Table Saw Blade Questions

[Jason Davis]

I have a Craftsman Portable Table saw, Model 21829

I am still using the original blade, which I am stumped.
The current blade is all steel, I have a Frued Blade in my Circular saw, cuts awesome!:D
(Stupid Question Time) What Blade should I get to cut nice clean cuts and cut all kinds of wood, plywood to hardwoods.:confused:

I am starting in Woodworking and Turning. Never really had to pick a Blade........

I am also looking to replace the blade on a 10 inch sears Radial Arm Saw...... any help on that also appreciated!:confused:

[Jim Rimmer]

Do a search here and you will find multiple threads that address this question.

[glenn bradley]

I used the Google search engine here and got a bunch of hits. .. here's one:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=46517

[Gary Breckenridge]

Narrow your possible list down to three combination, carbide blades and then go to amazon.com and read the reviews. Also use their prices for comparison shopping.:cool:Check the Freud D1050 x.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Try looking in the older pages. There was one here a few days ago. That thread is 4 years old.

Try search this site for Forrest. Lots of folks like to flame it, so you'll get a lot of threads. I have one and really like it. I didn't want to post and get my Forrest flamed.:eek: Sad pun, I know.....

[Glen Butler]

The short answer is there is no single blade that will give you perfect cuts in everything. If you want to just buy one, look for a combination blade.

[scott spencer]

Your saw will benefit from a good 3/32" thin kerf blade.

You can choose separate task specific blades that perform very well in a narrow operating range, or more of a “do-all” general purpose blade that will give “good” results in most applications but excel at none, or choose a variation that combines both philosophies. These philosophies all have merit depending on the situation, your preference, budget, and cutting objectives. A decent purebred 60-80 tooth crosscut blade will certainly make “cleaner” crosscuts than a 30, 40 or 50 tooth general purpose blade of comparable quality. Inversely, a 24 tooth bulk ripper will certainly be more efficient at ripping thick material than the general purpose (GP) style blade. The key to “better” depends on how you define that term. Better performance in one aspect of cutting doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a better choice overall. Consider both sides of the equation before making a decision.

Taking the approach of using task specific blades requires owning at least two blades that each excel in a limited operating region, and are typically unacceptable for tasks outside of their intended scope. They also require blade changes for each different task for optimum results. Two task-specific blades (typically a 24T ripper and a 60T or 80T crosscutter) will generally stay sharp longer than a single general purpose blade because they share the work load, but will cost more upfront and will also cost more to re-sharpen when the time comes. A general purpose blade will neither rip as efficiently as a true rip blade nor crosscut as cleanly as a dedicated crosscut blade, but you may find that it’s more than acceptable at doing both tasks for most situations. A valid argument in favor of using one high quality general purpose blade is that the GP blade leaves a cleaner edge than the rip blade, crosscuts faster than a crosscut blade, and does so with the convenience and cost of using one blade. Most higher quality general purpose blades will leave a glue ready edge, which is often as good as it needs to be. If you happen to do a lot of specialty cutting of fine veneered plywoods, veneers, melamine, MDF, plastics, etc., a blade made specifically for these materials is definitely recommended. If you tend to rip very thick dense materials regularly, then a dedicated ripping blade is a wise choice for you right from the start. Sooner a later a decent general purpose blade will be useful, so it’s always a reasonable starting point IMO, even if you pursue separates later.

Breaking from convention, it’s also possible to choose separate blades that offer different regions of excellence than the conventional dedicated 24T bulk ripper and 80T fine crosscut blade. Even though the majority of general purpose/combination blades have 40T or 50T, there are some blades with 30T and 60T that offer more versatility than standard 24T and 80T separates, and can be used in a somewhat limited general purpose capacity. A 30T blade with an ATB grind and a steep positive hook angle (like the Forrest 30T WWII & DeWalt DW7653) will rip more efficiently than comparably designed 40T general purpose blade in materials up to 3” (given suitable power), will make cleaner rips than a standard 24T ripper, and may even crosscut acceptably well in many situations. The weakness of the 30T blade is that it won’t perform well for fine crosscut or fine plywood type duties, but it will give “glue line” cuts and more versatility than a standard 24T ripper, which potentially means fewer blade changes and acceptable performance in a wider region. A good blade of this type will be suitable for wide range of tasks that don’t require fine finish cuts. Inversely, a good quality 60T ATB blade with a positive hook angle will make cleaner rips up to ~ 1-1/2”, will make cleaner crosscuts and ply cuts than a conventional 40T ATB general purpose or 50T ATB/R combo blade, and is a good choice where cleaner cuts and lower ripping efficiency are suitable. The weakness of the 60T blade will be loss of efficiency in thicker ripping, causing bogging of the saw and more burning. The combination of the 30T and 60T blades offers increased range over a standard 40T or 50T GP blade, and better versatility than standard 24T and 80T separates. Depending on your situation, a good 30T or 60T blade may be suitable as the only blade you’ll need, and the two blades combined will “tag-team” to cover a very wide range of tasks extremely well, yet can still be left on the saw with little need to be changed for most tasks….sort of a “best of both worlds” scenario.

[Don Morris]

Scott as usual has answered your question well. One other thought that you should keep in mind as you get into this crazy subject is: if you ever pick up a compound miter saw (don't ask me why I add this thought as if I ever made this potentially costly mistake), don't think it's smart to interchange the blade with your TS. They may have the same arbor size and you can physically do it, but since the CMS spins slower, those blade tips are designed differently and aren't as efficient as the faster spinning TS blades. The vice versa is true too. That's why when you go on the Forest web site they offer the WWII for Table Saws and the Chopmaster line for Compound miter saws.

[Andrew W. Thomas]

I was pondering the same thing about a week ago and found multiple threads on the subject. The Rockler site below also helped me figure out all the jargon associated with blades...

http://www.rockler.com/articles/display_article.cfm?story_id=72

[Lee Schierer]

I recommend a Freud LU82M (http://www.freudtools.com/p-28-heavy-duty-multi-purposebr-nbsp.aspx) It does an excellent job cutting plywood and also makes rip cuts that are glue joint ready if your saw is well tuned. Rockler has them for $40.

[Myk Rian]

Cripe. I got slammed the other day suggesting to someone to search the forum for an answer.

Anyway, I use a Freud 50 tooth combo thin kerf for most cuts, changing it when I want a precise crosscut or am doing some heavy ripping.

[Vic Damone]

Cripe. I got slammed the other day suggesting to someone to search the forum for an answer.

Myk, sorry bout that. Mine was the first response to your, "do a search," suggestion. In hindsight I feel as though I started the snow ball a' rolling down the hill. I apologize, as that wasn't my intension, I simply didn't know about that old safety recall. On the other hand that recall is news in nature as opposed to the information gathering of a known subject such as a saw blade. Again I apologize.

[Tom Henderson2]

If ever there was an FAQ for saw blade selection, Scott Spencer's post would be the one. Nice job Scott; comprehensive yet concise.

I would only add one thing; buy an inexpensive blade to use for non-crtical cuts. By that I mean cuts for rough sizing, shop jigs, etc that don't need to look nice. Decent all-purpose blades can be had for not much money, and by using them for the unimportant stuff, you will greatly extend the life of your "good" blades.

I have a Hitachi all-purpose blade that I got on sale for around $20 that I use for this kind of work; it does a darn nice job.

Keep on the lookout for sale prices on good blades; you can save a lot of money.

[Glen Butler]

I was lazy today and didn't want to change the blade. I got a very nice crosscut from my TCG ripping blade. Though is was recently sharpened.

Thanks for your post Scott I gave the short answer, because I know how long those long answers can take to type. You said it well.