceramic, concrete, and different types of plastic. But still, different saw blades are used for cutting different materials to get a better, smoother finish.
The circular saw blades for cutting wood include crosscut, combination cut, nail-cutting, finishing/paneling, and dado-cut blades.
As the name suggests, a crosscut blade will allow you to make a ‘crosscut’ on the wood, or in other words, cut across the fiber and grains of the wood. On the other hand, a ripping blade will make a large and rough cut. One thing to keep in mind here ripping cut blades are not suitable for use on plywood.
For plywood, you can use a paneling/finishing blade. This blade can also be used for laminates, different sorts of plastic, including PVC, and other light-gauge materials that are not thick and hard.
If you’re working with some material with a lot of constructive objects, such as nails, then a nail-cutting blade is the tool for you. You’ve got the dado-cut blade to the rescue for making dado-cuts or groove cuts.
For cutting masonry materials such as steel or other metals, you must use a metal-cutting blade, an abrasive wheel, or a dry-diamond circular saw blade.
Teeth Talk
One of the most important parts of a circular saw blade is its teeth. This also brings us to the question, do teeth matter? I mean…yes, they are necessary, but does the number of teeth on the blade’s surface make any difference? How much?
To be frank, the teeth on a circular saw blade will determine a few things about the performance of the saw blade. Here you need to keep 3 things in mind:
- The number of teeth on a circular saw blade usually ranges between 14-120
- If the blade has fewer teeth, it will cut faster, but the cuts will be rough
- If the teeth are a lot in number, they will make a slow but smooth cut
The number of teeth on a circular saw blade determines how smooth or rough the saw will cut. It settles what type of materials it can cut into as well.
This happens because saw blades with fewer teeth can cut through materials faster. However, the teeth are distant from each other around the circumference of the blade. Hence, there are huge gaps left between them. This causes the cut to come out rough and choppy.
Blades with more teeth have teeth that are located densely tight around the circumference of the blade. This leaves less gap between the teeth. When they cut through a material, the cut comes out smooth.
The material you are cutting into and the number of teeth on the saw blade will determine how smooth or rough your end result will be and how fast or slow your saw will cut through it.
So, Are Circular Saw Blades Universal?
Circular saw blades come in many different types and categories, each designed for a specific task. This means that when it comes to circular saw blades, relevance plays a huge role. You cannot use a single circular saw blade to cut through any material.
The task will not be easy, the saw might get damaged, and the result will not be satisfactory. This is why they are designed in a variety of sizes and shapes. Other factors like teeth also play a role in differentiating one type.
Not every type of saw can be used for every material because the blades are designed specifically for the material it will be used on. Then there are different special blades for a single circular saw that is not universal or interchangeable.
But What If?
This is one of the hacks they won’t teach you at workshops or on the internet. Truth is, you can use different blades on a single circular saw. However, you need to keep some things in mind.
When installing a blade into your circular saw, the size of the blade and that of the arbor hole determines whether the blade will fit into the saw.
The blade’s diameter cannot be too big or small for the arbor hole of the saw. Only then can you risk different blades on a single circular saw.
Yes, this may provide slightly different results when cutting through different materials, but those differences are subtle.
The thing that mainly varies between brands is the arbor hole size, which gives us the notion that circular saw blades are not interchangeable. However, you can use spacing rings to fit a smaller blade into a larger arbor hole. Then hold it in place.
You can find spacing rings in hardware stores around you and online.
To Finish It Off
Are circular saw blades universal? Technically not. But can you tweak them to be? To some extent, yes. You only need to be careful about the size and ensure the blade is fitted into the saw properly and firmly before using it.
You wouldn’t want a rouge saw blade slipping out of your saw and running off, causing accidents. Make sure whatever you’re doing, you’re doing it safe.
