Cut a bunch of 2x4s with a dull blade and it cost me half a day

I had a big framing job in a new build over in the west side. Grabbed my old circular saw and figured I'd push through a stack of forty studs. The blade was pretty worn but I thought it would be fine. Ended up with so much tear out and binding that I had to recut nearly a third of them. Learned the hard way that a fresh blade isn't a luxury, it's part of the job cost. How often do you guys swap out your framing blades on a big project?

4 comments

4 Comments

emma_flores2mo ago

Hang on, you cut forty studs with a dull blade? That's brutal, man. @tessa_murray's dad would be proud of all that "character" you added.

tessa_murray2mo ago

Remembered my dad using the same blade for years, said it gave the wood "character." His cuts were never straight.

seth_singh202mo ago

Read a tip once about swapping blades every hundred cuts or so on framing lumber. Makes sense after hearing your story. That sap and grit really grind them down fast.

stone.lisa27d ago

And honestly, a hundred cuts is probably generous for cheap framing blades. Those things come with a coating that burns off after twenty or thirty cuts in pressure-treated stuff. After that, the carbide starts getting knocked around by dirt and gravel that's always embedded in that lumber from the yard. You're basically sanding your way through the wood at that point, not cutting it. Swap early and often, the time you save from not forcing a dull blade pays for itself.