Saw Blade Choice

[Tim Boger]

Hey Guys,

I use my Bosch 10" table saw for cutting segments to use in turning projects more often than any other operation, I'd like your opinions about blade selection.

I do cut some domestic like Walnut and Maple also some exotics like Purpleheart and Koa.

Thanks for your help.

Tim

[Todd Burch]

A combo blade would probably work well for you. 40 tooth.

[Tim Boger]

Hey Todd ... thanks for your feedback. I was under the impression that a higher tooth count will produce a finer cut. Like 60 or 80 teeth?

Tim

[Richard Madison]

Tim,
I like an 80 tooth Freud, not sure which part number. But there are several (many?) good blades available. Even a sharp 40 tooth combination blade of good quality can make smooth, flat cuts. A good plan might be to have a dedicated segment-cutting blade. Take time to change to another blade for cutting other stuff, as this will help maintain the quality of your "segment" cuts from the dedicated blade.

[Don Robert]

I really like the Freud Premier Fusion. Little more expensive than lots of blades (not more than the Woodworker II blade), but extremely nice cut, even on plywood and MDF. Would be glue ready.

[Todd Burch]

Hey Todd ... thanks for your feedback. I was under the impression that a higher tooth count will produce a finer cut. Like 60 or 80 teeth?

Tim

It will produce a finer cut, when crosscutting. If you are doing a lot of ripping, that 80 tooth blade is going to wear you out.

[Reed Gray]

The higher tooth count is for cross cutting, and generally will give better results than a ripping blade. Of course, the cross cutting blade isn't well suited for ripping. I like the Freud blades, I have a good Delta as well, and have found the combo blades to do good work. I got to see Malcolm Tibbets a few months ago, and he uses a Festool chop saw. The most amazing discovery I have made was in what a good saw shop can do to the tooth edges of your blades. I got recomended to one guy, and when the blades came back, it was like a whole new tool. My Forrest blade even cut better.
robo hippy

[Sean Ackerman NY]

Tenryu Gold Medal! No question about it.

[Paul Engle]

Any 60 T thin kerf cross cut carbide ( Freud etc ) works very well , cross cut is what they do the best job on I use a Freud 60T and it is very smooth. cost me 15 yrs ago 69$ and I change out to a rip blade when doing a lot of rip work, the carbide runs about 15$ to get sharpend and this one is on its last trip to the sharpening shop and will be reading the test reports on other brands before spending 70$ on a replacement.

[Chris Stolicky]

I have actually used a Freud 7-1/4" 60-tooth blade on my 10" table saw. As long you are cutting relatively small segments, its works fine. Plus, since the kerf is much smaller than a full size 10" blade, there is a lot more wood saved.

I got it for $20 at HD.

The downside is that you have to change blades if you want to cut 'real' pieces of wood.

[Wally Wenzel]

I don't think you can find ant thing better than a40 th. woodworker two, cost more but worth every penny and will last you a life time and will give the best cut possible. Wally

[Dennis Puskar]

Try Freuds ultimate cut off blade its great.

Dennis

[scott spencer]

Hey Todd ... thanks for your feedback. I was under the impression that a higher tooth count will produce a finer cut. Like 60 or 80 teeth?

Tim

If all else is equal, more teeth equals smoother cut but also poses more resistance to the saw, and a higher chance of burning to occur. If want a high tooth count blade for ultra fine crosscuts, you'll probably want at least two blades...one with a lower tooth count for heavier ripping chores. If you want one blade that does a "good" job of both ripping and crosscuts, you'll want to look at a decent general purpose blade....typically a good quality 40T or 50T thin kerf blade would work best for that saw. Price ranges go from ~ $30 for a decent entry level blade to ~ $100 for a premium blade. Avoid the cheap junk.

Any of these should do a nice job for most tasks....Infinity 010-150, Freud LU86R010, LU83R010, Forrest WWII TK (30T or 40T), Ridge Carbide TS2000 TK, DeWalt DW7140PT, DW7150PT. Something like the Infinity 010-060, Forrest WWI, or Freud LU88R010 are 60T blades that do an excellent job of crosscuts, yet still offer good ripping ability to ~ 5/4" material...great choices if you don't do much thick ripping, and want a finer crosscut without needing to go to dedicated specialty blades.

Saw Blades 101 (http://www.rockler.com/articles/display_article.cfm?story_id=72&cookietest=1)

Blade Comparison (http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=61724)