12" miter saw blade recommendations?

[Kevin Blunt]

Hello everyone,

I was at the CHW show and purchased a 12" ridgid scms. Although I haven't even taken it from th ebox yet I am planning to purchase a "good" blade at the Kitchener show. I was speaking with a gentleman representing freud and he recommended a freud LU91 blade. He said it was the best because it had a 5 degree negative hook on it.

I am just hoping to hear some opinions on what others are using and what any of you would recommend. I will be using the ridgid stock blade for the dirty work etc. and will be keeping my "good" blade for my "quality cuts". I am not opposed to purchasing a forrest or a ridge blade but the price gets pretty steep with 12" blades.

My other question is, is a negative hook angle the best bet for a scms. According to the freud rep it is but if that was the case why wouldn't the manufacturers just include a cheap negative hook blade ainstead of a cheap positive hook angle blade? The freud rep said the negative hook lessens the chanceof the workpiece lifting and it also it supposed to reduce tearout.

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Kevin

[Erik Christensen]

you really have to have a neg hook angle on a RAS/SCMS blade to keep it from grabbing the stock and trying to climb at you.

i have a 12" delta RAS with the ridge carbide blade and it flat out rocks - i cut everything with it - rough framing lumber, plywood drawer stock, face frames, picture frames, window molding, etc etc. the ridge blade cuts everything glass smooth and after a year of pretty heavy use it seems as sharp as when i first bought it. Rather than having a "rough" blade and a "finish" blade and the hassle of constantly changing them (and no matter WHAT you are doing you will ALWAYS have the 'wrong' blade installed) I would get 2 really nice finish blades - one on the saw and one out to be sharpened.

my 2 cents

[Kent A Bathurst]

I don't use my Forrest for cutting up pressure treated when doing outdoor projects - see no reason to let the chemicals grind down that nice blade. I put on the OEM one.

[scott spencer]

Kevin - It doesn't have to be a truly negative hook, but a low positive to negative hook is best....roughly +5 to -7°. Obviously the lower the hook, the less grabby the blade will be, but most under 7° or so are pretty manageable.

Kerf width is another consideration. I've long been a fan of high quality 10" thin kerf blades for underpowered table saws, but with a 12" span, a 3/32" kerf width stands a much greater chance of deflecting. Since crosscutting tends to put less strain on the motor than ripping anyway, there's less incentive to go with the thin kerf.

A high tooth count with a Hi-ATB grind will have the lowest tearout and cleanest cut. A regular ATB is also a good compromise between performance and longevity. If you cut very high volumes or cut a lot of known blade killers, a triple chip grind (TCG) would be a good choice.

I'd think something like the Freud LU80R012, Forrest Duraline, Infinity 012-090, CMT 219.090.12, or Ridge Carbide RS11280 would do well.

[Chris Padilla]

I have a Forrest Chopmaster on my DeWalt 12" CMS...NOT a slider. I'm not sure if the Chopmaster comes in a negative hook, however.