Drop saw blade

I have a 255mm (10 inch) drop saw.  It does not slide, I figured it was dangerous enough without the whole slide thing.  Plus at the time I could afford a nice (Makita ‘green’ or these days Maktec I think) non sliding model or a wobbly sliding variety.  The Maktec has been great.

Anyway it shipped with a 40 tooth wood blade.  It produced clean enough results if its eagerness to dive into the cut was resisted a little and could cut up wood for construction like a champion.

Results on aluminium and plastic were not as good (and nor could I have expected them to be, use of wood blades on such materials is outside the blade’s specifications and possibly safety tolerances) with plastic sometimes chipping and aluminium looking quite rough.

As a result of a Bunnings gift voucher I have now installed an 80 tooth Aluminium cutting blade from Irwin that also claims to cut wood and plastic.  The teeth are a very different profile in comparison to the wood blade and cuts into wood happened slowly in comparison to what I was used to (but still quickly overall).  However, the resulting cuts are akin to what can be achieved by shooting end-grain with a bench plane.  Very smooth and clean.  How much of this is the tooth profile or the extra teeth I can’t say.  I do like it though.

I am yet to try aluminium (with cutting lubricant) or plastic but my expectations are high based on the results so far.

EDIT: Great results on polyethelyne.  Edit: capable on aluminium too.  I have also noticed the blade has a tendency to ring like a bell during use on my saw. I wear hearing protection anyway but it is quite pronounced.