10″ Saw blades- Which one to Buy????
doug07
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
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I’m looking for new saw blade for my table saw. I’d like a one blade that can do pretty well everything except melamine of course. I’m looking at 50 tooth Freud. I’ve used Freud on my 9″ table saw but I see there is more options available for 10 saw.
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If anyone is aware of reviews available online.<!—-><!—->
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I would appreciate any advice or suggestions.<!—-><!—->
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Doug
Replies
Hello,
After having a quick look on the web I have found only one half decent saw blade review, the blade is called an infinity blade and it does pretty much everything with great results including melamine. Even if you dont need it to cut melamine its nice to be prepared for the future.The website where you can find a review on these blades is:
http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com/reviews/infinitysawblades.htm
And the website you need to buy these blades is:
http://www.infinitytools.com/products.asp?dept=1196
Hope this has helped in some way,
Sawdust.
I have not tried the infinity blade, but I really like their router bits. I have used Freud blades in the table saw and like them a lot ( best blade for the price in my mind so far) Forrest is a real premium blade at a real premium price, but I cannot convince myself it is worth the differance in price over my Freud. I have cut and ripped the same board with both and cannot really tell a differance.
I know that the infinity dado set has gotten high reviews (and it looks impressive too) and when I have to replace my Freud set1 - measure the board twice, 2 - cut it once, 3 - measure the space where it is supposed to go 4 - get a new board and go back to step 1
Hi Rick - I had pretty much the same view as you until someone gave me a Forrest for a gift ....my LU84 was a very good blade and a great value, but I can see the improvement of the cuts with the WWII fairly easily...as I should be able to. To even detect saw marks from the Forrest, I have to hold the board at just the right angle against bright light to find any trace marks. Having used a blade of that caliber, it'd be hard to settle for less now. On sale or from Ebay, a WWII is ~ $20 to $40 more than an LU84 depending. Compared to the cost of a decent $300-$2500 saw setup, it's a pretty small percentage considering it's what cuts the wood. But I'll grant you that it's not a necessity to do good wwing...just a great to have luxury. In fairness, Freud F410 is more comparable to the Forrest.
Edited 11/23/2005 12:58 pm ET by scotty
Forrest WW II all the way, Great blade!!!
i also have been using Freud blades for about 7 years. i think they are excellent, especially for the price. i have not used one , but have not heard anything bad about the forrests except the price
The 40 tooth Forrest Woodworker II is the only blade I use on my table saw. I rip & cross cut solid lumber & plywood without any problems.
Go with the Forrest 40 tooth Woodworker ll. I use it for everything. When it needs to be sharpened send it back to them. It will be as good as new. Send any of your other blades to them also they do a great job on them also.
JOE
You definitely have lots of options. I would suggest that you can check out the blade selector on the Freud website:
Freud Blade Selector
You can also do Google search for LU84R011 reviews and you will find several:
LU84R011 Reviews.
Freud America, Inc.
I have used various blades on various saws, but it seems that I always end up with a Freud blade as my number one choice. As a consequence unless I am expecting to be cutting nails with my circular saw for a day I don't bother with anything else, even then a Freud blade will cut a lot of nails without becoming dull or losing it's tips.
Recently got a LU85 and an LU91 for use on a 12" Dewalt SCMS, these blades are absolutely great, they really improve the total performance of the tool. I use the LU85 for smaller mouldings etc when I don't use the slide function of the saw, and the LU91 with it's negative hook angle for sliding cuts on larger stock. I also use a Freud blade on my 10" tablesaw but it is so old I can't read what it is anymore, cuts great still. If you are into quality, I would definitely go for the full on industrial blades over the thinner contractor etc blades, they are truer, sharper (or so it seems to me), and have less wobble/vibration, all of which gives you better cuts.
You could try the Freud blade selector on their website (freudtools.com I think), or better yet give them a call and ask their customer service folks, they really seem to know their stuff and you can get into more detail, the phone number is on their website under the customer service tab.
Having said that, a lot of folks do seem to like the Forrest blades but I think you will get more bang for your buck from Freud.
That's my take!
Cheers, Jade.
Freud is consistently one of the better bangs for the buck. Their LU84 is a 50T combo that's good on a wide variety of materials. The LU83 is the thin kerf version of the same blade. They have an elite 40T blade to compete with the Forrest called the F410 that's reportedly excellent, but I have not used one.
My Forrest WWII 40T TK is amazing...well worth the cost IMO. I have a Ridge Carbide TS2000 on route that's supposed to eclipse even the Forrest. The Tenryu Gold Medal 40T is also reported to be excellent.
There is a Leitz distributor on Woodnet offering closeouts on German made Leitz blades that sport the Delta and Irwin names. I've tried two of them so far and am impressed with the value...very comparable in quality to my Freud LU84, but not quite at the level of my WWII. (few are IMO).
http://www.epinions.com/content_147387551364
http://www.epinions.com/content_145552674436
http://www.justsawblades.com/systimatic/index.htm
Hammer1:
Great link. Saw some blades for my 30 yr old Radial Arm saw.
Don't force it, use a bigger hammer!
Forest blades..no doubt. I've got two WWIIs and the Dado set..and wouldn't use anything else!
lp
Doug,
Don't know where you're from, no profile information. The Sears stores near me are having a great clearance sale on Freud and Oldham Signature series blades. I just bought two 24 tooth Freud Industrial blades for $5.50 each. That is not a typo. I also bought their 50 tooth Industrial blade for $22.00. Bought a couple of the Oldham 40 and 50 tooth Signature series for $19.00 each. These are excellent blades and you can't beat these prices. These blades were all marked with a pink clearance sticker price on them, but they are ringing up at 1/2 that price or less.
Wolfman
That 50-tooth Freud blade is excellent. Yes, so is the WoodworkerII (Forrest) but the Freud LU84 produces an excellent finish at a much better price (~$55 at Sears right now). I've had one for 3 years and proudly put it up against all comers aat the Northwest Knots Fest last spring. It received rave reviews from all who were there.
What type of saw is the 10"?? If it's pretty light on horsepower you might want to consider the TK906 thin kerf combination blade.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Fwiw, Seven Corners has the 10" LU84 (LU84M011) for $39.95 + shipping.
http://www.7corners.com/7c_store/showdetl.cfm?DID=1&offerings_ID=665&ObjectGroup_ID=99&CATID=4
I bought two Everlast AGP-1040 saw blades from a local dealer/sharpening service and have been very happy. A FWW review conducted a few years ago gave that model a high rating per dollar spent. Cut is much crisper than the stock blade than came with the Unisaw. BTW, they're made in the U.S.
I have a Powermatic 63 Artisan [contractor type] saw, running on 220v. And a Forrest WWII TK 40 tooth blade. It cuts like nothing else. About a year ago, I put my old Freud 50 tooth TK combo blade in to rip a bunch of treated 2x4s[ to protect that WWII from excessive wear]. It cut slowly, and the motor got quite hot.
I wrote to PM, asking about the motor getting hot. Their answer was that my saw wasn't really meant for much ripping, but I should try a Forrest WWII instead. Duh.
That said, I once hit a sheetrock screw embedded in some wood I was re-using, and did $89 worth of damage to my WWII. Hit about 32 teeth. Thought twice, but paid to get it fixed by Forrest.
So the short version of my answer - for your good work, get the WWII, and you'll never regret it, except for the price. And get something else for the rough stuff.
Oh - to wolfman - what a deal you got!!! SUPER.
Thanks Ken. Went back this weekend, the wife and I were doing a little xmas shopping at the mall, Sears still had a couple of the Freud 50 tooth and the Oldham Signature 40 tooth blades on clearance. Forgot to mention, they are also clearancing their Freud router bits. Picked up a few of those.
Cheers,
Wolfman
FYI- 50 tooth blades aren't made for ripping.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Well, here we go with blanket statements again. I'm sure I'm not the only person here who owns a 50-tooth combination blade that is recommended for ripping stock of moderate thickness. Does a whopping fine job too. Granted, when I have several rip cuts to make, or the stock I'm cutting is more than 4/4, I'll swap it out for the 24-tooth rip blade, but nonetheless......forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
The blade I bought -and I forget the model number - was a "50 tooth combination" blade, designed for general purposes. I believe it was described as a good quality blade - about $50, that could serve the purpose of both ripping and crosscutting, though not as well as a dedicated rip blade.The point I was trying to make, is that a 50 tooth Freud combination blade performed significantly less well than a 40 tooth Forrest. Apologies to Charles M.But thanks for your comment.Ken
Apology not necessary. The 50T Freud Combination blade is not intended to outdo the 40T Forrest. That's what our F410 40T is for.
Charles M
Freud America, Inc.
Touche!
I appreciate what you add to this site. Didn't want to be impolite to you.Ken
Thanks, Ken. The civility of the members of this forum is always appreciated. There are a few other groups out there in cyberspace that can get a little nasty sometimes.
Charles M
Freud America, Inc.
Hi Charles - It's always good to "see you out and about"! I have every reason to believe you're correct about the F410 even though I've never tried one. Gotta question though...it seems that Freud doesn't market the F series very aggressively, and as a result, I don't hear of many users of the F410. Am I right, and if so, what's the scoop?
scotty,You are correct that we haven't been marketing the F series very aggressively. This blade has been around for many years and underwent a major change about 6 years ago. At that time we did advertise it in the magazines. I don't know the specifics of why this is the case.
Charles M
Freud America, Inc.
This always comes down to "How Great Forrest WWII are." Well I've got a hold set of Systi Matic Blades 24T Rip, 30T glue joint rip, 40T combo, 50T Rip/CC Combo. Some day I'll replace my 80T Freud with a SM and add a 12" blade for my CMS.With a 5hp TS I don't have to worry about running a thin blade to keep the RPMs up.
Thanks for chiming in with your take on Systematic, sweeper.
I have mostly Systematic blades and they do a great job for me! Mainly I use an 80-t planer combination for crosscut and sheet goods, and a triple chip for when I need a flawless cut in sheet goods or laminates. I don't use the dedicated rip blade much at this time, but I have one and it works well also.
-robert
Hi Scott; You beat me with your post about the 410, I was just going to ask Charles the same thing. Before I bought my Forrest WW11's,40T FK, AND 30T TK, I looked at the Freud 410 on your recommendation,(as well as others you recommended, inc. the Forrest) but in Canada it costs $30.00 more for the 410 over the WW11, and I've never read a single reveiw, or heard any feedback from an actual user of one. It seems to me, since they went to the trouble of making this blade, they should try and market it.
I'm happy with the combination of the two Forrest Blades. I bought the 40T FK for the general purpose capabilities, with a great quality cut, and I bought the 30T TK, for when I need a bit of extra ripping power, or need to save a bit of material. Or I just couldn't make up my mind.View Image
BTW did you get your Ridge blade yet? And did you go with FK or TK? I got a chance to try a TS 2000 when I met a guy at the WWing show. He invited me over for coffee, and to try out the new Ridge blade he had just bought.
After trying it out, it seemed to me that the Ridge is the equal to the Forrest, no better no worse. ( of course we didn't have the Forrest there to do a comparison test with precision calipers, and a magnifing glass View Image )The only difference for me is that the Ridge costs more than the Forrest in Canada, and they say there's more carbide on the Ridge. If they were the same price, I'd buy either one.
Cheers. Shawn
Hi Walker....yep, you gotta get up pretty early to beat me to the punch! ;-) Haven't received the TS2000...it's "in the mail". TK was the only choice at the deal price, and with my < 2hp saw a TK is my preference anyway. It'll be an interesting comparison. Maybe someday we can get Charles and company to dump a few of the F410's at prices too good to pass up so people can try them and say how great they are, etc. :D.
Edited 12/2/2005 5:34 pm ET by scotty
Yeah I was just choosing a combo blade and the WWII is sort of the default choice. I also bought a glue line rip, and was going to get a Freud but the guy at Eastside Saws talked me into picking up an Amana.
I wish I knew more about Freud blades... Charles here is such a good ambassador for the company I *want* to buy some.
Did you get the Amana Prestige 40T? I hear some people swear by those too...
No, I can't recall its name. It's very specifically a glueline rip blade, with both flat-topped and triple-chip teeth (which are a bit proud of the flat teeth).
EDIT: The packaging just calls it a "Glue Joint Rip" blade; it's got 30 teeth (10").
Edited 12/3/2005 2:09 am ET by FatherJohn
Read the new American Woodworker - they have a review on 10" saw blades
Rick, the American Woodworker article isn't a review per se. It's a general guide to the types of blades a woodworker "should" have, some general info re: characteristics one should look for, and some suggestions as to specific models.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Always an emotional debate =)
I own 2 forrest WWII's (TK and normal), and a Ridge Carbide TS2000, as well as a CMT ripping blade.
You'll find opinions ranging depending on the cost sensitivity and needs (what kind of wood do you cut most often? Hardwoods, softwoods, plygoods, melamine, etc).
I leave my WWII in generally, but for ripping anything thicker than 3/4" I go w/ the CMT. The Ridge is a very sweet blade as well, on parity I feel with the WWII.
Charles provided the review links for the Freud blades above, and as you can see they are well regarded also. A good blade at a very good value.
There are a long list of names that are great for certain purposes, Tenryu, Amana, Leitz to name a few. I can't answer these questions for a single perfect blade as there is no such thing. As Charles M. has stated in other posts (he's an incredible resource, who really knows the industry and product applications) there are specific rake angles and cutting grinds for particular applications.... Let me see if I can dig up a reference site to review (http://www.trendmachinery.co.uk/sawblades/choosing_blades.shtml)
Perhaps a bit more technical than you were looking for, but useful to know.
Anyway, WWII is mounted in my PM66 80% of the time. Don't use it for 3/4"+ ripping, sheet goods, or laminates. The thin kerf are useful for lower powered saws, but keep in mind that the vibration is higher and *can* result in a worse cut. You can solve this with a stabilizer though.
G'luck, hope that helped some.
michael
I second the Forrest WWII, 40 t x 1/8" kerf.
Been using one in my 10" TS for 6 months now and it is an amazing blade that rips through solid lumber like butter, also cross cuts very smoothly.
I'm actually thinking of upgrading my 12" MS blade with a 12" x 80T Chopmaster - 1/8" Kerf.
ST.
doug07
Forrest Woodworker II is the best I've used, and still do. I have 4, 2 thin kerfs, 2 regular kerfs. I send them back to Forrest for sharpening, and they return good as new. I used Freud before, but will never go back. I also have the dado King from Forest, and it's excellent as well.
I rip and crosscut Grade A plywood every day with the WW II, and never have any chip out.
Jeff
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