Rip Blade < 2HP Saw

glenn bradley

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This is a recurring theme that gets discussed (sometimes with much vigor). I had the opportunity to rip some 8/4 beech this evening and wanted to add an example of the Freud LU87R010 24T, thin kerf. I paid about $25 on sale through Amazon awhile back. For lower powered saws like my 22124 it is an asset even at the usual $40.

The surface that the blade is sitting on was the cut:
 

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That looks pretty good. I pitched my rip blade awhile back and keep reminding myself that I need to get a new one. I'm not a fan of the thin kerf, though, so I'll get a 1/8.

What do you do with beech? I have a couple beech boards that my buddy with a pallet business gave me, but they've been down in the barn for a couple of years. Maybe I should fetch them up and figure out a project. Not much there, though. Any good for cutting boards?

Cheers.
 
I used it for my vise jaws. I have also used it for boxes or candle holders and the current pieces are for a more formalized version of my miter attachment for my sled. Machines very well, tight even grain, takes BLO or shellac (or both) nicely. I have never tried to color it outside of those however.

Sorry about the bad pic on the box; that was my old camera ;-)
 

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I'm pretty certain that's the same blade I use for ripping. I've been very happy with them (I have two), and the counterpart crosscut blade on my Ridgid with a 1 1/2 hp motor.
 
Thanks for this post Glenn I have been wanting get an additional blade to dedicate to ripping. Knowing you have the same machine helps me out tremendously.:thumb:

I have been using a different thin kerf freud blade but it is 50 tooth combo also a cheap one at the HD. It cuts real nice but when ripping some 2x4 recently it was bogging down especially with wood which is not exactly properly dry such as the HD sells.

The 50 tooth at HD is in the regione of $36 Canadian so its cheaper than Amazon.

This looks like a good alternative for these issues and the finish cut looks real smooth. Is it smooth enough to glue up panels? I cannot exactly tell from the picture. Sure looks like it does.:thumb:

I am going to make a note and look it up at the Hd to see if they stock it.


Ok I had a quick look and there seems to be some marketing difference here. I cannot make out what it is. But the range at the home depot is the Diablo Freud construction range. And the one you quoted is one of their thin kerf industrial blades. Both seem to be exactly the same just the pricing and labeling seems different. Any one know whats up here.
 
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Funny, I'll be in the market for some new blades as well, got to pay off that renovation somehow ;)

On the SawStop, I can't use them coated blades :huh:
 
Both seem to be exactly the same just the pricing and labeling seems different. Any one know whats up here.

Charles McCracken; the gray phone please.

I am at a current state of confusion over Freud blades and so, do not have an answer. HD started carrying the Avanti line but they are a shadow of the Avanti blades I have from years back. The Diablo line that used to be targeting the construction market seem nicer than before and Freud now makes blades with the Ridgid brand that are beefier yet??? This is all subjective observation whilst standing in the store. Charles may chime in and give us the facts as he does so well (thanks for all your contributions Charles) since that is always better than my "guess".

As to the cut being glue ready; other than one spot where I mis-fed and piked up a few tooth marks, I would glue this up without hesitation. Having a glue ready cut right off the saw has a lot of contributing factors though. This beech had been in the shop for years and there was no noticeable stress relief during the long cut, that's unusual in my experience. Even with all mechanical and human element in harmony, a board my do the Watusi and spoil what would have been a glue-ready cut. But, for the most part, I rip and glue most cuts off this blade and my Lietz 24T as well. I am repeatedly impressed/surprised by Orion's hybrid design.
 
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Hi Glenn

Another thing that I learnt is...when I'm ripping, I lift the blade to "full high", it's easier on the motor, the blade runs cooler and it lets me to use 60, 80 and even 100 teeth blade for ripping so the cut line is very smooth...

Well yes, of course I'm using the blade guard...main in from black plastic so I even don't see what's going on under the "hood" but, I also don't care...

Here are some pics...the Makita blade on the pics has 100 teeth

Regards
niki

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Charles McCracken; the gray phone please.

I am at a current state of confusion over Freud blades and so, do not have an answer. HD started carrying the Avanti line but they are a shadow of the Avanti blades I have from years back. The Diablo line that used to be targeting the construction market seem nicer than before and Freud now makes blades with the Ridgid brand that are beefier yet??? This is all subjective observation whilst standing in the store. Charles may chime in and give us the facts as he does so well (thanks for all your contributions Charles) since that is always better than my "guess".

Glenn,

I am happy to hear that the LU87 is working well for you. The Freud Diablo line of blades is essentially unchanged except for some new offerings. Here's the official word on Freud Avanti:

In an effort to continue to deliver excellence in the cutting tool market, Freud consistently evaluates its product offering and brand strategy.

Freud has expanded its Freud Industrial Thin Kerf line to the point that it would be a replication for Freud to continue its Avanti line of saw blades. Therefore, Freud has decided to discontinue the Freud Avanti saw blades to streamline our saw blade strategy. We will be transitioning all Avanti saw blades over to Freud Industrial Thin Kerf line due to the significant increase in features and performance.

Freud will no longer manufacture the Avanti brand of saw blades effective June 2009.

Freud will continue to manufacture our premium brands including Freud Industrial & Diablo (premium construction line) from its manufacturing headquarters in Udine, Italy.

Because of this decision to discontinue the Freud Avanti saw blade line, consumers may see discounted Avanti product on the market until the completion of all existing inventory.
 
Well Glenn, on my trip down to meet Rennie at Larrys place last week i stopped in at the HD and checked out their Diablo version of your 24 tooth rip blade. I could not see any difference and after looking at the blade specs the only thing i have picked up is a small ever so small difference in thickness.

Of course what i should have done is buy one in the states. Now i am face with paying the Canadian HD price which i point blank refuse to do. So for time being i will soldier on without it.

You are right that original Leitz blade was magnificent. Wish i could get my hands on another. But every inquiry i have made has led to a dead end of no reply.:(
 
Hi Glenn

Another thing that I learnt is...when I'm ripping, I lift the blade to "full high", it's easier on the motor, the blade runs cooler and it lets me to use 60, 80 and even 100 teeth blade for ripping so the cut line is very smooth...

Well yes, of course I'm using the blade guard...main in from black plastic so I even don't see what's going on under the "hood" but, I also don't care...

Here are some pics...the Makita blade on the pics has 100 teeth

Regards
niki

03.jpg



04.jpg



19.jpg
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That angle of attack has always worked for me, even with 5 dollar blades.
 
Stu:

You can use the coated blades on your Sawstop. The blades are not coated where they touch the arbor, so there is electrical contact, and I read somewhere that Freud at least adds something to the coating to make it conductive anyway. In any case, you can check by touching the blade with the saw off, and looking at the lights. It responds the same way as it does with uncoated blades, whether you touch the teeth or the side of a coated LU87. If you don't trust that, you could always scrape the coating off at the arbor, just the part under the washer. That will give you optimal electrical contact, without removing any coating that is useful. The teeth are not coated, so electrical contact of blade with your finger would be the same as for an uncoated blade.

Edit: I just checked with a conductivity meter, and the red coating does not conduct. Touching the red coating while the blade is in a Sawstop does cause the lights to flash, so the capacitance changes enough for that, but it may not indicate the same fast response that's needed. The blade does electrically contact the arbor though.
 
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...I am at a current state of confusion over Freud blades and so, do not have an answer. HD started carrying the Avanti line but they are a shadow of the Avanti blades I have from years back. The Diablo line that used to be targeting the construction market seem nicer than before and Freud now makes blades with the Ridgid brand that are beefier yet??? This is all subjective observation whilst standing in the store. ....

To add to what Charles stated, the new "Avanti" and "Avanti Pro" lines that you see in HD are not made by Freud, do not bear the Freud name, do not resemble any Freud blades that I'm aware of, and are a fairly poor example of cheap blades made in China (as opposed to the fairly high quality Tenryu Rapid Cut series, and the Oshlun line). The new Avanti line appears to be nearly identical to the Oldham contractor series, and the Avanti Pro line looks identical to the DeWalt construction series....neither of which are very suitable for fine woodworking IMHO. You can buy that caliber of blade from the travel tool circus or Big Lots for less. Oldham and DW are both owned by B&D now, so they may be behind the new HD offerings, but I'm speculating.

Glenn - The LU87 is one of the best 24T rippers I've used. If the wood is flat and straight to begin with, I got glue ready cuts from it. The LM72 is the full kerf version, but I really noticed the ease of feedrate with the TK on my 22124. As a matter of physics, a standard full kerf blade may only be 1/32" wider, but that's a 33% increase for the motor to deal with. FWIW, unless they've changed it, the Diablo version used to have an ATB grind vs the FTG on the LU87 and LM72.
 
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