Looking For table saw blade

Dave Black

Member
Messages
638
Location
Central PA
I am thinking about getting a "good" blade. I would like to get the Freud premier fusion but I don't know if I'm ready to whip out that much for a blade. On my previous saw I had a Freud Advanti that I got from lowes and it gave me really nice cuts but it was a thin kerf and I am looking for a.... non thin kerf blade. I was thinking in the $40 -$50 range. I see homedepot has a bunch of different Freud Diablos in that range. I am looking for an all purpose blade. Any thoughts.
 
Dang - that budget restraint holds ya away from running Freud Industrials. That's what I run, and I simply cannot be more pleased with 'em than I am. They're a big step up from the blades I used to run.
 
Are the freud industrial blades a lot better than the freud Diablo line? I think that the freud premier fusion blade is in the industrial line and from what I heard that would be the best blade to get because it does everything really well.
 
Are the freud industrial blades a lot better than the freud Diablo line? I think that the freud premier fusion blade is in the industrial line and from what I heard that would be the best blade to get because it does everything really well.

Look at it this way I am still running the better Freud blades that bought almost 20 years ago and used in my production shop they can be resharpened many many times and still be good blades. Try Ballew saw & Tool in Springfield Mo they have great prices and deal with the big boy and are a sharpening shop also and they ship all across the US.

No I don't work for them but have been buying my woodworking stuff from them since 84 great folks.
Jay
 
Are the freud industrial blades a lot better than the freud Diablo line? I think that the freud premier fusion blade is in the industrial line and from what I heard that would be the best blade to get because it does everything really well.

I can't speak for the fusion at all - I've never seen nor handled one. The difference between Diablo and "Freud Industrial", though, is large - the tooth size & grind is much better on the FI, and while I'm not positive I believe the blade's body is heavier, too - resulting in a stiffer blade & a very predictable cut. My arbors & arbor washers are clean & running true, and I can't see any blade marks on my cut line at all - not even under strong lateral lighting, not even on rock maple.
 
I think that I'll be adding a premier fusion blade to the Christmas list, Im assuming that this blade would be the best in that price range. Freud makes a big deal about it doing everything really well, and the woodcraft video guy seems to think that its the greatest blade since sliced bread, I'm paraphrasing here of course.
 
Fellas, this is all great info, I'm looking to add my modest collection of blades for the SawStop.

I have some really basic blades I bought for my old DeWalt 744 portable tablesaw, and the one that came with the SawStop. The SawStop blade has been good, no complaints, but it does need sharpening.

Cheers!
 
Dave - The Fusion isn't part of the Freud Industrial line, it's the only blade in their top Premier line...the LU80 used to be the F810 and was part of the Premier line before it got the red coating and morphed with the Industrial line. There are only two blades on the market that offer the unique design of the Fusion...the P410 Fusion and the Infinity Super General (010-044). They have a 30° HI-ATB grind that is usually only found in 80T plywood/laminate blades offers extremely low tearout combined with the 40T configuration of a general purpose blade, a steep positive hook angle for a more aggressive feedrate, and a double side grind that leaves a very polished edge. I haven't tried a Fusion yet, but I did see a close-up demo by Jerry Coles, and it looked pretty impressive....great design IMHO. I can honestly say that the Super General is the cleanest cutting general purpose or combo blade I've tried to date, and I'd expect similar performance from the Fusion because they're so similar. Design-wise, these two are in a league of their own...you get a taste of the performance of dedicated specialty blades with the convenience of a general purpose blade. It's especially good at plywood and crosscuts, and clean rips. There's no free lunch with any design though....it doesn't rip as efficiently as a more traditional ATB blade like a Forrest WWII and can bog in thicker materials, the highly polished edges can become burned if things don't go well or with easily burned woods, and the tips may wear more rapidly than other grinds. Others like the WWII, Ridge Carbide TS2000, and Tenryu Gold Medal are also excellent, and have different strengths than the Fusion or Super General...it's really a matter of matching the blade to your saw and cutting needs, more than it is one being clearly superior.

As a bargain alternative, right now Cripe Distributing has a killer clearance deal on the Delta 35-7657 40T ATB blade. It was originally the DeWalt DW7657 from their top series 60. 0.118" kerf, large C4 micrograin carbide, laser cut antivibration slots, made in the USA. It's really a very nice general purpose blade that'll come surprisingly close to the performance of blades like the WWII, TS2000, and Gold Medal, and is only $17 plus $10 shipping....worth a try IMHO.
 
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Wow Scott, that Delta is a great deal, but for the $17 blade, they want $38 shipping to Japan :doh:

I guess I should look at the Tenryu blades, as they are local! :rolleyes: :thumb:
 
Wow Scott, that Delta is a great deal, but for the $17 blade, they want $38 shipping to Japan :doh:

I guess I should look at the Tenryu blades, as they are local! :rolleyes: :thumb:

I am using a Tenryu blade right now Stu and I really like them. The 14" cut better then the high dollar systmatic (sp) blade I had when I had my production shop going. Now I run the 10" Tenryu Gold Medal I wouldn't turn down that blade its a good one maybe even better than the freud in my opinion. :thumb::thumb:
Jay
 
I am using a Tenryu blade right now Stu and I really like them. The 14" cut better then the high dollar systmatic (sp) blade I had when I had my production shop going. Now I run the 10" Tenryu Gold Medal I wouldn't turn down that blade its a good one maybe even better than the freud in my opinion. :thumb::thumb:
Jay

Thanks for the info Jay, I have an e-mail into Tenryu about which blade(s) would be good for my SawStop. The one thing I've heard about the Tenryu blades that is not a minus, but something to consider is they do have some blades that are not a full 1/8" kerf, but not a thin kerf either. I want to make sure that what I buy will be compatible with my riving knife on the saw.

Cheers!
 
It's true that some of the Tenryu's have odd kerf sizes....their top of the line Gold Medal (GM25540) being one of them @ 0.111". That size could be a problem with a full kerf (0.125") splitter or riving knife, but should work with a thin kerf splitter or possibly a full kerf splitter that has a heavily tapered front edge. In addition to really good cut performance for this type of blade, I believe it's the thinner kerf of the GM that people like about it, as it rips slightly faster and feeds more easily than a comparable full kerf blade. I've even read stories that people claim it stays sharp something like 12 to 20 times longer than a WWII, but I can't buy that claim without supporting data...there's no logical reason for it.

The Tenryu "Rapid Cut" RS25550 50T combo blade is a traditional 50T ATB/R combo blade that has a 0.125" kerf. It's a very good blade that's similar to the Freud LU84, but IMHO neither quite matches the WWII, Fusion, Super General, Gold Medal, TS2000, etc.

AFAIK, Tenryu is a Japanese company...the GM25540 is made in Japan, and the RS25550 is made in China.
 
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I found this article
http://www.woodmagazine.com/wood/pdf/WOOD-Saw-Blades-II-The-Retest.pdf

I see that the forrest WWII and the Freud premier fusion get the highest rankings, In the notes it stated that since the Freud has a higher (30 degree) tooth angle than the Forrest blade (20 degree) the freud would dull faster. Any thoughts?

...Wood also rated the Infinity Super General with the highest marks along with the WWII and Fusion. Before they redid the test, the Ridge Carbide was rated at the top along with them...IMHO, that blade should also be included in any decision about a premium general purpose blade...it's very similar to the WWII and has thicker carbide. By the time they were done all participants got a ribbon. :rolleyes: Reviews in general can be informative, interesting, entertaining, and often useful, but it they're not gospel, and they usually boil down to someone's opinion...which may or may not be the same as yours.

The Hi-ATB points will wear faster than the standard ATB tips..the steeper the top bevel, the less tearout they'll have but the faster they'll wear, so the cleanest cutting blade isn't always the best choice for a high volume commercial setting, but in a hobby setting you should still get quite a bit of use between sharpenings. Freud claims to use a special micrograin carbide to offset the wear. Knowing that the Hi-ATB/dual side grind designs (Fusion and Super General) have the lowest tearout and the most highly polished edges, and that the standard ATB designs (WWII, Gold Medal, TS2000) are the more efficient rippers, I'd base my decision on what you tend to cut most, your cutting objectives, and whatever deals you happen to stumble into (and possibly country of origin if that's something you're sensitive to) ...you really can't go wrong with any of these top shelf general purpose blades. There are differences as stated, but they're all about as good as this class of blades gets, which is really an intentional design compromise from the best possible performance in a specific range, in favor of versatility and a very good performance across a broad range.
 
I found this article
http://www.woodmagazine.com/wood/pdf/WOOD-Saw-Blades-II-The-Retest.pdf

I see that the forrest WWII and the Freud premier fusion get the highest rankings, In the notes it stated that since the Freud has a higher (30 degree) tooth angle than the Forrest blade (20 degree) the freud would dull faster. Any thoughts?

Assuming the same carbide that would be a logical statement. But we produce our own carbide and use one of our hardest grades for the Premier Fusion so the life is longer than if we used a standard grade.
 
Charles have you stopped making that anti-kickback blade you had a few years back. Never had a bad kickback until you came out with that one worst blade you guys ever made and the most dangerous. I still like the blades you made before that anti-kickback stuff those were good ones and still using 1 of them 20 years later.
Jay
 
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