Table Saw Blade Preference? - ***UPDATE***

Bill Arnold

1974
Staff member
Messages
8,622
Location
Thomasville, GA
I'll preface my question by saying that I've been using Freud TS blades for many years after reading reviews on them. My first experience with them was a combo blade that worked so well that I purchased a couple of other blades. OK, having said that, I know there are other options out there, so I wanted to ask for input from the group about pros and cons of other brands.

So, let me have it! :)
 
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Carbide Processors have become my go to blade. American made, great service, outstanding quality and they're right up the coast from me ;-) The quality and amount of carbide on these blades means you will get many sharpenings making the total cost over the life of the blade quite reasonable. There are several great blade makers out there. One that is within reasonable shipping or travel distance for sharpening can be a decision point. I just got lucky that Tom at Carbide Proc. and Jerrimy at Snook's saw are the next couple of states up from me.
 
I've got Oldham, Freud, Infinity, and Tenyru combo blades, but keep putting the old Forrest back on the saw. It's still the best cutter. For ripping, I have two Freuds - a 24 tooth and a 30 tooth 'glueline'. I prefer the 30 tooth, but both do a great job in 8/4+ hardwoods.
 
I have the Forrest WW2 and the Freud P410 (?) (version made prior to the current incarnation of the 410) and can't tell much difference between them. One covers for the other when it's out for sharpening. Those 2 are the 40 tooth combo blades; I also have a Forrest WW2 30 tooth. It's actually probably a more versatile blade, since it can easily rip stock over 2" thick (Forrest recommends you rip no more than 1" with the 40 tooth). True enough, it doesn't cut quite as smooth, but I always dress the edges anyway.
 
I don't remember the model numbers, but I'm running Freud Industrial thin kerf blades on my tablesaw. I've got a couple of the 24 tooth rip blades and one of the 60 (I think) tooth crosscut blades. I've always gotten glue-ready rips out of the 24 tooth blades.
 
I had a new forrest WW2 blade and hated it. I gave it to Larry.
I haven't found a blade yet I like better than freud but I'm always ready to give another a try.

I also had bad luck with my WW2. It improved greatly after re-sharpening and so may have just gotten by quality control in a sub-optimal state(?). It is on a par with my Freud cutters with similar tooth geometry now which makes sense. What didn't make sense was that a blade so many people loved, was so poor :huh:. Obviously my initial blade was not correct from the get go; maybe your's too(?).
 
For me it was the gold Ridgid 10" x 96 tooth HiATB for sheet goods and the 10" 50 tooth combo blade for solid wood. Now that they discontinued them I use the Freud Diablo line of blades.
 
My comments will be similar to others here. I used the WW2 for many years thinking it was top of the line and I could not get better. Even so, I was disappointed at times with slow burning rips in some denser woods and tear out on some crosscuts. I tried the Freud 30 tooth glue line and fell in love! It is now my go-to rip blade. I recently had to cut some sheet goods for a customer and did not want to change the WW2's performance so I went out and got the 80 tooth Freud plywood blade. It's VERY good and it is now my go-to crosscut blade. The WW2 my be relegated to rough cutting for stock prep.
 
I don't remember the model numbers, but I'm running Freud Industrial thin kerf blades on my tablesaw. I've got a couple of the 24 tooth rip blades and one of the 60 (I think) tooth crosscut blades. I've always gotten glue-ready rips out of the 24 tooth blades.

A quick hijack here related to thin kerf blades. When I got my new G0690, I left the factory blade (0.125" kerf) on it for initial testing, etc., including checking alignment of the riving knife. Then I put what has been my go-to blade for ten years, a Freud LU83R010. I started pushing a piece of 3/4" plywood through the blade and it stopped moving part way through the riving knife. I reached over, turned the motor off and had to lift the plywood straight up to get it off the riving knife. The knife looked perfectly aligned in the kerf, but I re-checked alignment of the riving knife anyway - no problem. Brain finally kicked in and I grabbed a caliper to check the blade and riving knife. If I had bothered to look at the blade, it shows its kerf width as 0.091". The thickness of the riving knife is 0.098" by my caliper; specs call it 0.100". Can you say, "Ah-ha moment?" Information about the saw says it handles thin kerf blades, but there are thin kerf and then there are thinner kerf blades. All of my other blades are 0.098" kerf or greater, as will be the new blades I'll order. I might be slow, but I'm not (too) stupid!

We now return you to your regular programming...
 
My comments will be similar to others here. I used the WW2 for many years thinking it was top of the line and I could not get better. Even so, I was disappointed at times with slow burning rips in some denser woods and tear out on some crosscuts. I tried the Freud 30 tooth glue line and fell in love! It is now my go-to rip blade. I recently had to cut some sheet goods for a customer and did not want to change the WW2's performance so I went out and got the 80 tooth Freud plywood blade. It's VERY good and it is now my go-to crosscut blade. The WW2 my be relegated to rough cutting for stock prep.

Over the years, I've been amazed at the number of people who have had bad experiences with the WW2. Going back about 15 years when I wanted to go to a better blade than you can get at the borg, many people pointed to the WW2. My wallet said otherwise! Freud looked like a more frugal choice with great performance, so I went that direction. First, it was the combo blade I mentioned above, then a plywood blade followed by the glue line rip blade. It appears from the comments of most folks here that my best bet is to stay the course.
 
Having tried ~ 70 blades from Freud, CMT, Amana, Infinity, Forrest, Freud, Irwin, Leitz, Ridge Carbide, Tenryu, Oshlun, Oldham, Delta, DeWalt, Systimatic, Skil, Vermont America, Craftsman, Bosch, and probably others, none have impressed me more than Infinity :bow:. Of the handful of the Infinity blades I've tried, 5 have been best in class, meaning they eclipsed any of the other similar type blades I've tried (40T Super General, 40T Laser Thin Kerf, 50T Combomax, 60T Hi-ATB 010-060, Dadonator), and the other right up there (24T ripper). For those who are unfamiliar with Infinity, it's owned by David Venditto....the son of the Carlo Venditto, who put Freud USA on the map, founded CMT USA, and Jesada before retiring. David learned from a master, and is no newcomer to this stuff.

It's my opinion that choosing the right type of blade is more important than who makes it. Most of the brands mentioned above are capable of making high quality blades. Whether or not to make a good blade or just "say" you make a good blade is more of a commitment/business decision than actual capability...they all have the technology. I suspect that most bad experiences from good quality blades are either the wrong blade for your preferences, a blade from the wrong series (brand name alone is not a guarantee of the right blade...ie: DW Construction series :dunno:vs the former DW Series 60 :thumb:), or one that's not quite right/bordering on defective (it happens to all of them), but otherwise it's really about getting one that excels in the characteristics that are most important to you.

For the bargain hunters, here's a list of current saw blade bargains I've stumbled into in recent months.
 
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thanks scott for this info, got a source for infinity blades? and what are your recommendations for the main three, rip, plywood, crosscut?

You can get Infinity blades directly from them or from Amazon.

For task specific blades, their 24T FTG rippers are excellent 010-024 or 010-124(TK)....similar to the LM72, Amana, CMT, etc. The 60T 010-060 with it's Hi-ATB grind is really good as a versatile crosscut or ply blade, plus it has a slightly positive hook that helps allows it to rip fairly efficiently to around an inch thick or so, so it can be used as a clean cutting general purpose blade for all but thick rip cuts. For best performance in ply, their 80T 010-080 Hi-ATB Ultrasmooth is likely their cleanest cutting blade...I've tried similar blades (LU80/CMT 210.080.10/Forrest Duraline), but not this one specifically. They've also got some packages that might cover all those needs.

For a single all purpose blade, the 40T Super General is the cleanest cutting general purpose/combo blade I've tried to date.....as 40T blades go, it has super smooth edges, very clean ply and crosscuts, rips well to ~ 1.5" but can cause a bit of burning in thicker materials if the blade bogs. If your saw is setup well, and you want the best possible cut from a single blade, this is it.

Their 50T Combomax (010-050/010-150) isn't quite as clean cutting, leaving slightly more pronounced tool marks than the Super General, though it's cleaner cutting than other 50T ATB/R combo blades I've used (LU84, Amana, Leitz, PC, DW) ....it's a great choice for someone who doesn't want to fork out $100 for a blade or who's a little less fussy about their saw setup, or who just wants a set it and forget blade that gives consistently good results...., it';s versatile and super easy to get good results with.
 
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I've always found Scott's real life blade reviews to be very informative. So when he touted the Infinity blades a few years ago, I took notice. I have the 50T combo blade and love it. I purchased the 80T neg hook blade for the SCMS, but haven't used it yet. I still want the Dadonator. Just waiting for a good sale and to decide 6" or 8", and will probably get the 24T ripper eventually. I have a WW2 30T in a TK that I bought for my contractor saw. Wish Grizzly made a thin kerf riving knife for the 691. I would use it it with the WW2 for ripping for the short term. I love the Nickle-Armor coating. I have yet to have a problem with it getting gummed up. And the Infinity pricing is lower than other premium blades like Forrest. If you watch, they offer free shipping over a certain dollar amount almost all the time. Also, price specials and free items at times. I also got their dovetail bit set for the Incra router table fence system and some other router bits and they are top notch also. That's my sales pitch! :wave: If you have a blade you like at a price you like, it might be hard to change. Jim.
 
... Wish Grizzly made a thin kerf riving knife for the 691. ... Jim.

Same here as I alluded to in my earlier post. The Grizzly riving knife is specified at 0.100" but my 0.098" blades work fine with it. The only blade I have that is an issue is a thin kerf that is 0.091", which happens to be a combo blade I have used the most. It's time to buy new blades and I was going to go with full kerf this time, anyway. Why full kerf (0.125")? Maybe it's just me, but I see very slight errors on miters at times that I can only account for by blade flexibility.

Something that came to mind during this discussion is: How easy would it be to replicate the Grizzly riving knife with thinner material? Its overall structure is simple enough that I'd think someone with metal-working tools could make one from something like 0.090" (11ga?) aluminum to allow the use of thinner thin kerf blades. I dunno. :dunno:
 
After reading the input from you guys and seeing Scott Spencer's recommendations, I did a little more review and placed an order for a set of Infinity blades. I ordered the Professional 10" Saw Blade Set. My order was processed Monday, shipped Tuesday and I got it today (Wednesday). I was surprised at the speed until I took time to look at their location, which is near Tampa, FL.

FedEx dropped off the package just before noon today. When I opened it, I found the blades very well packed. The individual blade sleeves are certainly nothing fancy, but protective.

Infinity_a.jpg


The set includes the 24-tooth ripping blade, 50-tooth combo blade and 80-tooth ultra-smooth blade. It sure looks lik they can get the job done. And, they're so shiny I can use one as a mirror when I'm fixin' myself up!

Infinity_b.jpg

:)
 
Those are the same tooth counts I run although from another maker. These have handled all my needs for quite some time. I am sure you will be happy with them.
 
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