Best 10" table saw blades

[Milind Patil]

I am not sure if this topic has been chewed on this forum already. Can experienced folks here suggest the best 10" table saw blades that will give super clean cuts ? And is there not any blade that can give joint quality cuts for both ripping and cross cutting (so that I don't need to deal with multiple blades with multiple tasks). I really hate changing the blades (no matter how easy it is).

[Bill White]

I use a Freud 50t general purpose blade on my TS, but for glue line ripping, I have a dedicated blade. For precise crosscutting...dedicated blade there too. There is no universal answer for specific applications (dang that sounded prophetic).
Bill

[Milind Patil]

Does anyone have experience with Forrest WW II 40T blade ? The Forrest web site touts this single blade replaces both rip and cross cut blades (although they themselve call it a "Ripping" blade). It is on sale at Rockler for $92.

[Keith Young]

I use the Freud Glue Line Rip 30T, makes very clean cuts. I do not cross cut with it, but have cut tenon shoulders with very good results.

Keith

[Myk Rian]

I use a Freud 50t general purpose blade on my TS, but for glue line ripping, I have a dedicated blade. For precise crosscutting...dedicated blade there too. There is no universal answer for specific applications (dang that sounded prophetic).
Bill
Same here. I have a Freud glue line rip and cabinet makers crosscut. Plus a few others.

[Chuck Isaacson]

It is all about what you are willing to spend as well. I just bought a Freud Premier Fusion 40T Combo blade and love it. It is an ATB blade, thought I wish it was Triple Chip or #1 to leave a flat bottom. I would like to have the flat teeth for cutting small tenons and what not. A ton of people use the WWII and love it. I personally have not used one but have thought about getting one. But right now for my money, if I had to do it again, I would get another Freud.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Does anyone have experience with Forrest WW II 40T blade ? The Forrest web site touts this single blade replaces both rip and cross cut blades (although they themselve call it a "Ripping" blade). It is on sale at Rockler for $92.

I've got 2 of them. One on the saw when the other is out for sharpening. Also have the WWII 30t for stuff like 8/4 HM, and the 80t ATB for fine-quality panels, but the WWII 40t is on the saw most of the time. $92 is an excellent price. They are excellent blades - you cannot go wrong. I cannot compare them to others, because the WWII was my first blade, and I have never had any reason to try a different brand.

Oh yeah - and their dado set, and 2 @ 12" chopmaster for the CMS. I like to have sharp blades :D

EDIT: Just noticed your location. Taj Mahal: "She caught the Katy, and left me a mule to ride............"

[glenn bradley]

Does anyone have experience with Forrest WW II 40T blade ? The Forrest web site touts this single blade replaces both rip and cross cut blades (although they themselve call it a "Ripping" blade). It is on sale at Rockler for $92.

Many will beg to differ but, I use my WWII for rough cuts. A very expensive general purpose blade in my experience. I run a Freud 24t for rips ($24 on sale via Amazon, regularly around $40) and an 80t for crosscuts ($38 on sale, regularly around $55). I have the WWII and another 40t for bringing things to rough size or sizing particle board, MDF and the like and am glad to have them.

These are all thin kerf blades. The 80T is on sale at Rockler online right now. I just ordered another one as it is not much more than sharpening one of my current ones.

[mreza Salav]

Many will beg to differ but, I use my WWII for rough cuts. A very expensive general purpose blade in my experience. I run a Freud 24t for rips ($24 on sale via Amazon, regularly around $40) and an 80t for crosscuts ($38 on sale, regularly around $55). I have the WWII and another 40t for bringing things to rough size or sizing particle board, MDF and the like and am glad to have them.

These are all thin kerf blades. The 80T is on sale at Rockler online right now. I just ordered another one as it is not much more than sharpening one of my current ones.

I think FWWII is overhyped. They are good but not excellent. I used one for a while and didn't like it. Sold it and got a Freud Fusion. It's similar but better IMO. I have also a titanium general purpose blade form Sawstop and I think it's an excellent blade (comparable to the Freud Fusion, and BETTER than FWWII). I have use it for almost all the cuts, except when I want to do a lot of ripping in 2" stock I switch to a freud rip blade. I don't need any cross-cutting blade as I get good enough results with the 40t blades.

Having said all these, there is NO single blade that is excellent in all purposes, if that's what you are looking for.

[Brian Kent]

Does anyone have experience with Forrest WW II 40T blade ? The Forrest web site touts this single blade replaces both rip and cross cut blades (although they themselve call it a "Ripping" blade). It is on sale at Rockler for $92.

I have it, use it for everything, have never needed any other blade since I bought that one. There are surely others as good, but I am completely satisfied.

[Mikail Khan]

I have one blade - WWII.

Got my last 2 on sale @ amazon - $69 and $72 respectively. I've never used Freud blades so I can't say how they compare.

If you are thinking about using a thin kerf blade find out how it will work with your riving knife before you buy.

MK

[Dave Cav]

In my cabinet saws I'm moving toward using combinations blades like the Systimatic 37102, Freud LU84, Amana 610504 or Oshlun SBW for almost everything except heavy ripping, when I switch to a regular rip blade, usually always in the 12" saw. The combination blades have a raker tooth that gives a flat bottom cut.

If I did a lot of sheet goods or man made materials I would probably use something with an ATB-high grind. I've never used a Forrest blade, and unless someone gives me one, don't plan to.

[scott spencer]

The WWII 40T is an excellent general purpose (GP) blade, as are the Infinity Super General, Ridge Carbide TS2000, Tenyru Gold Medal, Infinity Combomax, and from what I've read and seen, the Freud Fusion is in that league. The strength of these GP/combo blades is versatility, but they don't offer excellent performance in any given area. A good quality dedicated rip blade will undoubtedly offer a more efficient cut than a 40T GP blade, and a good quality 60T or 80T crosscut blade will undoubtedly leave a cleaner cut than a 40T GP blade. However, there's never a free lunch...the rip blade that cuts faster will leave a rougher cut than a 40T blade, plus it has very limited useful operating range. The dedicated crosscut blades will cut cleaner than a 40T GP blade, but will cut slower with higher resistance to the saw, and will have a higher chance of burning the wood....the crosscut blade also offers limited operating range.

If you truly want excellent performance in all regions from thick ripping to fine crosscuts and plywood, you're going to need at least two blades. Otherwise you need to be willing to accept the limitations of one good GP blade.

More detail about blade selection here (http://lumberjocks.com/knotscott/blog/12395).

[Myk Rian]

I'm finding this Diablo framing blade makes excellent cuts in everything.
http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardware-Power-Tool-Accessories-Saw-Blades/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xi0Zb8n9/R-100008676/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

[Chris Kennedy]

I have had good experience with anything that Freud makes that is sharp -- blades, router bits -- you get the idea. I don't have any of the really high end blades, but I get very good results with $30-40 Freuds. That being the case, their $80-100 blades must be fantastic.

Cheers,

Chris

[Nathan Callender]

I have had good experience with anything that Freud makes that is sharp -- blades, router bits -- you get the idea. I don't have any of the really high end blades, but I get very good results with $30-40 Freuds. That being the case, their $80-100 blades must be fantastic.

I do the same thing - a general purpose combo full kerf freud is about all I use because I get great enough results with it to not warrant the use of anything else. I'm wondering how much better the $100 blades really are.

[Jerry Olexa]

I've had good results with my Forest WW2....

[Philip Johnson]

I have had Forest ww 2 blades on my saws for the last 20 years or more and leave it on for everything. Have the dado set too. I am sure there are other good blades but I am happy with them so look no further.

Phil

[Milind Patil]

I was really looking for a single blade that will give excellent (I mean best possible) results in both ripping and cross cutting operations. Price not issue. But what I am hearing is that there is no such thing. Either I accept the limitation of a general purpose which is pretty good, but not the best possible, or I deal with two blades, which will give me the best possible performance, at the cost of enduring inconvenience of changing blades.

I really don't like changing blades much. So I guess I may have to go for all three. I will have a very good GP blade which will give me, in general, great results, and will stay on the saw by default. But occassionally when I need absolutely best results in ripping or cross cutting, then will have to temporarily switch to specific blade.

I guess that concludes this thread.

[Chip Lindley]

Hard to beat FREUD! Readily available at very competitive prices. 50T Combo is my all around fav! 80T ATB for very fine trim work.

[Glen Butler]

Hard to beat FREUD! Readily available at very competitive prices. 50T Combo is my all around fav! 80T ATB for very fine trim work.

While I find this statement true, the kicker is "readily available at competitive prices." Tenryu IMO makes a better blade, but is also more expensive and harder to come by.

[Bill Pitz]

I'm currently using a CMT ITK 50T combo blade that I found at Lowes, at it cuts really nicely. I should mention that I'm mainly cutting ply at the moment, but this thing cuts way better than any other $40 blade I've used.

[Van Huskey]

If you want 1 blade then either the Freud P410 (my favorite and they just released the thin kerf version), the Forrest WWII 40T combo, my second fav and third would be the Tenryu Gold Medal combo. All of these are great blades and quite close in quality and price.

[Jeff Mackay]

My vote: a really sharp one. :) :)

I like Tenryu. I have a 40t combination that needs sharpening. Excellent quality, and amazingly quiet, but hard to find. You also can't go wrong with Forrest--I have a WWII that I'd say cuts as well as the Tenryu, but is not as quiet. It's the main blade I'm using now. When I need to do a lot of ripping, I use a Freud 24t rip blade, that I really need to send out for sharpening.

My Makita came with an 80t Tenryu blade, and it lasted me about 5 years. I replaced it with a Forrest 80t.

For dados, I have a Freud dado set--may upgrade that to a Forrest set at some point in the near future.

[Nick Mastropietro]

My go to blade is the Freud Fusion, for $99.00 it's a fantastic choice. Now if I'm going to match the blade to the job, I like Jeff favor the Tenryu blades. You won't be sorry if you purchase any of these blades.

[scott spencer]

I was really looking for a single blade that will give excellent (I mean best possible) results in both ripping and cross cutting operations. Price not issue. But what I am hearing is that there is no such thing. Either I accept the limitation of a general purpose which is pretty good, but not the best possible, or I deal with two blades, which will give me the best possible performance, at the cost of enduring inconvenience of changing blades.

I really don't like changing blades much. So I guess I may have to go for all three. I will have a very good GP blade which will give me, in general, great results, and will stay on the saw by default. But occassionally when I need absolutely best results in ripping or cross cutting, then will have to temporarily switch to specific blade.

I guess that concludes this thread.

Milind - There are strengths and weaknesses even within the subgroup of premium general purpose blades. Some are more efficient ripping, while others are stronger with fine crosscuts and ply work...efficient ripping and clean crosscutting are really opposing design objectives. The very characteristics that make the blade more efficient at ripping, make it have greater tearout on crosscuts and ply, and the characteristics that give some blades very low tearout tend to make them less efficient at ripping. Within this classication, the WWII, TS2000, and Gold Medal are all fairly similar ATB grinds that are stronger at ripping than fine crosscuts (the TS2000 and one of the optional WWII grinds includes a flat raker in the mix with the ATB grind). Inversely, the Super General and Fusion have dual side grinds and a Hi-ATB grind that excel at fine crosscuts/ply cuts and very smooth edges when ripping, but they're less efficient in thicker ripping operations. Within this class either type can be the best performer depending on the particular task, but none are best at both ends of the spectrum by virtue of the limitations of any given design.

The traditional choices for using separate blades are a 24T ripper, and an 80T crosscut/ply blade. Some folks add a general purpose/combo blade and/or a specialty ply blade to the same mix to ensure excellent performance in all tasks...obviously a more expensive choice that requires frequent blade changes.

It's possible to go with a 30T and a 60T blade set that spreads the range of excellence relative to single 40/50T GP/combo blade, yet they don't require the frequent blade changes of a 24T/80T scenario. The Forrest 30T WWII is nearly as clean cutting as the 40T, and is notably more efficient in thick ripping in thicknesses approaching full blade height. It'll come close to the efficiency of a standard 24T ripper, has a cleaner cut than a 24T ripper, and even offers acceptable crosscuts in many situations. It's obvious weakness is in fine crosscuts and ply, where even the 40T isn't overly strong. A good 60T blade like the Forrest WWI or Infinity 010-060 offer a Hi-ATB grind with a positive hook angle that offers excellent fine crossuts and ply cuts, and very clean rips up to ~ 5/4", which covers ripping of most commonly used thicknesses. Each is suitable for most common general purpose work, yet each also offers a taste of the purebred performance of the separates but with much greater range. They're an excellent complement to each other. Whichever blade is in the saw should be very suitable most of the time, but you'll still have really strong performance at each extreme if you switch them accordingly, which is likely to be the minority of cuts.


Food for thought...

[Jacob Reverb]

I like the $60 Freud LU84 50-tooth ATB&R combo blade.

If I'm doing a lot of ripping, I use a fairly cheap (at Lowe's) Irwin TK ripping blade and the rips are glue-line quality (not that that's saying all that much)...

[David Helm]

I've been using Systematic blades for over 20 years; generally rip in the cabinet saw and 80t in the CMS. I buy them from my friend at the saw shop and keep them sharp at the same place; one on the tool and one in the shop.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I have a 40T Forrest WWII. If I had only 1 blade, that would be it. Overhyped maybe, but definetely one of the best blades out there IMO.

I also have Freud Glue line rip, 60T cross and 40T combo. Yes, the Glue line rips better and the 60 gives better cross cuts.

[Milind Patil]

Scott, I completely agree with you (actually, you just put into words what I was thinking, well, OK, close to what I was thinking !).

I think I am going to choose a best general purpose blade (I am thinking of Forrest WWII 40T) which will cover most of my work and will be on the saw all the time. In addition, I will have a 24T for best ripping and a 80T or 96T for best cross cutting which will be reserved for rare "minority" supercuts.

[Jim Foster]

I use WWIIs and like them.

Off track: Has Freud improved in the last twenty years? In the late eighties/early nineties I did not like anything I got from Freud. WoodWorker II was the first blade I put on my tablesaw that could put a smile on my face, so I've stuck with this brand for many years. These days I see a lot of members that favor Freud. I'm thinking I should buy a Freud blade and give the brand a fresh try.

[scott spencer]

I use WWIIs and like them.

Off track: Has Freud improved in the last twenty years? In the late eigties/early nineties I did not like anything I got from Freud. WoodWorker II was the first blade I put on my tablesaw that could put a smile on my face, so I've stuck with this brand for many years. These days I see a lot of members that favor Freud. I'm thinking I should buy a Freud blade and give the brand a fresh try.

Never tried a Freud blade prior to 2002, have tried several to date and have never had a serious complaint...most have been really good for the price point and blade type. Note that they have more than one line...I'd suggest trying their best, the Premier line which includes the P410 Fusion.

[Rick Markham]

I've used a 10" WWII 40T Full 1/8" Kerf, on a 1 & 3/4 hp Ridgid table saw for the last 8 years, I use it for everything. I've done rip cuts on 9 foot long 12/4 Purpleheart with no problems, and edge laminated them for a bar top. I have never had any problems with mine, and if I needed a new one I definitely wouldn't hesitate to buy another. I have a freud Diablo, that's brand new that is sitting in my tool chest for at least 7 of those 8 years. I just have never needed it. For the folks that have used the WWII and aren't impressed, you didn't happen to lay the blade on it's side on your cast iron table did you? If you did, you broke the tips of the carbide teeth off, hence why it didn't perform to expectations. ;)

[Mike Wellner]

Another vote for Freuds GluLam blade

[rocky brown]

i too, hate changing blades. i went through a bunch of different blades til i finally ordered a wwll 30 tooth and i don't remember ever changing to another blade. i did spend a lot of time making sure my saw was set up properly.

[Jon Todd]

I am not sure if this topic has been chewed on this forum already. Can experienced folks here suggest the best 10" table saw blades that will give super clean cuts ? And is there not any blade that can give joint quality cuts for both ripping and cross cutting (so that I don't need to deal with multiple blades with multiple tasks). I really hate changing the blades (no matter how easy it is).

Does anyone ever do a search here ?

[David Hostetler]

I've got the Freud Diablo 40T and am very happy with its performance.

[Tom Esh]

...i finally ordered a wwll 30 tooth and i don't remember ever changing to another blade....

+1.
The 40T seems to get all the hype, but IMO the 30T is much more of a do-all blade.

[Kurt Cady]

I read all the older blade threads. Damn Scott, you really researched and know your blades!!

Has anyone tried the Oshlun blades? Maybe you can try one Scott and let us know what YOU think.

I just ordered and received the 50T combo. I think it was $27 at Amazon. I love their dado blade set as do others.

Reading on their site it's kerf is 0.11. About half-way between thin and full kerf. C4 carbide. Just doesn't have the anti-whatever coating.

I'll be trying it soon, but my opinion is worth beans seeing as I've never used anything you guys are talking about.

[Brian Penning]

Does anyone ever do a search here ?


Why? When you just have to ask the question.....:rolleyes:

I like my WWII not just for the cut but it also withstood not 1 but 2 shots of my SawStop brake.

[Callan Campbell]

Why? When you just have to ask the question.....:rolleyes:

I like my WWII not just for the cut but it also withstood not 1 but 2 shots of my SawStop brake.
Okayyyy, you opened the door on THAT one. What the heck happened to you that the SS brake system was triggered twice. PS< we all hope you're totally OK and have all fingers intact:):):)

[scott spencer]

I read all the older blade threads. Damn Scott, you really researched and know your blades!!

Has anyone tried the Oshlun blades? Maybe you can try one Scott and let us know what YOU think.

I just ordered and received the 50T combo. I think it was $27 at Amazon. I love their dado blade set as do others.

Reading on their site it's kerf is 0.11. About half-way between thin and full kerf. C4 carbide. Just doesn't have the anti-whatever coating.

I'll be trying it soon, but my opinion is worth beans seeing as I've never used anything you guys are talking about.

I've had a 40T Oshlun full kerf general purpose blade for over a year now and find it to be a very good blade and a great value. It's surprisingly well made, with large C4 carbide and copper silencer plugs. It's not quite to the level of a premium Infinity Super General or WWII (few are), but @ ~$25 shipped, it's a solid performer on it's own merit and is dirt cheap comparatively. Holbren offers 10% with "SMC10" discount code, low shipping/free s/h on orders of $75.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I like my WWII not just for the cut but it also withstood not 1 but 2 shots of my SawStop brake.

That's good to know.... Not that I ever hope to use my brake.

[Don Morris]

To answer Jon Todd, yes I do "searches". Sometimes happy, sometimes not, sometimes forget to before I ask the question. But you're right, that should be the first thing to come to mind, but right after one of those "bad" searches, you're kind of turned off to using the search function.

I'm a WWII fan. Good all around blade and unless I'm going to do a lot of ripping on stuff that's not great quality wood, I don't want to spend time changing blades...or if I'm cutting melamine, e.g. may switch to blade for that type of material. I haven't got the $$$ to spend trying different blades. The WWII works so well I don't try to "fix it".

[Wayne A Hall]

I have used Freud for years without any problems. Just for the heck of it, I bought a couple of Tenryu rapid cut (thin kerf) blades recently. Boy are they nice. Popped the 24 tooth one in the table saw recently and buzzed through red oak and southern yellow pine with no problem. They aren't much to look at but I was impressed with the quality of the cut.

[William Bell]

I have a a Forest WW II 40 tooth on a Powermatic 66 since 1990. It has been sharpened 3 times a great blade in my IMO. I also have the Forrest Dado set. None compare to it, but than again it was almost 300 dollars 20 years. ago. Have both Forrest chopaws blades on a 10 and 12 inch saw and a 12 inch blade on a DeWalt 7790 RAS. I love all of them. Freud makes an excellent product but if I could only pick one blade it would be a Forrest. My friend who is a professional woodworker in Vail, Colorado used to use Freud blades until I turned him on to Forrest. He now has the Forrest blades on of of his eqiupment including a $40,000- Altendorf and $20,000 Martin sliding table saw. He claims in his view there is no comparison.

[Brian Penning]

Okayyyy, you opened the door on THAT one. What the heck happened to you that the SS brake system was triggered twice. PS< we all hope you're totally OK and have all fingers intact:):):)


Wasn't my fault -was stupid mitre gauge's fault! :D
Couldn't even find the spot where the blade hit the gauge.

[Barry wines]

I have the Tenru Gold Medal and it makes extremly smooth cuts although it will burn the wood if you stop during the cut.

[Jaze Derr]

I guess if you really don't like changing blades, you could always buy more saws, each with their own blade!

Well, that's what the crazy router people do, right? :)

[Jim Lankford]

No one ever use an Amana blade! I had a picture frame cutting machine and it was a great cut! I think it was 100 teeth carbide!

[Jack Lemley]

+1 for Forrest. Use a 10" on my SS Mark 5 Power Pro and the chopmaster on my Bosch 10" radial slider. I occasionally use a Freud thin kerf glueline for a lot of hardwood ripping but Forrest stays on the saw 99% of the time. Cosscuts, rips, vineer ply, etc.

Jack


I've got 2 of them. One on the saw when the other is out for sharpening. Also have the WWII 30t for stuff like 8/4 HM, and the 80t ATB for fine-quality panels, but the WWII 40t is on the saw most of the time. $92 is an excellent price. They are excellent blades - you cannot go wrong. I cannot compare them to others, because the WWII was my first blade, and I have never had any reason to try a different brand.

Oh yeah - and their dado set, and 2 @ 12" chopmaster for the CMS. I like to have sharp blades :D

EDIT: Just noticed your location. Taj Mahal: "She caught the Katy, and left me a mule to ride............"

[Martin Wasner]

I guess if you really don't like changing blades, you could always buy more saws, each with their own blade!

Well, that's what the crazy router people do, right? :)


Old post I know, but that's what I do.
Way easier.

I don't change router bits either.

[Andrew Hughes]

The only thing we are going to get out of a old post like this is how much blades have gone up in price.
Other then that it's just another p---ing contest!

Aj

[Patrick Harper]

I also have the Forrest WW II 40T combo blade. I love it. I've been using it about a year and it hasn't shown any sign of needing to be sharpened yet.

I just ordered a square-grind and dove-tail grind blade from Ridge Carbide. They had a booth at a local show recently, and I was impressed with what I saw. I'll give a review after a few months of use.

[Jim Dwight]

It's old but I'm bored this evening so I read through it. I'm surprised nobody mentioned the hp of the saw. My little Ryobi 3100 has a 15A universal motor. It will rip 3.5 inches deep in hardwood but not with a general purpose blade. I pretty much have to use a 24 tooth ripping blade for deep rips. I suspect a saw with a 5 hp motor would be able to manage deeper rips with a combination blade. I like 50 tooth general purpose blades with 40 of the teeth ATB and 10 flat topped rippers. I have them by Freud and DeWalt and both work well for most tasks. I have some all ATB blades but I think of them as more for crosscut applications which I normally don't do on the table saw.

I also prefer full kerf blades despite my saws limited power. I do not find that thin kerf blades cut with less power input. To me the important variables for getting by with limited horsepower are having a sharp clean blade and matching the blade to what you are doing. My 50 tooth blades stay on the saw most of the time but the Freud ripper is important. I don't do much sheet good work on the table saw after getting a track saw or I might want a higher tooth count ATB grind for that. If you want a really clean cut, I think it is best to use a freshly sharpened or new blade.