Dewalt expresses a circular saw blade as “16” x 5/32" x 20mm".Stihl expresses what I believe is an equivalent blade as “16” x 20mm". Is Dewalt over dimensioning the item? Or, is Stihl not saying enough? Can someone in woodworking or construction set me straight?
How do I interpret this? An, why does Dewalt mix English and metric units?
Ideally, I also need the Stihl part numbers (P/Ns) for this blade made for (a) metal cutting and also for (b) concrete/masonry.
Yes, I’ve been Googling like crazy, but Stihl has me baffled. No vendor or 3rd party sales (ie, Ebay) will say “5/32” nor any other thickness (kerf?). Grrrr!
It looks like you’re talking more about a cut off wheel for cutting metal, not what’s commonly called a “circular saw blade”.
At any rate, the naming convention you mention seems common - if you google “16” x 5/32" x 20mm", you get a lot of returns of multiple brands of cut-off wheels in that size, and others that are slightly different.
Amazon shows Norton cut off wheels with that specific naming convention:
If you are looking for another source for blades you just need to specify 16" for the diameter of the wheel and 20mm for the arbor size. Everything else will vary by manufacturer and application.
I am unfamiliar the term “cut-off wheel”. Is this a table saw, the kind you run water over to keep the blade cool? (What is that called? A wet saw, perhaps?)
I’m assisting a Customer compile a cost estimate from a list of equipment. I need to be sure I have the correct Stihl blade equivalent to the Dewalt blade.
What exactly is the reputation of Stihl vs Dewalt? My impression is that Stihl is a good quality brand and Dewalt is a general mass market brand; thus Stihl would be more expensive.
What I found when looking for your measurements were cut off wheels, which aren’t really blades, but rather abrasive discs used to cut metal. Here’s a picture.
For no particular reason. You’re seeing advertisements, there is no technical standard to adhere to. There’s no big mystery here. Any 16"x20mm blade will fit that saw. Whether it’s the best blade for the job is not going to be revealed in those numbers.
Stihl is likely more expensive but unlikely to be of any different quality when it comes to sawblades. Stihl’s somewhat better reputation is based on the quality of their gasoline chain saws, not their cut off blades.
If it is an abrasive blade the thickness is almost always listed. Thinner ones cut faster. Thick ones withstand flexing better. The 4 1/2" abrasive blades I use are available in .040", 1/16" and 1/8".
You get what you pay for.
Rather than the equipment manufacturer I would be very inclined to go look at a specialist cutting disk manufacturer and ensure you have exactly the correct disk for purpose. For abrasive disks Norton for instance.
Whist the fitment is 16”x 20mm, the thickness of the disk, and critically, it’s makeup are not defined.
A diamond cutting disk for concrete can cost you any amount of money you wish to spend. Cutting metal can need different disk compositions depending on use case.
There is devil in the detail. Cheap import disks won’t last even it they have apparently the same specs.
But you need to start with the use case.
