What type of Table Saw Blade?

[drew hutchinson]

I am learning how to make furniture and pretty new to working with fine hardwoods. I have been using a table saw my whole life but mainly for home type projects. I need a new blade (or blades) for my hardwood projects.

My questions is - what blade should I be using for cutting cherry, maple and walnut? I have a small, old 8" Delta table saw. It doesn't have a ton of power so I have to go slow but also doesn't throw wood all over the place. I don't have a planer/jointer so I need a fairly clean cut for cross cut and ripping.

Do I want a thin kerk with lots of teeth?

Thanks in advance for the help!

[Greg Cuetara]

Drew,
I just bought the Ridge Carbide TS2000. I have a VERY old craftsman belt driven saw with not a lot of power. The ridge carbide has made a huge difference in the quality of cut. Great for ripping or cross cutting. I think it is a 40 tooth blade and thin-kerf.

I did buy from holbren which gave me a 10% discount for being a contributor to SMC. I think the discount code is SMC10. It was very easy to order online and very prompt service. No problems.

If you do some searching for both the ridge carbide or the woodworker II there is debate on this forum which one is better etc. etc. yadda yadda yadda.

I am very happy with my purchase and would definately buy another one. Hopefully I can just send this one in to get sharpened when the time comes.

Greg

[David Christopher]

Drew, freud makes some nice thin line blades ( they are for under powered saws) that do a nice clean finish....if you are going to make furniture I would suggest a rip and a cross cut blade

[Peter Quinn]

I have a Freud Diablo thin kerf on an 8" makita job site saw that does a fine job. i have been using a lot recently on a job site after a significant hiatus, and it surprises me how well it cuts. I think its a combo blade format.

On my cabinet saw I like to use a dedicated rip blade for ripping anything over 1", a 40th combo for general purpose work, and a 60TH or 80TH blade for cross cuts and plywood. A few passes with a sharp block plane will pretty much clean up the marks left by a good rip blade. For heavy ripping on a weak saw (or pretty much any saw for that matter) lots of teeth will cause more harm than good IME.

If the budget is limited, I would go for a combo blade and a rip blade and skip a high tooth (60-80) fine cross cut blade. I would rather cross cut with a combo blade than rip thicker stock with one, so if I had to keep it to two blades, a rip blade would be one of them.

[Brent Leonard]

I use a 10" Diablo 60 tooth thin kerf blade on my table saw.

Although it is a crosscut blade, I have zero complaints while ripping with it. A wonderful edge with absolutely no teeth marks. I've tried some of the mid range Freud 40 tooth combo blades and have been terribly disapointed in all cuts compared to the 60 tooth.

I have stuck with what has worked for me. Maybe someday I will see if the $100 class blades are all they are made out to be. It kinda hard to drop $100 when you have no complaints about the $50 blade.

[jim hedgpeth]

You say it's an 8" ...... that will limit your choices some. What wood you cut doesn't matter as much as which direction(rip or cross cut).

A combination blade would be good, but one of each is better for under powered saws. A dedicated rip blade will tax your saw less for rip cuts. Use a rip blade for cross cutting though, you will be "fixing:eek:" a lot of tear out and saw marks.

Like Greg said check out Holbren.com, good people, good prices, and we get the discount Greg mentioned. I dont recall seeing much in 8" blades though.

If you are on a tight budget dont over look the Oshlun blades. Very inexpensive, and good blades. I have their dado set and love it.

Jim

[Myk Rian]

My most used blade is a Freud combination thin kerf.
http://www.freudtools.com/p-29-general-purposebr-nbsp.aspx

[Matt Ranum]

Sounds like our saws are similar. I ended up picking up a Freud ripping blade for ripping thicker hardwoods, I forget the T-count but I think its around 18. Made a huge difference, still low on power for the task but at least its manageable now. Normal use I use a 40T combination that works very well.

[Prashun Patel]

To rip anything north of 1" with a smaller saw, you'll need a ripping blade unless you want to contend with a lot of burning from a crosscut blade.

I'd get 2.

[Danny Burns]

If you go the Thin Kerf route, since power is an issue for you, and if the cut isn't up to the quality that you expect, then checkout some blade stabilizers.
Note: Freud say that there blades do not need a stabilizer, other brands may need them.

If power were not such a concern then the Freud Fusion is a nice blade.

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

After that I would look into a Glue Line rip blade.

Thin Kerf:
http://www.freudtools.com/p-421-thin-kerf-glue-line-ripbrnbsp.aspx

Hopefully one day Freud will come out with a thin kerf Fusion combo blade.

If not then the WoodWorker II combo blade comes in a thin kerf version.
They recommend 1 stabilizer be run on the outside of the blade. This can reduce the overall maximum height of the blade somewhat.

Regular Kerf:
http://www.freudtools.com/p-34-glue-line-rippingbr-nbsp.aspx

[scott spencer]

Drew - Cherry, maple, and walnut can all be fairly prone to burning, so you'll need to keep the feedrate up, which may require you to stick with a lower tooth count. Something like this Freud LU83 (http://www.amazon.com/Freud-LU83R008-Combination-PermaShield-Coating/dp/B00020JOA0/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1251395053&sr=1-4) 8" 40T ATB/R combo for $38 shipped should do well, but it still might be too many teeth.

Forrest has an excellent 30T ATB WWII in 7-1/4" (http://www.amazon.com/Forrest-WW07Q307100-Woodworker-32-Inch-Circular/dp/B000OMRSBS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1251395414&sr=1-4), 8" (http://www.amazon.com/Forrest-WW08307100-Woodworker-32-Inch-Circular/dp/B000OMKNGA/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1251395414&sr=1-7), and 9 (http://www.amazon.com/Forrest-WW09307100-Woodworker-32-Inch-Circular/dp/B000ON4BAS/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1251395414&sr=1-6)" that blade should be excellent for your needs but runs ~ $70-$80 shipped. I had a 10" TK version of this blade that was surprisingly clean cutting...nearly as clean as the 40T, and definitely more efficient. Since you probably won't ever be cutting to full blade height, the 9" could work if you're careful. Good luck!