This viewer question comes from Jed who asks:
“I am trying to make a cutting board with 2 different species of wood. The problem is, when I cut the strips (with the grain) I get chips and the different strips don’t match up perfectly. Do I need a special table saw blade to do this? I am using the one that came with the saw. Thanks for any help!”
And this was my response:
Hey Jed. Most tablesaws come with pretty crappy blades. They do OK for a little while, but after certain number of cuts, they really start to dull quickly. So I would definitely recommend an upgraded blade. The one I use is quite expensive: the Forrest Woodworker II. I have also heard great things about the Freud Fusion blade. And recently, I have been using Tenryu Blades on a number of my tools. But there are other decent blades on the market that would perform much better than the stock blade, and not break the bank. So yes, a new blade will make all the difference in the world! And in general, I only use one blade for my work. Some folks prefer to have one blade for rips, and one blade for cross-cuts and plywood. But I find a 40 tooth blade is a great all-purpose blade and satisfies my lazy perfectionist side.
So what blades have you guys had luck with on your tablesaws?
28 Responses to “Do I Need A Special Blade?”
Not wanting to hijack the thread, I have this comment: While the question doesn’t provide the detail, I am guessing if Jed is using the blade that came with his table saw, he has probably not invested in a zero-clearance insert. That is a very cheap upgrade that will go far (with the new blade) to reducing chipout.
Marc’s right. It’s hard to take advice from someone who doesn’t have to pay for anything,;) but he’s absolutely correct. Get a Forrest Woodworker II or the Freud Fusion blade (they both cost about the same) and you’ll see an immediate improvement on the quality of your cuts. the table saw will run smoother also because the motor won’t be straining as hard to get the blade through the wood.
BTW the same goes for router bits as well.
I agree about the zero clearance insert. Another top quality blade is by Ridge Carbide Tool in NJ. I think the owner used to pal around with Forrest Blade creator. The blade is reviewed very well and it is less $$ than the Forrest Blades.
Steve, do you have any more info on that blade? It doesn’t seem to come up when I google it.
Thanks!
Marty,
Sorry I was away. The site is http://www.ridgecarbidetool.com
They have been at the local WW show and offer a discount on purchases at the shows. They also sharpen and repair. I have not been to their outlet, however hope to soon
If that link does not work you can reach them through In-line Industries site http://www.in-lineindustries.com/
Woodworker II, the newish one with the flat ground tooth. Picked it up with the stabilizer at the Woodworking Shows this year and I capital-L love it. Having never used anything but the stock blades on my saw I never really realized until the first couple of cuts just how much of a difference a good blade can make.
Hey Allen. I don’t have that one, but I did pick up the special completely square ground tooth version. Perfect for box joints and other types of joinery. I wonder how the cut compares to the one you have, which I am sure is more aggressive. But if it makes a flat bottom, what’s the difference right?
I use saw blades by TENRYU (www.tenryu.cm).
Their Gold Medal series are very good.
Anyone else try these?
I can’t believe I forgot to mention Tenryu! I actually use their blades on a couple different tools in the shop. I just made a change to the post so that it mentions Tenryu. Nice people there too!
Hi Marc,
I use the Tenryu blades on the 10 inch table saw (no stabilizer), 12 inch chop saw and a worm drive trim saw (4 inch blade).
Only slightly less than the Forrest. They have been making blades for many many years.
They don’t make them for the Festool TS55 but the Festool blade is outstanding.
Not sure if/when they will be available to consumers, but I am currently playing with some Tenryu blades on the TS55. I will find out what the latest is from them and get back to you.
Apparently Amazon actually has some of these blades already: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb.....0&y=0
Marc,
Well what do you know. Checked them out on Amazon website and these are made in China (I’m leary).
All the Tenryu blades I have were made at the original Tenryu factory in Japan.
Is the blade you are testing from China as well?
Dick
Marc,
The Festool blades are fine but it’s always good to have an alternative.
I’ll be very interested in what you think of the Tenryu on the TS55.
Thanks
Agreed. I have always been impressed by the quality of the Festool blades. They are up there with the best. But people definitely like having options. And the Tenryu blades fill that niche very nicely.
Just an FYI. If you are using a blade on the TS55 that requires you to use a different splitter (I know at least one of the Tenryu models does), this will actually void your warranty on the TS saw! Since the riving knife is a safety device, they discourage tampering with it in any way. So just keep that in mind.
I have a bargain blade. The Freud Diablo, thin kerf 40-tooth all purpose. (About $35 at Home Depot) So far has given me glassy smooth cuts on up to 8/4 hardwoods. As long as the saw is well tuned, I think it can do very nice work. I don’t know how it will wear yet, but I can replace it for close to the price of a re-sharpening.
DD
I have one of these as well and I have been very happy with it – it’s a huge step up from the stock blade on both table saws that I’ve owned. This blade plus a ZCI made a tremendous difference.
I’m curious what additional advantage these is going from a $30 blade like this to a $100 blade. Cut quality? Stays sharp longer? Quieter? …? I clearly appreciate the difference between a $10 blade and mine – Should I expect the same scale of improvement going the “rest of the way”?
So anyway, to the original poster, if budget is an issue, then getting/making a ZCI and upgrading to a mid-range blade will make a huge difference.
Just got 2-Ridgid blades from HD. Thin kerf titanium coating … look very cool like gold. Never had a thin kerf before. One is a 50-tooth combo blade and the other is a 90 tooth finish blade. The finish blade normally sells for about $70 but it was mismarked at $39 and they gave it to me.
I would not have paid $70 for a fancy blade like this that I knew nothing about.
Disclaimer: They are both new blades. All new blades seem to cut well. These blades seem to cut really well. We will see as time goes by. I think that the Ridgid has a lifetime warranty. That is also good.
Theoretically, a thin kerf blade will be more prone to vibration than a standard blade, but in practice I haven’t noticed a problem. If you have a moderately powered saw, however, it makes a noticeable difference in how much force it takes to push the wood through the blade at any given speed.
DD
I have been using a CMT blade in my 12″ sliding compound saw and am pretty happy with it. I have a freud blade in my table saw that works well as well. I am at work so I cannot confirm but I am thinking that the blade in my table saw is about 80 teeth. I have noticed that some posts are saying 40 teeth is what they use. Does 40 teeth give you clean enough cuts on crosscuts?
Mine certainly does.
DD
I like the Freud 10″ thin kerf blades like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Freud-LU.....67-0416259
I also use a zero clearance insert (as stated by others) and it makes a lot of difference for chipping.
Most people have a complaint about wobble from thin kerf blades, but the Freud blades use some kind of fancy shmancy laser harmonic balancing that I don’t completely understand yet, but works great. If you have a contractor saw with a motor that is somewhat underpowered, the thin kerf blades take a lot of strain off of the motor. If the motor isn’t straining, the cut is a lot better because of the consistency of speed.
I love using thin kerf blades when im at the company shop using a table saw after like 20 cuts with a thin kerf blade then there is like no dust In the dust collector and trust me it works. If you think about with a thin kerf blade it is less likely for kick back because the wood rides smoothly through. And it takes less time to cut because you remove less material so the cuts go a lot quicker. Also big blades tend to scare people when there had gets close at the end of a cut so they jolt their hand and get sucker punched at over 100 mph so make sure you have a big enough push stick so you dont get scared. You also save material when using a thin kerf blade because you remove less wood. They cost more but the table saw wears less because it doesn’t have to work so hard because the cuts go smoother and the cut is not as wide.
I seem to go back forth between the Woodworker II and Freud’s glue line rip blade. I think any one of these blades would you well. Plus a zero clearance insert.
I have a question I’d like to throw out there to everyone. But first I’d like to add that no matter what blade you use give them a good cleaning on a regular basis. I wasted money on having them sharpened thinking they were dull when all that was needed was to be cleaned better than I was doing. My Question is…
Has anyone experienced a major difference in one Premium brand over the other as far as staying sharper longer?
David I noticed that with my first Freud glue line rip blade I accidentally hit a couple of drywall screws and immediately chipped about fifteen teeth. The performance of that blade went down after that, but it was still good. My Woodworker II
blade on the other hand just seemed to keep going and going. I finally had to get it sharpened after about ten years. But I bought another Freud glue line rip and love it I’m just more careful with it. Claude
Way up here in Canada we have this strange tool company called Busybee Tools. This bargain tool company has come out with a line of saw blades called Blue Tornado.
I picked one up because I had damaged my Ridge TC2000 40 tooth and had a bunch of oak to rip. Well the bargain blade worked great. It is a 40 tooth and is a bargain at less than $40.00 while on sale and not much over when not. Check them out. http://www.busybeetools.com