Arbor Bushing Adapts Blade Hole Size
Q:
After recently buying a 12" mitersaw, I discovered the blade that came with the saw has a 5⁄8 " arbor hole. I am trying to find a replacement blade, but they're all made for a 1" arbor. Where can I get a 12" blade with a 5⁄8 " hole, or a 1"-to-5⁄8 " bushing?
—Bill Fisher, Vancouver, Wash.
A:
A bushing will expand the blade options for your saw, Bill. These bushings, which look like carefully machined washers, slip into the 1" arbor hole on a 12" blade, as shown above. That reduces the hole size to fit your saw's 5⁄8 " arbor. Freud makes a bushing (Freud BL71MCE9) for downsizing 1" blade holes to fit your saw. Make certain the saw's blade mounting washers and arbor nut place pressure against the blade body, not the bushing, to keep the blade from spinning loosely on the arbor. Before you buy a bushing, though, make certain the saw didn't come with a bushing that's jammed onto the original blade or arbor.