Table Saw Blades

[prov163]

I'm planning to buy a couple of new table saw blades. I have a WWII 40 tooth combo blade. I'm going to send it to them for sharpening. I'm thinking of getting a dedicated rip blade and a dedicated crosscut blade. I prefer a full kerf blade. Recommendations?  

[drzaius]

I don't know if your open to a combo blade, but the Freud Premier Fusion full kerf blade is wonderful. Glass smooth cuts & works very well at cross cutting & ripping. It actually rips smoother than my Freud glue line rip blade. 

I only switch to the rip blade if I have to cut over 4/4 hardwood.

The downside? Don't cut nails with it. Even a brad will destroy the blade because of the high angle grind.

It's pretty regularly on sale for around $85 CDN, regular about $135 CDN.

[Ronn W]

Your WWII blade is my crosscut blade. Obviously you you need a good rip blade. But I also suggest the WWII special cut with a flat profile.  I find it great for narrow dados and cutting tenons.

[Just Bob]

I use a local guy to sharpen my blades.  His mom and pop shop serves 2 counties and parts of Canada,   The majority of his business is for the large commercial shops.  When I brought in my WWII blade for the 2nd time, he sat me down and asked a bunch of questions, about what I cut, when I swap out blades, what type of saw I had,  etc...  At the end of the conversation he said dump the WWII, keep the WWI for crosscuts and ply.  Then he sold me an 24 tooth A.G.E. heavy duty rip for $40.00, (there was a healthy discount for repeat customers),  it was some of the best advice I have received,  and I never looked back.  I have less trips for sharpening and a lot less problems when I cut.  I have no doubt that a dedicated blade for each operation is the way go.

[minorhero]

I used dedicated blades at a co-op shop and grew to love the finish I got from them. When I got my new saw for my home shop I brought the concept home. I have a WW2 like a lot of folks here, but I also have an Infinity 80t crosscut blade for laminates and frankly when needing very little tearout on crosscuts. I also have a 20t woodworker for rips which I do not like very much. The 20t woodworker is too aggressive and does not give me smooth rips. I should have gone with a 30t blade.

[knotscott]

For the absolute cleanest crosscuts with nearly zero tearout, nothing will beat a good high tooth count blade with a Hi-ATB grind. One of the best is the 80T Infinity Ultrasmooth 010-080 suggested by @minorhero above....it's about $80.  The Freud LU80 and CMT 210.080.10 are similar.  

A good 24T FTG blade will be very efficient at ripping in thicker materials and should leave a glue ready cut if the wood is flat and straight, and the saw is setup well.  Infinity 010-024, Freud LM72R010, or CMT 201.024.10 are all excellent examples.  If you want a smoother cut, I'd consider the WWII 30T suggested by @Mike.  I have an Amana Tools 20T ripper that's efficient, but not quite as smooth as the better 24T blades.

[gee-dub]

You will notice the improvement in your cuts with dedicated blades of any good quality.  Right tool for the job and all that.  Like some others I have been through quite a selection of cutters.  Once you reach a certain tier there are many good brands to choose from.

I use a lot of jigs and special setups to make my life easier being a one man shop.  This eventually led me to blades that are all the same kerf.  This allows me to go from ripping to slot cutting to crosscutting to final length without an fiddling with the set-ups.  This is a luxury detail to be sure but, is of no significant cost over the life of the blade.

Move to a good dedicated set of blades and you'll be ahead of the game.  Any further tweaking from there will come to you as you move along.  Finding a good maker / sharpener in your area is a boon as well.  Forrest is about as close to you as the sharpener I use is to me so you may already have that covered.

[prov163]

Maybe wdwerker will have the name of a sharpening service in Atlanta he trusts.  I live about an hour away.  Highland Woodworking just sends their stuff to Clifton, NJ where I do.  Should have asked him before

I intend to keep my WWII for general purpose rough cutting.  I know I'll need a dedicated rip blade to handle the thicker stock when I build my new workbench.  Having a dedicated crosscut blade will be nice as well.  I am trying to take my SCMS out of the mix as it eats up so much space so I'm beefing up the blades on my table saw.

Is there a rip or crosscut blade that could do a reasonably good job with flat bottoms like box joints?

[wdwerker]

Last couple of batches of blades I've had sharpened I tried different places. I've got a couple more to try before I can recommend one.

[Coop]

For flat cuts I like the Freud HD Rip, 24T.

[drzaius]

56 minutes ago, K Cooper said:

For flat cuts I like the Freud HD Rip, 24T.

That's the one. Don't get the 30 tooth cause it has an ATB grind that leaves a non flat bottom.

[knotscott]

4 hours ago, prov163 said:

...Is there a rip or crosscut blade that could do a reasonably good job with flat bottoms like box joints?

Any of the better 24T FTG rippers will be great ripping thicker stock, plus will leave a truly flat bottom for box joints.    Infinity 010-024, Freud LM72R010, or CMT 201.024.10, among others.

[prov163]

2 hours ago, wdwerker said:

Last couple of batches of blades I've had sharpened I tried different places. I've got a couple more to try before I can recommend one.

Thanks Steve!  I'm like you, I won't recommend someone unless I'm willing to use them myself. I'll send this one up to NJ but let me know if you find a good source. 

I looked at some of those Freud and Infinity blades and something occurred to me: I've been paying too dang much for saw blades.  So where do you guys buy your blades?

[freedhardwoods]

Lots of good info in this thread.

I'm getting ready to buy blades also. Is there any advantage to thin kerf blades other than a thinner cut? Any disadvantages?

[wtnhighlander]

Freed, many like the thin kerf because it helps a lower-powered saw through heavy cuts. Slightly less waste, also. However, the thinner plates have more opportunity to flex and vibrate. Personally, I use a full kerf blade in my ~1.5 hp saw, and adjust the feed rate accordingly.

[bushwacked]

On 2/23/2017 at 5:48 AM, knotscott said:

For the absolute cleanest crosscuts with nearly zero tearout, nothing will beat a good high tooth count blade with a Hi-ATB grind. One of the best is the 80T Infinity Ultrasmooth 010-080 suggested by @minorhero above....it's about $80.  The Freud LU80 and CMT 210.080.10 are similar.  

A good 24T FTG blade will be very efficient at ripping in thicker materials and should leave a glue ready cut if the wood is flat and straight, and the saw is setup well.  Infinity 010-024, Freud LM72R010, or CMT 201.024.10 are all excellent examples.  If you want a smoother cut, I'd consider the WWII 30T suggested by @Mike.  I have an Amana Tools 20T ripper that's efficient, but not quite as smooth as the better 24T blades.

The 80T says it is a laminate cutting blade ... will this still work with solid wood? 8/4 stock ...  etc?

9 hours ago, freedhardwoods said:

Lots of good info in this thread.

I'm getting ready to buy blades also. Is there any advantage to thin kerf blades other than a thinner cut? Any disadvantages?

disadvantage ... math becomes a real pain in the ass, if you need to subtract or add kerf 

[prov163]

24 minutes ago, bushwacked said:

disadvantage ... math becomes a real pain in the ass, if you need to subtract or add kerf 

This is the main reason I prefer a full kerf blade.  Simplifies the math a little.  The less time I spend with a pencil doing calculations the more time I can spend actually cutting wood too short to be useful for anything but the fireplace.

The more I read about the Freud the more I'm convinced to try them.  I can buy the 24T HD Rip and the 80T Hi-ATB for a total cost of about what I paid just for the WWII.  Once I have it sharpened I'll have three good blades.

Thanks for all the advice guys!  

 

[wdwerker]

I use a mix of thin and thick kerf blades. I do a lot of work with laminate and plywoods. I do math and layout work constantly. 3/32= .09375  When I am ripping 1 1/32 strips from 60" wide Baltic sheets I get 2 extra strips. When you are ripping all day it takes less effort to rip with a thinner blade. I do use a blade stiffener on both sides of the blade on my 1 1/2 hp UniSaw. The fence is calibrated for this. I use full kerf blades with thicker stock. I've been buying the red Freud blades lately. 

[freedhardwoods]

57 minutes ago, prov163 said:

The less time I spend with a pencil doing calculations the more time I can spend actually cutting wood too short to be useful for anything but the fireplace.

 

[knotscott]

4 hours ago, bushwacked said:

The 80T says it is a laminate cutting blade ... will this still work with solid wood? 8/4 stock ...  etc?

It'll be stellar in ply, laminates, hardwood and softwood crosscuts, etc.  It'd be hard to find a blade that'll give less tearout.  Wood thickness in crosscuts has never been an issue in my experience....just let the blade do the work.

 

13 hours ago, freedhardwoods said:

I'm getting ready to buy blades also. Is there any advantage to thin kerf blades other than a thinner cut? Any disadvantages?

A 1/8" full kerf blade is ~ 33% wider than a 3/32" thin kerf blade, and requires more power to make the same cuts, so TK blades tend to be easier on smaller motors....much like the concept of lawnmower width and motor size.  The downside is that thinner blades are inherently more prone to flex, but if you stick with good quality blades on a well tuned saw, it'll rarely, if ever be an issue.  Wood savings can be a factor in expensive woods in higher volumes, but not so much for weekend warriors like most of us.