New guy here, new table saw, blade questions

[Jason Adkins]

Just put my new table saw on layaway at sears. its a C-man 21833. 3 easy payments and it will be mine Unfortunately by the time I can get it home my mustang will be in the garage for the winter and Ill have to improvise shop space. All the reviews say the saw is great for a $500 saw (and i got a pretty good price on it, 425 before tax), but the blade it comes with is not fit to be put on a saw. I got a rebate for a free C-man professional 24t carbide ripping blade. Obviously ill want something finer as well, but will the craftsman do an acceptable job or should I make a clock out of it as well as the packed-in blade? http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_10155_12602_00932862000P?keyword=32862&sLevel=0&prop17=32862

[Dan Friedrichs]

Hi Jason - welcome to SMC.

I have no idea about that particular blade, but here's a link to a older thread where Scott Spencer did an amazing, thorough review of nearly every 10" blade you'd ever think of buying:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=61724
(http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=61724)

Maybe that will give you some ideas of what kind of crosscut blade you'd like to buy, and once you've experienced some nicer blades, you can judge for yourself if those C-man ones are any good.

[Rob Price]

When I got my ridgid 3650 I upgraded to a $30 Freud combo thin kerf blade that was worth every dollar. I also had a porter cable razor that was very nice until i bent it doing something stupid. I was hesitant to drop more on a blade at the time. There are better blades out there but they get costly.

[Nathan Callender]

IME, I don't like thin kerf blades. Unless you have a specific need for one, I would recommend using a full kerf blade on that saw. I have a ridgid 3650 1.5hp and the full kerf blade will cut anything as long as I feed it properly. My thin kerf blades flexed and vibrated too much for a smooth, straight cut. I got a Freud combo blade for $40 from amazon which has been a good blade so far after a year of use. There are better blades so take your pick, but I would avoid anything you can buy in the home centers. Buy one with a solid review online or from a real woodworking store.

Just my 0.02.

[Jason Adkins]

WOW dan, great link. Ill have to be doing some research in that thread. The craftsman blade that im getting for free seems to be getting good reviews. im thinking about picking up a 50t combo and 80t fine blade. I have a 10 inch sliding compound miter saw as well so with 24, 50, and 80t blades there shouldnt be too much I cant tackle

[Van Huskey]

WOW dan, great link. Ill have to be doing some research in that thread. The craftsman blade that im getting for free seems to be getting good reviews. im thinking about picking up a 50t combo and 80t fine blade. I have a 10 inch sliding compound miter saw as well so with 24, 50, and 80t blades there shouldnt be too much I cant tackle

Before I spent the money on a 50 and 80T blade I would get a high quality 40 tooth combo blade. Either the P410 Fusion from Freud, the WWII from Forrest, the Infinity Super General or Tenyru Gold Medal any of these high quality blades will amaze you with their versatility and cut quality in just about any situation. Personally for your saw I think the thin kerf P410T is a great blade and cheaper than the competition but I am personally not a fan of full kerf blades on less than 2hp saws. The better blades have less issues with vibration in my experience.

[Lee Schierer]

I also have a Craftsman saw and you are going to want a thin kerf blade for ripping as the Hp claims of Craftsman are usually over rated. Personally I like the Freud 24 tooth LU87R010 available from Rockler for less than $40. For cross cutting get a Freud LU82M. It does an excellent job cross cutting and will also do occasional rips on thinner wood with a slow feed rate. It also goes on sale at Rockler for about $40.

[scott spencer]

The 24T blade that you've got coming appears to be made by Freud in Italy, and is a thin kerf blade....likely in the 3/32" range. It's very comparable to the former Freud TK/Avanti line that's been discontinued (don't confuse that line with the Chinese knockoff "Avanti" and "Avanti Pro" line that HD is now selling...those are not by Freud and are mediocre blades at best). It should be a pretty good rip blade, but won't crosscut well, and won't leave a particularly smooth edge... it may be smooth enough for glue up as is, but you're going to want to add a smoother cutting blade to compliment it. A 1/8" full kerf blade is 33% thicker than a 3/32" thin kerf blade, and adds more strain on your saw, more noise, and more saw dust. If you stick with the higher quality blades, a good thin kerf will work very well. In recent years the technology of TK blades has advanced a lot, and several magazines have been found them to work comparably to good full kerf blades...Fine Woodworking, Popular Woodworking, Wood, American Woodworker, and others. You shouldn't even need a stabilizer unless there's some runout or vibration caused by the saw. It's important to be sure that the blade mates well with the stock riving knife on your saw...most 3/32" TKs or 1/8" full kerf blades should work well with it. Because your saw is left tilt, the 0" reference on the tape measure may get thrown off by different blade kerf thicknesses...better to pick one kerf width and try to stick with it. The saw's end performance is heavily influenced by blade choice and proper setup, so be picky about both factors. You'll get better cuts if the lumber you use is straight and flat, which typically means it needs to be worked on a jointer and/or planer, hand plane or other work around to flatten and straighten.

Companies like Ridge Carbide, Infinity, Forrest, CMT, and Freud offer some excellent TK choices. You might want to read up on picking saw blades (http://lumberjocks.com/knotscott/blog/12395) to decide which direction to head with them. The Infinity 010-060 Hi-ATB 60T is excellent and would be a super compliments to your 24T ripper....the 60T is an excellent blade for plywood, sheetgoods, and fine crosscuts in hardwoods, but will also rip efficiently enough to leave very clean edges in 1" to 5/4" material, so will serve extremely well as a general purpose blade with a hint of specialty blade performance. Then you can switch to the 24T for heavier ripping. You'll get a lot of excellent coverage from those two blades. Other great choices are the Forrest WWII 40T TK or WWI Hi-ATB 60T, Ridge Carbide TS2000TK, 50T Infinity Combomax Lite (010-150), Freud Premier Fusion TK, Freud Industrial LU88 60T or LU86 40T, or CMT 214.040.10 40T or 50T 216.050.10.

You might want to look into a precision aftermarket miter gauge at some point. The Incra V27 is a very nice gauge for ~ $50. There are more great choices in the $100 range.

Good luck and work safe!

[Will Overton]

I also have a Craftsman saw and you are going to want a thin kerf blade for ripping as the Hp claims of Craftsman are usually over rated.

That is not true with the saws made by Orion. I have nothing against thin kerf blades, although I used nothing but full kerf on my zip code saw, but recommending them base on what used to be is not valid.

Thin kerf blades in the home workshop are a relatively [depends how old you are] new thing. Before they came along folks used full kerf blades on saws powered with old washing machine motors. Motors used to be an option when you bought as saw. All you needed was a sharp blade and common sense.

Thin kerf blades have come a long way since they first appeared. As mentioned above, the higher quality blades should work just fine.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I have a ridgid 3650 1.5hp and the full kerf blade will cut anything as long as I feed it properly. My thin kerf blades flexed and vibrated too much for a smooth, straight cut.
I have a Ridgid 3660 - same saw as the 3650.
My experience w/thin kerf blades in it has been exactly the same.

I picked up a Freud Glue Line Rip blade LM74R010
Which BTW is on sale right now @ Amazon for $58.99, so I just orderd another.
FWIW - the 74M010 (Same basic blade as the above, but w/the Silver Ice coating)is on sale for $51. something.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Be sure and check out the Delta 7657 for $17 (cripedistributing.com). I run one everyday on my saw, only comes off for sheet goods that I use a HATB blade for.

[Cary Falk]

Be sure and check out the Delta 7657 for $17 (cripedistributing.com). I run one everyday on my saw, only comes off for sheet goods that I use a HATB blade for.
Amazon has it for $14.55 and $4.59 shipping through Toolking

[scott spencer]

Be sure and check out the Delta 7657 for $17 (cripedistributing.com). I run one everyday on my saw, only comes off for sheet goods that I use a HATB blade for.

Amazon has it for $14.55 and $4.59 shipping through Toolking

Amazon/Tool King actually has the original DeWalt DW7657 made in the UK...note that both are full kerf blades though with a kerf of 0.118".

[Jason Adkins]

Picked it up today. got it home and in the garage, but its WAY too cold to put it together today