I want suggestion for full kerf blades for SawStop 3HP

[Mike Nguyen]

Hi Guys,
I am ordering a SawStop PCS 3HP this week and wondering which are the good (does not have to be the best) full kerf blade for cross cut plywood, combination, and a rip blade. I always had thin kerf blade Diablo from Home Depot which give me good result but want to use full kerf for the SawStop. TIA for any suggestions.

Mike

[Matt Meiser]

My choices:

- Forrest WWII 40T or Ridge Carbide TS2000, whichever I found a better price on the day I was ready to buy. I have one of each but the TS2000 has never been perfect even after straightening a bend caused by a mishap with beveling it with a ZCI installed on a previous saw. My WWII has another WWII as a backup.
- For plywood I have a Forrest Duraline HI A/T which is good, but not as good as my Festool saw and rails.
- For a rip blade, the recommend one without depth-limiting shoulders so the brake can do its job which isn't exactly easy to find, but I found an Amana that fit the bill, works well and isn't terribly expensive. I barely use it though--usually use my WWII. A couple times since I got the SS that I needed to rip really thick stuff I did it on my bandsaw to minimize waste. I might not buy this one again in a do-over.

You know you need an 8" dado and an a dado brake for it too, assuming you want to run dados, right?

[glenn bradley]

Everyone has a favorite. I have the 3HP PCS and run Carbide Processors (run by our own Tom Walz) blades made by Snook's saw out of Oregon. I have a 24T rip, a 50T combo, a 50T custom geometry for a special use of mine, a 60T crosscut and an 80T crosscut. I have run a variety including Leitz, Freud, Forrest, Amana, etc. and am quite pleased with the Carbide Processor cutters and they have top notch customer service. I just had some sharpening done too; excellent work and this ain't my first rodeo. Speaking of sharpening, do the math. $120 for a blade, $20 to sharpen it = 2 blades @ $70 per blade. Sharpen it again and you've had 3 blades for about $54 each. The better blades that take well to sharpening become awfully reasonably priced over their usable life. Think cost, not price.

[John Schweikert]

You will get a lot of different answers for sure from everyone.

I have very good success with Forrest WWII 40T full kerf, Tenryu Gold 40T full kerf, Freud Rip (thin kerf though). The Carbide Processors 60T blade I bought my dad for his radial arm saw is getting rave reviews from him, extra full kerf. They make blades for everything and use huge chunks of carbide for the teeth. I use Oshlun, Tenryu and Festool blades for my TS75, pleased with all of them so I wouldn't hesitate buying a wood cutting Oshlun for my table saw, many economical options from them. I have an Oshlun metal cutting blade and Freud plastics cutting blade both for the table saw. I have come to realize I have a blade problem like my wife has a shoe problem. I like to experience different brands and purposes but I don't have much redundancy, more specialized choices for each blade.

There are a lot of very good blades out there from economical to very expensive. I feel that people purchase blades from both a price (high or low) and emotional level, so it becomes more of a personal choice too many times.

[David Eisenhauer]

I've always used full kerf blades on my 3 HP Unisaw and had good luck with the various Freud (pre red coating) blades, the Forrest WW II and the one Systematic blade (55t ATB Plymaster") I use. I believe Systematic is no more, but Freud blades should be readily available and are not horrendously priced. I have had some of my Freuds (60t ATB cross cut for TS and RA saw, 24t FT rip for TS, and a 50-55t ATB "all-around" blade that I let a friend talk me out of) sharpened at least 8-10 times, maybe more. I bought a Forrest WW II one day when I was feeling flush, just to see what all the vibe about the WW II was about, and it performs every bit as good as advertised. I put it on the TS when I sent my standard blades off for sharpening and it stayed on the saw a long, long time before pulling it off for sharpening. You really should not need to buy a lot of blades and may look at spending the money for one or two, good blades upfront and then see what you think after a while or when it is time to send out the first one for sharpening. At times, My Freud 24t rip blade has lived on the saw for a month or three (sheer laziness to change out) until it comes time to cut expensive hardwood veneered ply. My rip blade provides good cuts either rip or crosscut on lumber, hardwood and paint grade ply for general work. You have a good saw, put a decent blade on it.

[Mike Nguyen]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Look like I will get a Forrest WWII for combination blade for sure. I looked at Carbide Processors blades but they are thicker than .125 so I am not sure if I want to try them because I want the same thickness on the saw blades.

[Myk Rian]

Here's a WWII in the classifieds right now.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?210779-FS-Power-Tools-%28NIB-Bosch-Glide-SCMS-DeWalt-735-Planer-W-Tables-Forrest-Blades%29

[johnny means]

It's hard to go wrong with any premium line. I've settled on Amana's A.G.E. line. Industrial quality at affordable prices. I say skip the combo blades and focus on blades that do one thing very well. You know what they say, "Jack of all trades, master of none. "

[Roger Feeley]

The best advice I can give you is to always buy two blades at a time. That way, when one starts to get dull, you will be more likely to switch blades and get the dull one sharpened. Sharp blade means easier to push and better cut. When you don't have to push hard, it's safer.

[Larry Frank]

I have the same saw and use both thin kerf and full kerf blades. You can use either on the saw. If you have thin kerf blades that are working for you, I would continue to use them until you need blades or have extra money to buy blades.

[Mike Nguyen]

Here's a WWII in the classifieds right now.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?210779-FS-Power-Tools-%28NIB-Bosch-Glide-SCMS-DeWalt-735-Planer-W-Tables-Forrest-Blades%29
Thanks Myk. I can also drive to Rockler which is about 15 min away and use their 20% coupon which expires this Friday for $96 plus tax.

[scott spencer]

All good suggestions so far. No single brand has impressed me more than Infinity. They have a top shelf 3 blade set (http://www.infinitytools.com/3-Pc-Professional-10-Saw-Blade-Package/productinfo/00-SBP6/) that has a 24T ripper, 50T combo, 80T ply/fine crosscut blade for $180.

[Jacob Reverb]

Freud LU84M011 for $66

http://www.amazon.com/Freud-LU84M011-10-Inch-Combination-8-Inch/dp/B00004T7A4

[Matt Meiser]

All good suggestions so far. No single brand has impressed me more than Infinity. They have a top shelf 3 blade set (http://www.infinitytools.com/3-Pc-Professional-10-Saw-Blade-Package/productinfo/00-SBP6/) that has a 24T ripper, 50T combo, 80T ply/fine crosscut blade for $180.


Freud LU84M011 for $66

http://www.amazon.com/Freud-LU84M011-10-Inch-Combination-8-Inch/dp/B00004T7A4

But...shoulders which Sawstop recommends against.

[Mike Nguyen]

My choices:
You know you need an 8" dado and an a dado brake for it too, assuming you want to run dados, right?

Yes, I do want to run dados and I have a 8" Oshlun dado set.

[Jacob Reverb]

But...shoulders which Sawstop recommends against.

I've got several of the Freuds...never noticed any "shoulder." The plate looks flat to me from rim to rim, IIRC. But I don't use a SawStop.

[Matt Meiser]

I've got several of the Freuds...never noticed any "shoulder." The plate looks flat to me from rim to rim, IIRC. But I don't use a SawStop.

This is the shoulder they don't want. It can keep the blade from digging into the brake should it fire.
276250

[Jacob Reverb]

This is the shoulder they don't want. It can keep the blade from digging into the brake should it fire.
276250

Ah, now I gotcha. Thanks for the explanation. I always just thought of those things as "kickback preventers" for lack of a better term.

I guess if I ever get a SawStop, I'm gonna have to replace all those Freuds...grrr.

[Matt Kestenbaum]

I have found that using a single brand of blades (in my case Amana) saves some time when swapping out blades. The diameter of a 10" blade seems vary a bit from brand to brand and when you change from saw a WWII 40t combo to a Freud 20t rip there can be a surprising amount of adjustment made to the blade brake gap. I find that by staying within the same blade/brand family I usually only have to a tweak the break gap 1/2 turn or so. Of course as I use and, more importantly, sharpen my combos more than my other more specialized blades the diameter will move a little farther apart.

[Clay Fails]

Yes, I do want to run dados and I have a 8" Oshlun dado set.

I have two Forrest thin kerf blades carryover from old cabinet saw, and i dont like them on my ICS. I do like Infinity's rip blade, Ridge Carbide's blade and Freud.

[glenn bradley]

I have the same saw and use both thin kerf and full kerf blades. You can use either on the saw. If you have thin kerf blades that are working for you, I would continue to use them until you need blades or have extra money to buy blades.

Just wondering Frank, did you get another riving knife and thin it down or do you just forgo the RK with the TK blades? I have quite a collection of TK blades but, they are all thinner or so close to the RK on my PCS that I find them problematic. I have considered getting another RK and grinding it down a bit.


All good suggestions so far. No single brand has impressed me more than Infinity. They have a top shelf 3 blade set (http://www.infinitytools.com/3-Pc-Professional-10-Saw-Blade-Package/productinfo/00-SBP6/) that has a 24T ripper, 50T combo, 80T ply/fine crosscut blade for $180.

That is a great price. SS has info on the depth limiters on their website . . . :

" Further, blades with depth-limiting shoulders may take longer to stop in the event of an accident than standard blades, and you could receive a more serious injury. Therefore, SawStop recommends using blades without depth-limiting shoulders."

. . . so you may want to take that into consideration. They don't say specifically not to use them, just that they may cause the safety system to perform a bit sub-optimally.

[Mike Nguyen]

Everyone has a favorite. I have the 3HP PCS and run Carbide Processors (run by our own Tom Walz) blades made by Snook's saw out of Oregon. I have a 24T rip, a 50T combo, a 50T custom geometry for a special use of mine, a 60T crosscut and an 80T crosscut. I have run a variety including Leitz, Freud, Forrest, Amana, etc. and am quite pleased with the Carbide Processor cutters and they have top notch customer service. I just had some sharpening done too; excellent work and this ain't my first rodeo. Speaking of sharpening, do the math. $120 for a blade, $20 to sharpen it = 2 blades @ $70 per blade. Sharpen it again and you've had 3 blades for about $54 each. The better blades that take well to sharpening become awfully reasonably priced over their usable life. Think cost, not price.
Hi Glenn,
I read a lot of your posts through out the year here and over Family Woodworking forum and really enjoy them. I have second thought about the Carbide Processors blades and leaning toward these blades. I originally ruled them out because they are thicker than 1/8" but that may be a good thing but I have concern about the riving knife and the splitter that came with the SawStop. Do I need to have different riving knife if I go to these Carbide Processors blades? Most of the blades that I have right now are thin blade except one Irwin that I bought from Rockler long time ago and it's full kerf or at least it's bigger than my other thin kerf. I am not sure if this Irwin blade is exactly 1/8". Before today, I thought that there are only 2 blade kerf, thin and full :D.
Mike

[glenn bradley]

Hi Glenn,
I read a lot of your posts through out the year here and over Family Woodworking forum and really enjoy them. I have second thought about the Carbide Processors blades and leaning toward these blades. I originally ruled them out because they are thicker than 1/8" but that may be a good thing but I have concern about the riving knife and the splitter that came with the SawStop. Do I need to have different riving knife if I go to these Carbide Processors blades? Most of the blades that I have right now are thin blade except one Irwin that I bought from Rockler long time ago and it's full kerf or at least it's bigger than my other thin kerf. I am not sure if this Irwin blade is exactly 1/8". Before today, I thought that there are only 2 blade kerf, thin and full :D.
Mike

Funny you should mention that. I have mine all done to an 1/8" kerf with the exception of the RIP blade (because I just forgot to ask). This means they all fit the same ZCI and jigs within a very small deviation amount. I do not recall there being an extra charge for this. I believe many of their blades (maybe all?) are made to order. They are great people to deal with so you could just call them and talk to Whitney. She has handled most of my orders.

[Bruce Wrenn]

For $96.00, you could get FOUR Delta 35-7657's ( plus some change) from Cripe Distributing's E Bay store. Most likely you would never have to have another blade sharpened in your lifetime.