Flat Top Grind blade


legenddc

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Realized as I'm getting ready to make some frame and panel doors on the table saw that a Flat Top Grind blade will get better results compared to the ATB Forrest II that I normally use. I don't really want to spend $170 on a blade right now.

Any recommendations on which one to get? I'd like something in-stock.

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I’ve been pleased with my Freud GLR blade for cutting splines and general ripping. 

edit: i think the GLR doesn’t actually leave a flat groove. You need a FTG blade instead of TCG. I bought the GLR expecting a flat groove but it doesn’t quite. I then bought a Freud industrial rip witb FTG profile and that has been good for splines. 
 

https://www.woodcraft.com/products/freud-lm72r010-ripping-saw-blade-10-x-5-8-bore-x-24-tooth-flat-top

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I will have to go check my dado stack, maybe I can get by with just one and it will be flat.

Finding the type of cut blades make is shockingly challenging. Certainly open to other suggestions than what I linked above, those were just some of the ones that I found.

The box joint blade set is an interesting idea. I would use the regular FTG blade for a few other projects where I want the standard kerf.

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https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004T78V/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bought this when i needed FTG. It's a good blade.

Sorry for this comment. I don't think Forest blades are worth the money they charge. They aren't bad blades but they should cost half what they do. I have Freuds and forrest blades and the Freuds are cheaper and perform better. I have like 11 saw blades.... There is probably a problem in there somewhere.

What makes a blade is having good sharpening. Because freuds are half the cost I don't mind taking them to a cheap local guy more often. Turn around is faster than having to ship them somewhere to get sharpened. 2nd thing that makes a blade good is having the right blade for the job. A 24 tooh rip cut blade should be removed before doing cross cuts. an 80 tooth cross cut blade should be removed before doing rip cuts. I don't have much use for combination blades that don't rip well and don't cross cut well.... I just change blades often and frequently.

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On 1/31/2022 at 8:32 AM, Chestnut said:

Sorry for this comment. I don't think Forest blades are worth the money they charge. They aren't bad blades but they should cost half what they do. I have Freuds and forrest blades and the Freuds are cheaper and perform better. I have like 11 saw blades.... There is probably a problem in there somewhere.

What makes a blade is having good sharpening. Because freuds are half the cost I don't mind taking them to a cheap local guy more often. Turn around is faster than having to ship them somewhere to get sharpened. 2nd thing that makes a blade good is having the right blade for the job. A 24 tooh rip cut blade should be removed before doing cross cuts. an 80 tooth cross cut blade should be removed before doing rip cuts. I don't have much use for combination blades that don't rip well and don't cross cut well.... I just change blades often and frequently.

Mine came with the saw and at the time they seemed to go for $100-$120 each which seems more reasonable. Also helped make the saw purchase a good deal. I like having the combo blade but will see how this new one cuts vs. the combo for a rip cut.

Table saw blade options seem very confusing. The one you linked and the one JohnG linked seemed to be the same blade, but one is red and $17 more. 

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43 minutes ago, legenddc said:

Table saw blade options seem very confusing. The one you linked and the one JohnG linked seemed to be the same blade, but one is red and $17 more. 

One has the red coating the other does not. When i bought mine the red coated one wasn't available and I wanted it in a shorter time frame. I'm not entirely sure what the coating is supposed to accomplish other than rubbing off on work pieces and making the blade really easy to see. Reading their marketing it's supposed to reduce friction thus reducing drag and power loss and also prevent rust.

I do like Freud's coatings for the secondary reason of rust prevention. My Forest blades are black from rust and other oxidation. The silver Freud has a coating it's just not the fancy red one. the silver blade has a rust coating it's just not designed to reduce friction and prevent drag. That hasn't been noticeable for me so far.

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