Flat Bottom 10" Blades

[Jim Eller]

All the blades I own have the alternating beveled teeth and of course they leave an inverted "V" in the bottom of the cut.

I am looking for suggestions on a 10" table saw blade that will leave a flat bottom so if I want to do a small groove or rabbet I don't have to get out the dado set or take it to the router table. It should be able to do a rip or crosscut groove in decent fashion.

Thanks for your input.

Jim

[David Dalzell]

I recently bought the Forrest WW II custom blade wit a flat grind. They call it the #1 Grind. It is a 40 tooth blade. I use it for miter key slots, lid grooves, whatever needs a flat bottem. So far I have had no problems with it, but I also have not yet used it very much.

[John Thompson]

I have 4 rip blades with flat teeth which is preferred on a rip cut but.. they have 20 and 24 teeth respecitively which won't produce a smooth cross-cut. Not that bad but not ideal. I was not aware anyone made a 40 T in with a flat tooth grind until Jim posted Forrest did so.. that would be a better choice for cross-cutting and a decent choice for ripping but not as good as the 20-24 blade.

It's a compromise for sure so if you are not a blade changer as I... I would go with the Forrest suggestion.

Sarge..

[glenn bradley]

Most rip blades are FTG. I have Freud and a Lietz 24T blades that are. Even a cheap Irwin from the BORG can be found pretty easily.

[Phil Thien]

Most rip blades are FTG.

In thin-kerf blades, rippers tend to be ATB.

[Eric Larsen]

I recently bought the Forrest WW II custom blade wit a flat grind. They call it the #1 Grind. It is a 40 tooth blade. I use it for miter key slots, lid grooves, whatever needs a flat bottem. So far I have had no problems with it, but I also have not yet used it very much.

Even if I had one, I'd still change blades and go back to the bevel for 95% of the cuts I make. (Actually, probably more like 99.9%.)

If I need a square groove, I reach for the stack dado.

Just wondering, what sort of operation are you doing that you need a flat bottom that often?

I could have used it for the wine glass holders I made for the kitchen. But I didn't think about it until I had finished. (Slaps forehead.)

[Kev Godwin]

Jim,
I wanted that result as well so I regularly use a "combination blade" which is slightly different than the blades you say leaves a V. The ones that leave a V are usually called a "general purpose".

I use a really nice combination blade from Frued. Combo blades usually have 50 teeth compared to the GP blades with 40.

The Combo blades are usually set with 5 close teeth with a gap between each set. The front tooth of the 5 is FTG followed by 4 ATB teeth.

With my combo blade I find a slightly rougher crosscut compared to my other GP blades but you do get a more relatively flat grooove. I use mine often.
Kev

[guy knight]

i use the Freud box cutter set it cuts flat tear free slots at 1/4 and 3/8 with no shims

[David Dalzell]

Eric - I make a lot of small boxes. Often the bottoms are set into 1/8 inch grooves, miter key slots are 1/8 inch, and other small piece joinery such as bridle joints, tenons, sliding lid grooves, &, &, require flat bottom grooves. I use the # 1 Grind (Flat Top Grind) for these specific tasks. When doing other small piece work I use a Freud ATB 80 tooth finish blade. When cutting to rough dimension I use a Forrest WW II 40 tooth combo blade. By the way, the WW II 40 tooth combo provides an excellent finish.

[joe milana]

+1 for the WWII #1 grind. If I'm doing a project that requires "a few rips, a few crosscuts, and a dado or two, I'll use it.

An ATBR (ie. WWII #6 grind) will give you a "nearly flat bottom groove". It leaves tiny insignificant score lines in the bottom of the cut. Acceptable for most dado cuts, and is as good as any general purpose blade I have ever used.

[Paul Murphy]

One other option is the Ridge Carbide TS2000 which has 40t but in an ATB+R. I am happy with mine, and flat bottoms are nice for tenons on the table saw.

[scott spencer]

The only true flat bottom blades are FTG. ATB/R are flatter, but not flat. Most FTG blades are 20-24T rippers. Bosch (http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-CB1060L-10-Inch-Crosscutting-8-Inch/dp/B000EPOLWY) does make a 60T FTG thin kerf. Infinity makes a specialty FTG crosscutting/box joint blade.

[Ed Sallee]

I also have the #1 grind, 40 tooth blade from Forrest. It does, indeed, leave a flat bottom. I use it specifically for flat bottom cuts. I change the blade out to the Forrest WWII ATB, also 40 tooth, for all of my "workhorse" activity.....

[glenn bradley]

Interesting. I have never specified or even bothered to look and mine are all FTG(?). Luck of the draw I guess ;-) I see now that my generalized statement is not true but only based on my experience.

[Lee Schierer]

You want a blade with raker teeth every other or every 3-4 teeth.

[John Thompson]

Interesting. I have never specified or even bothered to look and mine are all FTG(?). Luck of the draw I guess ;-) I see now that my generalized statement is not true but only based on my experience.

You do have to look carefully at the individual blade as you mentioned, Glenn. I do a lot of ripping and seek out blades with FTG only. There are some rip blades I have intentionally avoided that are 24 T ATB. Some do have the Raker which is supposed to clean the V as Scott mentioned but it won't do it as well as a standard FTG which have all flat topped teeth. The Amana Age 24 rip.. Oshlun 24 rip come to mind so their are companies that call a blade a rip as it has 24 T but use the ATB grind.

I disagree with that personally but... it's out of my control. I just be sure what I purchase to rip with has 20-24 teeth.. plenty of carbide for re-sharpening and Flat top grind. My 40 T do the crosscutting as the ATB will sever smoother and I change blades an average of 6 times a day being in the shop more of less full time now.

Regards...

Sarge..

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I am looking for suggestions on a 10" table saw blade that will leave a flat bottom so if I want to do a small groove or rabbet

Most all Non Ferrous Metals blades have the grind you want.

[Curt Harms]

http://freud-tools.com/freudtefinhe.html.

[David Venditto]

Recently we've had many people request a flat top grind saw blade that will leave a square cut AND provide a good finish even when crosscutting. Below are the links to our individual flat bottom saw blades and to our packages. We offer these blades in 1/4" and 5/32" kerf as well as with spacers that allow you to create custom groove widths.

Thank you,
David Venditto
Infinity Cutting Tools

http://www.infinitytools.com/products.asp?dept=1484 Blades

http://www.infinitytools.com/products.asp?dept=1509 Packages

[John Thompson]

Recently we've had many people request a flat top grind saw blade that will leave a square cut AND provide a good finish even when crosscutting. Below are the links to our individual flat bottom saw blades and to our packages. We offer these blades in 1/4" and 5/32" kerf as well as with spacers that allow you to create custom groove widths.

Thank you,
David Venditto
Infinity Cutting Tools

http://www.infinitytools.com/products.asp?dept=1484 Blades

http://www.infinitytools.com/products.asp?dept=1509 Packages

I can't comment on this particular blade David but.. I can comment on several of the other Infinity blades I have. That comment would be high quality.. thick carbide tips for more re-sharpenings and the arbor hole area ground very flat. I have both the old General and the new Super General in 40 tooth.

I have not purchased a 24 T as I have four of them and for some reason I thought yours was ATB grind but I see that it is flat ground on the chart you posted. I will try one when I run out of carbide on my two Amana's and two CMT's. I rip a lot.

Now.. my question to you is this.. on the Super General which is 30* ATB with side grind... who do you recomment to re-sharpen the blade. I have an excellent source local for my standard blades but the SG has side grind and my sharpener is old school. Simply put.. I'm pretty sure he doesn't have the equipment to do a proper side grind.

So.. if you see this post I would appreciate and answer. If you don't... I will call you guys in Tampa and ask.

Have a good day...

Sarge..

[David Venditto]

Hi John,

When we sharpen blades we touch-up the tops and face, usually no more than .005" is taken off to preserve the life of the blade. We have an authorized shop that does our sharpening, please see the link to our web page for the .pdf instuctions.

Tool Sharpening Link
http://www.infinitytools.com/sharpening.asp

Thank you,
David
Infinity Tools

p.s. Glad you enjoy our products!