Best tablesaw blades for the money?

[Allen Bookout]

I am buying a new Jet 3HP 10" tablesaw and wondering what blades to buy. If you were going to buy just two blades to start out with what would they be?

[Karl Laustrup]

Forrest WWII. Can't believe the difference it made on my saw.

[Matt Meiser]

I am buying a new Jet 3HP 10" tablesaw and wondering what blades to buy. If you were going to buy just two blades to start out with what would they be?

If you insist on buying two, buy two Forrest WWII's. :)

Or buy one WWII and on fine-toothed blade specifically for cutting sheet goods but the WWII seems to be decent on them as well if used with a tight fitting zero clearance insert.

[Allen Bookout]

It seems like that the WW11's have it so far and I have seen simular comments. I should do some research before I ask more questions but are the WW11's both for ripping and cross cutting? Thanks!

[Chris Rosenberger]

It seems like that the WW11's have it so far and I have seen simular comments. I should do some research before I ask more questions but are the WW11's both for ripping and cross cutting? Thanks!

Yes. I bought my first WWII in 1989. It is the only blade I have used on my table saws since.
I rip & cross cut lumber & plywood with out any problem.

[Allen Bookout]

Thanks!!! It looks like that the WW11's have it. Unless I hear something different in the next two days or so I will be out about one hundred bucks for one blade. I do know that you are much better off with quality.

[Jim W. White]

OK, I guess I'll be the first one to go contrary to the trend.

I would go with Freud blades if it were my money. One ~36 tooth for ripping and one 60-80 tooth for cross cutting (depending on the thickness of the stock you normally deal with).

I think they are a sweet blade 'for the money' (which was part of your original question, I beleive :) )

..Jim in Idaho

[Jamie Buxton]

In terms of bang for the buck, I'd go with just one blade -- a full-kerf carbide-tooth combo blade from a name brand maker. One example is Freud's LU84 ($50 or so), but every blade maker has one. Combo blades do both ripping and cross-cutting reasonably well. Full-kerf (that is, 1/8") blades don't flop around the way thin-kerf blades do.

[Jay Knepper]

I somewhat prefer my Ridge Carbide combination blade to my Forrest. I cut my tenons on the table saw and the Ridge Carbide blade has chipper teeth that give cleaner shoulders than an ATB blade can.

The Ridge Carbide and Forrest blades both cut beautifully and cost about the same.

[Doug Shepard]

OK, I guess I'll be the first one to go contrary to the trend.

I would go with Freud blades if it were my money. One ~36 tooth for ripping and one 60-80 tooth for cross cutting (depending on the thickness of the stock you normally deal with).

I think they are a sweet blade 'for the money' (which was part of your original question, I beleive :) )

..Jim in Idaho

Jim - thanks for being the first to take a bullet for us non-WWII owners.:D
I might be tempted in the future to pick up a Forrest WWII, but right now I'm using 2 Freuds like you. An 80 tooth for crosscuts and sheet stuff. And a 24 tooth rip blade. Both are the full kerf red teflon type. I've been happy with both of them. About the only time I use something different is when cutting tenons or angled spline slots when I just use the combo blade that came with the PM66.

[lou sansone]

for the money freud blades have served me well, but like the rest I keep forrest blades on all my stationary tools

lou

[Ray Dockrey]

I bought the new DeWalt the other day and the cut is amazing. It is the 50 tooth combo blade. I paid about $55.00 for it and worth every penny. The cut looks like it has been through a joiner. I don't see how the WW II could be that much better for $50.00 more. The only thing I don't know is how long it will stay sharp. I know the WW II has a histary of staying sharp for a long time. Only time will tell.

[Steve Cox]

If I was buying only one, it would be a WWII. Having said that, it is not the everything blade. It depends on what you are going to do. If you do lots of ripping of thick stock (2" and up) you will definitely want a 36 tooth ripping blade. If you are cutting melamine or other sheet goods, a triple chip will make your life easier. If you cut rough wood (salvage and the like) a cheaper blade would be a good idea so you don't ruin your Forrest. I haven't found the need for a crosscut blade yet because the WWII does as good a job as I need. So, if you are doing general furniture work right now, get a WWII. After that, look at the speciality blades for specific work.

[scott spencer]

Forrest WWII 40T, and a good dedicated rip blade with a flat tooth grind... Forrest, Freud LM72 or CMT.

[John Renzetti]

Hi, I like the blades made by Guhdo of Germany. Normally the blades they sell have been in the larger 30mm bores for large sliders, but they have them in 10" size with 5/8" for table saws. Prices are pretty good in this size. They have a USA office in GA.
take care,
John

[Jim Becker]

I have to admit, I'm a Forrest fan. Run a 40t WW-II normally on the saw. Heavy ripping with a 20t rip version of the WW-II. Use the DadoKing for that kind of thing. The heavy, hard carbide on these blades stays sharper longer and gives you more sharpenings. That reduces your cost over time significantly over many blades. If I couldn't buy Forrest, I'd go with the premium Freud or Amana blades.

[Michael Perata]

For rips I don't think you can beat a Freud Glue Line Rip. I have gotten excellent service from my CMT 80T Cross.

DON'T USE THIN KERF BLADES. You have more than enough HP to use a real blade.

[Steve Cox]

Sometimes thin kerf is not just about the power. I actually have two WWII blades, one regular kerf and one thin. I have not had any problem with wobbling with the thin kerf. Just make sure the blade is spinning at full speed any time it is in contact with the wood. That 1/32" can really make a difference if you need a certain amount of yield from a board.

[Kent Cori]

Another vote for the WWII 40t regular kerf. I use mine for almost everything.

[Walt Pater]

I have had excellent, if not amazing, results with a 40t ripper from FS Tool (www.FSToolcorp.com ). I bought it from Dinosaw (www.dinosaw.com), a company I luckily work about 1/2 mile from. The blade was on my Bosch run-out TS, and ripped sheet goods, miles of pine, poplar, 5/4 white oak, 6/4 walnut, 8/4 birch, etc, etc, etc. I took it in for sharpening only because it had been on my TS for six months of daily use, and I figured that it MUST need sharpening. It was still cutting very cleanly, even crosscuts. It was 95 bucks, and worth every penny. I don't know about availability- maybe you can buy one from Dinosaw, who can also make any shaper knife/molding head/router bit you can configure. No affiliation- just plugging for a local (for me) business.

[jack duren]

AMANA makes good blades. find a good combination and ripping blade for starters. try freud for starters and work up after that.unless its a deal i only buy AMANA, and FORREST for the price is on the bottom of my list of recommendations.

try ebay for DELTA combination sawblades. good quality blade and a VERY reasonable price....jack

[everett lowell]

forrest,forrest,forrest!:)

[Dale Thompson]

Alan,
I, too, vote for the WWII blade. :) I've also had excellent luck with the Frued line of products. :) One additional thought though, if you want to get rid of your planer, try to get your hands on an Everlast "Astra" Wood-Kut AGP 1040. :cool:

I don't think that it is available on the commercial market. It is an industrial-type blade in the $70-80 range. Once again, if you love your planer, don't even THINK of this blade!! :D

Us retards up here in northern Wisconsin have a lot of spare time while our "home-brew" is cooking. We enjoy using hot-melt glue to fasten them there carbide tips to those old rusty blades that we have shined up by dipping them into our "kettle". We will set up a website on this blade as soon as one of us figures out how to use a slide rule!? ;) :D ;)

Dale T.

[CPeter James]

I have 2 WWIIs, a regular and a thin kerf, and a Ridge Carbide as well as Freud, Amana and several others. I used the thin kerf WWII for about 8 years before sharpening ( even dull, it is sharper than many others) and it really cuts smooooth. I bought 2 Ridge Carbide blades this winter, one for the table saw and a 12" for the slider. They seem to be just as good as the WWII, but time will tell. I think that the cuts are just as smooth either way. I do like the feel of the full kerf blades, but the thin kerf does save wood if you are ripping several pieces form one board. If only one, go for the full kerf WWII. You can get it for $85.75 from Silver's Mill.

www.silversmill.com


CPeter

[Charlie Plesums]

After using my WW II for a couple years, I couldn't believe it wasn't dull, so I sent it in to Forrest with a request that they tell me how bad it was before they sharpen it. They called and said it didn't need sharpening.

During the discussion I learned about the "number 6 grind". Two pairs (4) ATB teeth followed by a raker, which gives flatter bottoms to the kerf, and to my thinking slightly improved rip performance. I now have both a 10 inch and a 12 inch "number 6 grind" 40 tooth WWII. Great blades.

If you are looking for a totally flat bottom kerf, consider a "number 1 grind" with the raker as high ast the ATB teeth, but that blade has more rip out. The number 6 still has a small line along the edge of the kerf, but small enough that I don't mind just making two passes for drawer bottoms, rather than using a router or dado blade.

I have also used Freud blades - pretty good, especially for the money, but when I sold my table saw, I threw in the Freud blades and kept the Forrest.

[Ken Waag]

Well we're kinda beatin' a dead horse here, but I'll add a little somethin'

The Forrestt WWII. It does everything well. Those who recommend a separate crosscut and rip blades have way more patience than I do.

Get which ever kerf you want. 2 Advantages of thin kerf have been mentioned (requires less power, better yield) I'll add a third which is my favorite: 25% less dust. It's often the most used machine in the shop and one of the most difficult to suction dust from, so 25% less to begin with is a good thing. And no they don't "wobble".

If you use any other less expensive blades i.e. a frued ect. send them to Forrest when they need to be sharpened. An earlier post mentioned the advantages of thier sharpening methods. On a similar post one gentleman said he buys a $70 frued blade when there on sale for $50. Sends it to Forrest right off the bat for sharpening. Says it cuts like a WWII.

[Allen Bookout]

I don't think that we are beating a dead horse as each new reply is giving me more information and I really appreciate it. Thanks to everyone who responded and I will keep an eye out to see what anyone else comes up with. What a great bunch of guys that are willing to take a bit of time and help out people like myself.
Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! Allen

[Ken Salisbury]

I have been a Forrest advocate for more than 15 years. I have them on my RAS, TS and two MS. So, let me say, "Nothing runs like a Deere and nothing cuts like:
http://www.oldrebelworkshop.com/forrestblade.jpg

[Mike Hedges]

Buy a Forrest WW11

[Mark Singer]

I have the WWII also and it is a great blade. The Dewalt 7657 is about half the price and really is very close in performance. It is worth a try.

[Michael Pfau]

Forrest WWII. The only way to goooo.

[Lee Schierer]

I bought a Frued blade about 15 years ago. It has done a great job. Their price is right and their quality is very good. I've never had a problem with their blades. Their new blades with the laser cut dampening slots run smooth and quiet while giving excellent cuts. Saw cuts are so smooth they barely need sanding.

I'd recommend a dedicated 60 tooth crosscut blade like LU82 $58.99 and the LM72 Rip blade for $45.99. This gets you the best of crosscut and rips and keeps the price at about $100 for the pair. If you catch a dealer at a show you can generally get a good price deal if you buy two.

[Tom Jones III]

The guys at my local shop swear by a Freud combo blade so I finally gave it a try. It is something like 50 tooth, red teflon, I think it might be a thin kerf. It does pretty well. You might even be able to glue after a good rip, but I haven't tried that. Crosscuts are good. Price is like $50.