Oscillating tool blades comes in more shapes and come in more materials than many people realize when a person first picks up one of these oscillating tool machines. The correct oscillating tool blade will turn a frustrating job into an enjoyable one. In contrast, the wrong oscillating tool blade will waste the person’s time and the materials that they spend money on to buys these oscillating tool machines.
By understanding the different varieties of oscillating tool blades, a person can ensure that they does not have to fight with the oscillating tool while they are completing there task. These oscillating tool blades looks very simple. However, each variety has a specific reason for existing.
By understanding each of these blade and how they work, a person will find it easy to select the correct blade for a given job instead of randomly selecting a blade from the oscillating tool machines case. The list of oscillating tool blades starts with the most common blade and ends with the most specialist blades. The most common oscillating tool blades are the bi-metal blades.
Common Types of Oscillating Tool Blades
1. Bi-metal Blades
Bi-metal blades handles a wide variety of jobs in the demolition and remodeling of buildings. Two different metal make these blades. The cutting edge features high-speed steel, while the remainder of the blade is made of spring steel to prevent the blade from snapping when encountering sideways pressure on the blade.
These blades can cut through wood with nails, metal ducting, and plastic pipe without having to continually change the blade. However, the teeth are relatively large to allow for the blade to efficient clear debris out of the blade. However, bi-metal blades are not ideal for cutting through hardwoods or using them on hardened steel.
If a person owns only one type of blade, the bi-metal blade will earn its keep on almost every job that they do.
2. High-carbon Steel Wood Blades
People use these blades for making very clean and fast cut through wood that does not have metal fasteners in the pieces of wood that are being cut.
The teeth on these blades are fine and raked more aggressively then the teeth on bi-metal blades. These blades are ideal for cutting through softwoods, hardwoods, and plywood. High-carbon steel makes the blades, which is not as tough as the bi-metal blade.
Therefore, they should never be used on wood that has nails or metal fasteners in the wood. These blades are the preferred blades of finish carpenters because they allow these professional to quickly complete there jobs with minimal effort.
3. Carbide-grit Blades
These blades look more like blades for a grinder. Instead of having teeth, these blades have a band of particles of tungsten carbide that allow the blade to cut through hard and abrasive materials. People use these blades on ceramic tile, cement board, hardened grout, and thin stone.
Because the blade does not have teeth, it will not chip brittle surfaces like other blades will. However, these blades will wear out more quick when used on abrasive materials. These blades can cut through nail-embedded mortar beds that will destroy three bi-metal blades used in a row.
However, these blades produce more dust and heat when they are in use so that the user should wear a respirator when using one of these blade.
4. Diamond-coated Blades
Diamond-coated blades are similar to the carbide blades but are used for the hardest job. A thin layer of industrial diamonds coats these blades that allow for the cutting of porcelain tile, marble, granite, and reinforced concrete without chipping the tiles.
These blades allow for the installation of a curved shower niche or the repair of a cracked stone countertop. However, because the diamonds last longer then the carbide grit, these blades cost more money up front. They also cut slower than the toothed blades, which is why they have a specific slow cutting speed with which to perform there jobs.
However, if one rushes these blades, the blade will overheat and fail.
5. Stainless Steel Blades
Stainless steel blades are used for projects that get exposed to water. For instance, if a person is cutting wood on a butcher-block countertop or stainless steel ductwork, the steel on the blades will leave particles behind in the wood.
These particles will rust and stain the wood. Therefore, it is important to use a stainless steel blade to avoid leaving these particles behind in the material that is being cut. The teeth for these blades are the same as the high-carbon wood blades.
However, the body of the blade is more resistant to pitting. These blades are more costly up front than regular blade. However, they will not cause callbacks from customers whose projects have stained wood caused by the blades leaving metallic particles behind.
6. Segmented Circular Blades
Segmented circular blades have a round profile and a flat back. This allows the blade to plunge into the wood and then rotate the blade to widen the cut in the wood. Plumbers use these blades to notch studs around pipes.
Electricians use these blades to enlarge outlet box without damaging the surrounding drywall. Because of the segmented design of these blades, they create less vibration than the other blades. This reduces the fatigue that a person will feel in there hands after an extended job using the oscillating tool.
However, because the blade has a round shape, it cannot go deeper than half of the diameter of the blade.
7. Flush-cut Blades
Flush-cut blades have a straight, toothless edge. People use these blades for scraping and slicing apart adhesives on various materials.
Some of the materials that have adhesives on them are old vinyl flooring, mastic, caulk beads, and underlayment glue. The thin profile of the flush-cut blade allows it to be slid under the material with adhesives to shear the material away from the floor without gouging the subfloor. Some flush-cut blades has a rasp on the edge to speed up the process with thick adhesive beds.
However, the edge will wear out quickly because of the abrasive nature of the glue. However, flush-cut blades are inexpensive to buy and replace on the job site.
8. Japanese-style Tooth Blades
Japanese-style tooth blades have teeth that is cut in a unique pattern. The blade pulls the chips that are cut toward the center of the blade instead of being ejected from the blade. The cut edge will be almost mirror-smooth when cutting through oak, maple, or cherry wood. The Japanese-style tooth blades cut on both the push and pull stroke of the oscillating tool.
However, it takes some getting used to using these blades but eventually become second nature to the user. These blades are not cheap and will not work well with wood that has nails in the wood. However, for finish work they will replace the need for sanding the wood.
Each of these blades has a specific problem that it solve exceptionally well. However, each blade compromises on another aspect of the blade. For instance, the bi-metal blade is used for the most general jobs.
The carbide and diamond blades are used for the most difficult jobs. The Japanese-style tooth blade is for the most precise jobs. By understanding each of these blades, a person will find that their oscillating tool will no longer be a frustrating machine for them but a helpful tool on the job site.
Next time a person opens the case for there oscillating tool, they should’ve took a few extra seconds to think about the type of material that they are going to be cutting. This will save the person time and money on blades and ensure that the tool remains a helpful machine on the job site rather than a frustrating one.
