Makita 165mm Circular Saw Blade: Tooth Counts, Kerf, and Which Saw It Fits
What's inside
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links at no extra cost to you.
The Makita 165mm circular saw blade is built around a 20mm arbor bore on metric-market saws (5/8-inch on US-market 6-1/2″ models), runs a kerf of roughly 1.0–1.8mm depending on whether it’s a thin-kerf cordless design, and is sold in tooth counts from around 16 to 60 — it’s the factory-fit diameter for Makita’s 18V LXT 165mm saws, the 40Vmax XGT 165mm models, and the SP6000/DSP600 plunge-cut track saws.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
Which Makita saws a 165mm blade actually fits
Makita reserves 165mm for its compact-class circular saws; the larger 185–190mm and 235mm models use different blades entirely. The main compatible models:
| Saw | Platform | Arbor | Max cut @ 90° | No-load speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSS610Z / DSS611Z | 18V LXT | 20mm | ~57mm | ~3,700 rpm |
| BSS610Z / BSS611Z | 18V LXT (older) | 20mm | ~57mm | ~3,700 rpm |
| DHS660Z / DHS680Z | 18V LXT brushless | 20mm | ~57mm | ~5,000 rpm |
| XSH03Z / XSH04ZB / XSS02Z | 18V LXT (US 6-1/2″) | 5/8″ | ~56mm | ~5,000 rpm |
| HS003G / HS004G | 40Vmax XGT | 20mm | ~57mm | ~6,000 rpm |
| SP6000 / DSP600 | Corded / twin-18V track saws | 20mm | ~56mm | up to ~6,400 rpm |
Two checks before buying: match the bore to your saw’s arbor (the saw body and blade both print it), and confirm the blade’s printed max rpm exceeds the saw’s no-load speed — relevant if you’re fitting a blade to the faster XGT models.
Arbor size: the spec that trips most buyers up
The same “165mm” or “6-1/2″” diameter exists in two bore sizes that are not interchangeable:
- 20mm — standard on metric-market Makita saws (UK, EU, Australia). Most Makita-branded 165mm blades and European third-party blades (Freud, CMT, Trend) use this.
- 5/8″ (15.9mm) — standard on US-market Makita 6-1/2″ saws. US blades are bored for this.
A 5/8″-bore blade dropped onto a 20mm arbor leaves roughly 4mm of play that no amount of tightening fixes — it will run eccentrically and can work the bolt loose. Don’t shim it. The reverse direction is the only safe adaptation: bore-reducing rings let a 20mm-bore blade fit a smaller-arbor saw, and they’re pressed into the blade’s bore permanently. Some US 5/8″ blades ship with a diamond-shaped knockout for worm-drive arbors — if you buy one, punch the knockout fully and cleanly; a half-removed knockout is a common cause of blades wobbling and “mystery” burning.
Kerf thickness: why thin-kerf is the cordless default
Kerf — the width of material the blade removes — ranges from about 1.0–1.4mm on thin-kerf blades (Makita’s EFFICUT line is the obvious example) to 1.6–1.8mm on standard TCT blades. On a battery saw this isn’t a minor spec:
The maths: material removed per metre of cut = kerf × depth of cut × 1,000mm. Take a 40mm-deep rip:
- 1.6mm kerf: 1.6 × 40 × 1,000 = 64,000mm³ (64cm³) of sawdust per metre
- 1.1mm kerf: 1.1 × 40 × 1,000 = 44cm³ per metre
That’s ~31% less material the motor has to convert to dust on every metre — which shows up directly as more cuts per charge on a 5.0Ah pack and less bogging on a brushed saw like the DSS611.
The trade-off: thin-kerf plates are thinner (~0.7–0.9mm vs ~1.1mm), so they deflect more on bevel cuts, in knots, and in wet timber. If you mostly rip structural softwood square at 90°, a standard-kerf blade tracks straighter; if runtime and easy feeding matter more, thin-kerf wins.
Tooth count: ripping vs fine crosscuts
| Tooth count | Typical grind | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16–24T | Flat top / ATB | Ripping, framing, fast rough cuts, hardwood ripping | Chippy exit edges; needs cleanup on visible faces |
| 40–48T | ATB | General purpose — rips acceptably, crosscuts acceptably | Master of neither; slower in rip cuts |
| 52–56T | Hi-ATB | Clean crosscuts, veneered ply, visible edges | Slow feed rate; overheats if forced through rip cuts |
| 56–60T+ | TCG (triple chip) | Melamine, laminate, MDF edge quality | Very slow in solid timber; expensive per blade |
Two refinements beyond raw count:
- ATB vs TCG: Alternate-top-bevel teeth shear fibres for clean wood crosscuts but chip faster on abrasive boards. Triple-chip grind alternates a flat “roughing” tooth with a chamfered finishing tooth — it survives melamine and laminate far longer, which is why TCG is the pick for MFC kitchen carcasses.
- Hook angle: An aggressive positive hook pulls the blade into the cut — great for ripping speed, bad for control on a track saw. For the SP6000/DSP600, choose a low or negative-hook blade; it resists climbing and reduces the grab that can lift a saw off the rail.
Pick by situation
| Your situation | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| DIYer, occasional shelving and sheet goods, wants one blade | 40T ATB, standard kerf | Best compromise; standard kerf forgives imperfect feeding |
| Framing/joinery on an 18V saw, ripping all day | 20–24T thin kerf (e.g. EFFICUT-type) | Feed speed and battery life are the job |
| Fitted kitchens, visible ply and melamine edges | 56T TCG + a scoring first pass | Chip-out on £80 sheet goods costs more than the blade |
| Track saw work on SP6000/DSP600 | 48T, low/negative hook | Anti-grab behaviour plus clean top edge against the rail splinter strip |
| Mixed rip + finish work, small budget | Buy a 24T and a 56T, skip the 40T | Two blades each lasting longer than one blade doing everything badly |
A finish detail worth knowing: a sidewinder blade exits the top of the workpiece, so tear-out appears on top — cut good-face-down. On a track saw, the rail’s splinter strip presses the top surface at the cut line, so you can cut show-face-up.
Ownership realities
- What dulls first: usually not the carbide — it’s resin and pitch buildup on the tooth shoulders, which makes a sharp blade cut like a blunt one. Soak the blade in dedicated blade cleaner or warm soapy water and brush with a brass brush before condemning it. Skip oven cleaner; caustic cleaners can attack the brazing and coatings.
- Sharpening economics: a full-kerf TCT blade can typically be resharpened 2–4 times for a fraction of replacement cost — worth it on a premium 56T. Budget thin-kerf blades with small teeth often cost less to replace than to sharpen.
- Replacement signs: chipped or missing carbide tips, blue heat marks that survive cleaning, burning despite clean teeth, or cracks at the expansion slots. Any of those means bin it, not sharpen it.
- Torque: use the spindle lock and snug the arbor bolt firmly — it self-tightens under rotation. Overtightening warps the flange washer and causes wobble that mimics a bent blade.
- Storage: carbide chips easily against other tools. Hang blades or keep them in the cardboard sleeve; a blade rattling loose in a toolbox will have chipped corners before it’s ever fitted.
- Common mistakes: buying by diameter alone and missing the bore size, forcing a fine 56T through long rip cuts until it burns, and running the blade deeper than necessary — set the depth so teeth clear the material by roughly one gullet (~5–8mm); it reduces kickback exposure and improves dust extraction.
FAQ
Is 165mm the same as 6-1/2 inch? Dimensionally yes — 6-1/2″ is 165.1mm, and blades sold under either label mount the same. What differs is the arbor bore (20mm metric vs 5/8″ US), so buy by bore, not label.
Will a 165mm blade fit Makita’s 185mm/190mm saws? It will physically mount on a matching arbor, but you shouldn’t: the guard geometry, riving knife position and depth scale are designed around the larger diameter, and you’d lose roughly 20mm of cut depth for no benefit.
Can I run an LXT-era 165mm blade on an XGT saw? Yes, if it’s 20mm bore and its printed max rpm clears the ~6,000 rpm the XGT saws spin at — most quality TCT blades do, but check the stamp rather than assume.
How many teeth for cutting plywood? 48–56T ATB minimum for tear-out-prone faces, with the sheet supported fully so the offcut can’t pinch. On veneered or melamine-faced board, step up to TCG and make a 2mm scoring pass first.
