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(04-02-2023, 02:42 PM)Steve Soldo Wrote: Just got a new table saw. Blade that came with it is mediocre.
Is there a general recommendation for a good tablesaw blade?
I was looking through the Taylor Toolworks website and they have good prices on the CMT blades.
Also how about a dado set?
Previously I had a Woodworker II and a Freud Dado set. This was destroyed in a fire, so I got a new Sawstop.
I do not think there is a better blade on the market than a Forrest Woodworker 11. I also have a Ridge blade. I haven't tried it out but It looks to be a wonderful blade also. I use a Freud Dato set as well.
A few tips are, I have a Jessem miter gage with an aluminum bar. I like to run the miter bar fairly close to the fence. I had it at an angle, I checked the clearance and it cut nicely. I rotated the gage and started cutting. That changed the clearance between the blade and the fence. And bang I tripped the saw. Well one blade down and a new brake cartage. Next I was cross cutting a rather wide piece, I knew I was okay with the clearance on the miter bar at the front of the saw blade. I had the guard on the saw and I decided to continue pushing the miter gage past the back of the blade and guess what ? Yep another blade and brake cartage. And lastly I had a two or three times re-sharpened blade blade I took off from the saw and put on a brand new Forrest plywood blade. A 10 inch blade is a 10 10 inch blade right? Wrong, I didn't have the space set for a new blade and guess what? Just a new brake cartage this time The blade didn't have time to even get up to speed.
Now I check the spacing every time I change blades and I also double check to see I have a green light before turning it on. I also always check the clearance at the front of the blade and the aluminum miter bar. Also if I am pushing through I also check the back if I have the saw guard on.
I hope I have save you some money.
Tom
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I'd suggest getting several blades to match the material you're working.
While a combo blade like Steve advises is a good compromise for the lazy (like me) guy that wants decent to good cuts on everything without having to swap blades every time - dedicated blades will almost always give superior results.
I have a Forrest WWII and a Ridge Carbide ts2000. The Ridge gives better cuts on my saws in most materials I cut. Ridge has a raker tooth that makes a flat bottomed kerf. I have a couple of Freud Fusion combo blades that are on par with both blades and I got to of them for less than $50 bucks ! You'll likely never ever see a Forrest or Ridge in for sale in that range, so for that kind of money it wins every time.
If I'm cutting melamine my go to is a Freud Industrial TCG blade.
If I'm ripping thick stuff a Freud rip blade gives me the best cut and feed rate.
For prefinished ply a Forrest Duraline almost always has the best cut.
The DeWalt dado blade seems to be the sweet spot for value these days.
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I would suggest 3 blades. A general use blade (I like the WW II 40 tooth, but also have a Ridge TS2000 40 tooth and like it a little better, mostly because it has a flat bottom cut.) Those blades can rip very well, but Forrest recommends using it on 1" thick stock or less. Ridge may make the same reco, but I haven't read that anywhere. Regardless, having a dedicated rip blade will work a lot better with thicker stock. The last one you might need is a high tooth count crosscut blade...but this is for plywood. I use a fair amount of cabinet grade ply, and the smoother cut of my 80 tooth Freud (I think, but do not know for certain, that's it's an LU85) is really nice especially when cutting cross grain of the veneer. If you don't do much of this then it's a waste of money. Now, if you want to skip the rip blade and still have your cake and eat it too, you could get a Forrest WW II with 30 teeth. These still crosscut nicely (though not as smooth as the 40 tooth) and rip as well as the dedicated rip blade...although it may cut just a tad more slowly. On to dado sets, I've always used a Freud SD508 but I also have a CMT st and it's very good.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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Forrest makes a Woodworker 11 blade with a #1 grind that is flat bottomed. I have a Ridge blade but I can't say much because I haven't used it yet.
I live 60 minutes from a big box where I could actually go in and buy a half way good blade. and 2 3/4 hours from Woodsmith where I can buy a Forrest blade. So I mail order a lot of stuff.
Holbren.com is a good source for blades including the Ridge blades. Brian used to give Woodnet members a discount, I do not know if he still does.
Silvers Mills has a large selection of blades including Forrest at reasonable prices. They offer good information on different blades as well as their uses.
Hope this helps.
Tom
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I have a set of Freud blades - rip (24 tooth), glue line rip (30 tooth), general (40 tooth), crosscut (60 tooth), plywood (80 tooth). For dado, I have the Freud SD-508.
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Whenever a question comes up about the best blade, I hesitate to answer. I was either blessed or cursed to start my career in a great museum exhibit shop. The thing they taught me about blades is to use the right blae for the job. We changed blades constantly, depending on the material being cut. I have an 8 tooth blade used for roughing material to size. It then goes to 4 different rip blades to 36, 40 and 50 tooth combo blades. Then 60, 84 and 96 tooth blades. Blades for acrylics and laminates. Blades for ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The list goes on.
I no longer build museums but don't want to change my name. My new job is a lot less stressful. Life is much better.
Garry
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There's probably nothing at all special about it, but I though the blade that came on the SawStop was at least as good as some I've paid for.
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Lots of great advice on saw blades here. I own many of them but I think next time I will consider purchasing Klingspor saw blades. They look very well made and the pricing is very good too for these high quality blades.
Any free advice given is worth double price paid.
