May be a silly question, but is there an easy way to tell if a circular saw 
blade is TCT or not?
obviously if it says TCT on it, it may well be. But if it doesn't, are the 
teeth a different colour?

Ta
J

"J"  wrote in message 
news:TdKdnTb2F5s36rPenZ2dnUVZ8qKdnZ2d@eclipse.net.uk...

> May be a silly question, but is there an easy way to tell if a circular 
> saw blade is TCT or not?
> obviously if it says TCT on it, it may well be. But if it doesn't, are the 
> teeth a different colour?
>
> Ta
> J
>
>


On a TCT blade you'll see small pieces of tungsten carbide brazed onto the 
end of each teeth, usually a few mm in each dimension.  They are usually 
slightly wider that the steel disk where they need less "set".

Hope this helps.

On Mon, 19 Sep 2005 09:32:42 +0100, J  wrote:


> May be a silly question, but is there an easy way to tell if a circular  
> saw
> blade is TCT or not?
> obviously if it says TCT on it, it may well be. But if it doesn't, are  
> the
> teeth a different colour?


TCT is slightly darker than steel, but still appears metallic. The big  
giveaway to me is that the cutting edges of the blades are somewhat  
broader than the blade disc. Should you know a handy  
geologist/minerologist, he can test the hardness on the Mohs' scale. Hard  
steel runs about 6.5 tops, TC 9. In fact, now I think about it try filing  
a tooth. If you leave no impression, it is TC.

John Schmitt

-- 
Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

J wrote:


> May be a silly question, but is there an easy way to tell if a circular saw 
> blade is TCT or not?
> obviously if it says TCT on it, it may well be. But if it doesn't, are the 
> teeth a different colour?


If it were HSS then the teeth would be part of the blade. With TCT you 
will see little blocks of sharpened carbide braised in place for each 
tooth position. The teeth are usually a lighter grey colour and less 
shiny than the rest of the blade (unless it is painted!)

You can see them quite clearly here:

http://www.screwfix.com/sfd/i/cat/59/p3015459_x.jpg

and

http://www.screwfix.com/sfd/i/cat/99/p3328599_x.jpg


-- 
Cheers,

John.

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J wrote:

> May be a silly question, but is there an easy way to tell if a circular saw 
> blade is TCT or not?
> obviously if it says TCT on it, it may well be. But if it doesn't, are the 
> teeth a different colour?


You can see the tungsten carbide tips brazed onto the saw teeth.

John Schmitt wrote:

> J wrote:
>> May be a silly question, but is there an easy way to tell if a 
>> circular  saw blade is TCT or not?
> 
> Should you know a handy geologist/minerologist, he can test the
> hardness on the Mohs' scale.


Somewhat OTT when it's so very simple to do.



> Hard  steel runs about 6.5 tops, TC 9. In fact, now I think about it try 
> filing  a tooth. If you leave no impression, it is TC.


If it's TC it will have shagged the file. If the teeth aren't
hard it may have shagged the saw tooth.

On Mon, 19 Sep 2005 10:22:09 +0100, Chris Bacon   
wrote:


>> Hard  steel runs about 6.5 tops, TC 9. In fact, now I think about it  
>> try filing  a tooth. If you leave no impression, it is TC.

> If it's TC it will have shagged the file. If the teeth aren't
> hard it may have shagged the saw tooth.


I wasn't suggesting he should attack it /summa virtute/ merely a single  
stroke, possibly 2.

John Schmitt

-- 
Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

In article ,
   J  wrote:

> May be a silly question, but is there an easy way to tell if a circular
> saw blade is TCT or not? obviously if it says TCT on it, it may well
> be. But if it doesn't, are the teeth a different colour?


Go to any DIY store and compare them. It's a very obvious difference. An
ordinary blade is made from one thickness of steel. TCT blades have wider
tips welded on.

However, just because it is tipped doesn't make all TCT blades the same in
quality. Cheaper ones will almost certainly have more run out and not last
as long.

-- 
*I'm already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth 

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
                  To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article , John Schmitt
 writes

>On Mon, 19 Sep 2005 10:22:09 +0100, Chris Bacon   
>wrote:
>
>>> Hard  steel runs about 6.5 tops, TC 9. In fact, now I think about it  
>>> try filing  a tooth. If you leave no impression, it is TC.
>
>> If it's TC it will have shagged the file. If the teeth aren't
>> hard it may have shagged the saw tooth.
>
>I wasn't suggesting he should attack it /summa virtute/ merely a single  
>stroke, possibly 2.


Indeed, an excellent tip, I shall remember that.
-- 
fred

fred wrote:

> John Schmitt writes
>>Chris Bacon wrote:
>>>JS wrote:
>>>>Hard  steel runs about 6.5 tops, TC 9. In fact, now I think about it  
>>>>try filing  a tooth. If you leave no impression, it is TC.
>>
>>>If it's TC it will have shagged the file. If the teeth aren't
>>>hard it may have shagged the saw tooth.
>>
>>I wasn't suggesting he should attack it /summa virtute/ merely a single  
>>stroke, possibly 2.
> 
> Indeed, an excellent tip, I shall remember that.


It'll still eff up your file, don't use a good one. You
can *see* whether it's TCT, anyway. It would be easier to
see whether you can easily scratch a piece of glass with
the tip, blade, or whatever.