Panel saw blade recomendation

[Tom Godley]

I just picked up a Milwaukee panel saw (6480-200) and am now in need of a blade for it. The saw uses a 8 1/4 blade - this may limit my choices.

I bought it to cut hardwood plywood -- I found that I am just not strong enough to muscle full sheets of 3/4 plywood around the shop by myself.

Should I get a plywood blade - like the Forrest Duraline - that blade only comes in 8" but that should be OK for cutting 3/4 sheets.


Any ideas? Can you use a Forrest Chopmaster in a saw like this?

I'm still trying to figure out the difference between the Woodworker I and II !!

[Larry Edgerton]

Save your money and just buy 7 1/4" blades if it will cut through. I use them in my 8 1/4". Freud does make a good 8 1/4" that I keep around but for the most part it is not necessary, not sure about on a panel saw though. Safety Speed Cut?

[Charles McCracken]

Tom,

I think if you check the specs you'll find that the blade is actually 8"/200mm (thus the -200 on the end of the model number). If this is correct, you have a lot of choices. Freud offers quite a few blades that will fit. The LU97 is an excellent panel cutting blade:
http://www.freudtools.com/p-24-double-sided-laminatemelaminebr-nbsp.aspx

[Todd Solomon]

If your primary mission is plywood and you want minimal tearout, the Forrest Duraline is an amazing blade. I'd go with that.

The Woodworker II is an outstanding combo blade, which I use for most crosscuts and all but the thickest rips. Practically the only time I took my Woodworker II off was to put on the Duraline to cut veneer plywood. For really thick rips, I use a dedicated rip blade.

The Woodworker I is a mystery to me too. It's a crosscut blade that fits between the WW II and the Duraline, but it seems unnecessary if you have the other two blades.

If you're concerned about the price of the Duraline, you may want to look for a Freud equivilent with a high A/T design. They make nice blades as well.

[Rob Damon]

Tom,

I picked up a "Freud P408 Premier Fusion Saw Blade 8 inch x 34t Hi-ATB 30° 5/8 inch arbor Perma-Shield Coated" at Amazon for $89.99 for my PM 511 panelsaw and unlike the cuts you normally see at the BORG when they cut down sheets of Plywood on their panelsaws, this blade gives glass like cuts with no tear out (so far for me anyway).

I went with it because looking at the Freud website is listed this blade at the top for plywood, laminates, rips and crosscuts.

http://www.freudtools.com/p-14-premier-fusionbr-nbsp.aspx

Rob