Final Cut | Sanding Saw Blade Review
Final Cut Blade
Recently I had the pleasure of trying out a new saw blade product. The Final Cut saw blade is a unique carbide tipped saw blade with a 100 grit sanding disc attached to both sides of the saw blade. The saw blade is designed to cut through trim work and sand it at the same time!
This really great idea comes from a carpenter that was trying to cut and sand perfect miters for a complicated project. He needed to cut miters then sand them at the exact same angle to get the pieces to come together in a perfect miter joint. He decided to attach sand paper to his saw blades and the rest is history.
I have to admit when I see inventions like this I get a bit annoyed at myself for not coming up with great ideas like this! This is truly a great idea which works just as well as it sounds.
Product Specifications
Final Cut offers two saw blade sizes and several sizes of the sanding discs. Currently you can get:
- 10-inch, 40 Tooth, 5/8″ arbor carbide blade with 100 grit sanding disc.
- 10-inch, 80 Tooth, 1″ arbor carbide blade with 100 grit sanding disc.
- 100 Grit Sanding Discs for: 6-5/8″, 7-7/8″, 9″, 10-5/8″, and 11-1/4″ (Sizes to fit most any saw blade)
It’s important to note that these discs are specifically designed to work with a very specific saw blade plate thickness of 0.070 and a kerf of 0.104. Other blades may work but the performance and durability may not be as good.
Final Cut Review
I tested the 10-inch blade in my Bosch sliding compound miter saw. I decided to try it out in the miter saw instead of the table saw because I use my miter saw far more for trim work compared to my table saw.
I used the Final Cut saw blade to cross cut some 1×10 cedar I’m using to build a raised bed vegetable garden. I also cut some left over large MDF crown molding from the walk-in closet project.
In both cases the Final Cut saw blade worked very well. I was really impressed at how well the blade completely sands off the saw tooth marks that are typical of most miter saws. This saw blade really does work and performs just as the company says it will.
Where this inovative saw blade shines is cutting compound miters like crown molding. The sanding disc leaves an incredibly smooth sharp edge along the crown molding profile. When you slide the two miters together you get a very tight miter that looks even better then one made with a new saw blade.
Final Thoughts
Overall I’m quite impressed with this new saw blade idea. I’ll definitely keep this blade hanging above my saw for compound miter work. I’ll also use it when I need to rip down material on the table saw that I want a really clean edge on. I’d definitely recommend this blade to anyone that needs a very precise miter cut.
I would like to see this company try to pair up with a saw blade company like Freud! The saw blade that comes with it seems to be a pretty standard carbide blade. I’m such a huge fan of Freud blades that I’d be really excited if the sanding discs could be spec’d to match up with some of the popular blades on the market. If that happens I think it will create a leathal cutting combination.
I just tried the “Final Cut ” on my table saw. I put disks on both side of the blade. the first twenty or so cuts where just like glass. When I ran some Black Locust through, the inside (Between the Blade and the Fence) started to burn by the time I ran three feet through. By the third cut the smoke started pouring out. the disk was shot. I thought maybe the spring of the wood between the fence and the blade caused the problem. I removed the inside disk and made some additional cuts with the outside disk only. this time I tried some 1 1/2 Alder by the time I made the will work on a cutoff sawI am doing wrong and I don’t know how the disks will work on a cutoff saw but I am a long way from the four thousand cuts I say at the trade show. Also the guy at the show said nothing about a .070 plate and a .104 kerf.
The discs do not work with all blades!
I have the 10″ blade from final cut and would not give it up for anything!
My blade came with 2 extra discs and I put them on a good blade and it burned the edge of the disc after about 8 or 10 feet of cherry.
The blade that I purchased is working great!
Final Cut Saw Blade: I ordered the 10″ Final Cut saw blade and used it for about a week when I noticed that the sandpaper started to come of at couple of places on the rim of the sandpaper, and the area where “Final Cut” is stenciled in the sandpaper was loosing its bond to the blade. I decided to return the blade for a refund, which I promply received. I don’t know if this was an isolated problem, but I lost confidence in the product.
@ Fred – I had a similar experience with the first blade. They sent me a new one and it worked very well.
I bought these sanding discs at a woodworking show. The salesman assured me that it would work “excellent” with my Freud Premier Fusion blade. He told me that the preferred blade was the “final cut”, but that the discs would work just as well with my Fusion blade. Talk about a disaster. My saw is perfectly tuned and somehow I managed to get burning and smoke like nothing else. I wrote the company TWICE and never received a reply.
@ Ryan – Sorry to hear about your problems. We only tested the Final Cut blades that had the sanding disc on them. I think the difference in kerf is the issue.