10" table saw blades:Can an 80t laminate cover my crosscutting? Forrest vs. others

[Timothy Horner]

I have specific needs for table saw blades that I am seeking advice on, and Id like to inquire of anyone with related experience. I am mainly cutting birch multi-ply with hardwood veneer on both sides, and milling hardwoods(walnut, purpleheart, oak, harder stuff) under 1.5". I have been able to do most of this with three Freud blades, a 30t glue line rip, a 60 tooth crosscut, and an 80 tooth laminate blade, all thin kerf for my 1.5hp saw, which is set up very precisely and adequate for what I need when the blades are sharp. I use the 60t very little any more, since the 80t makes nicer crosscuts. I am about to replace all three, and I want to get the last blades I will need for the next decade. It's important to me to have the longest life possible between sharpenings, so Ive been looking at Forrest, which I love, but Im balking at the price tag. I am attracted by the 'C4' alloy they use. The Skarpaz blade Ive used is C3, and It did pretty well, but is the C4 worth the $40 price difference? I am as poetic as any in my praise for Forrest, but Im not convinced that Tenryu wouldnt be just as good at a slightly better price. Could I get similar performance from Ridge Carbide, Infinity or Popular? Has anyone compared their 80t blades in an empirical way? My further question is this: I think I could do all my crosscutting (usually across <1") with an 80t high ATB laminate blade, if it was sufficient quality. Im quite impressed with Forrest's Duraline laminate blade, with a 40deg bevel, it's pretty aggressive. Does it take the harder alloy to maintain that bevel? It really saves me work to have such perfect edges, the endgrain are usually glue joints, and need to look perfect off the saw with no chipping, so Ive been considering eliminating the 60t and doing all crosscuts with a higher tooth count. So far, Ive been thoroughly confused by the marketing hype, and the limited testing the reviewers have done, so I hope for advice from some with similar practical experience to what Im doing. Thanks!

[John TenEyck]

I'm down to two blades now, a 30T rip blade and an 80T crosscut, both full kerf on a 1.5 HP Unisaw, and they cut w/o much effort as long as they are sharp. Of the 80T variety I have two, one is a Popular Tools HATB, the other a Freud Ultimate Cutoff blade or something similar. The Popular Tool blade cuts Melamine and plywood essentially chip free on both the top and bottom, but on hardwood the end grain finish is not as good as the Freud. With the Freud the end grain is nearly polished with no visible tooth marks. I can't provide any comparative data to a Forrest blade. But comparing the Popular Tools blade, which cost about 1/3 more, to the Freud I don't think the higher cost is justified. The quality advantage on Melamine and plywood is minor and it doesn't cut hardwood as well nor go longer between sharpenings, although that may be due to its HATB pattern vs. the Freud TCG.

John

[scott spencer]

Yes, it's my opinion that several of the top brands could be as good as Forrest....Infinity, Tenryu, Ridge Carbide...all super choices, and all use excellent carbide. However, a Hi-ATB has the shortest edge life of any other grind....it has less tearout than any other, but doesn't hold up as long. Since wear is a critical criteria for you, I'd rethink the Hi-ATb grind. The best wearing edges tend to come from a triple chip grind (TCG).

[Kent A Bathurst]

My Forrest 80t ATB does a great job on both panels and x-cut.

Scott has a point on the life between sharpenings - I can't tell you about that - mine does not get a rigorous workout as you intend. But - it does cut great.

[Timothy Horner]

Thanks a lot, I am coming to share that notion about the TGC style, I think it will handle the dual purpose better too.

[scott spencer]

Thanks a lot, I am coming to share that notion about the TGC style, I think it will handle the dual purpose better too.

A TCG blade should give the best edge life, if all other parameters are equal. You might want to consider the best compromise in edge life and performance, depending on what means the most to you. An ATB or ATB/R grind with a low top bevel will have decent edge life and decent tearout performance.

[Robert Engel]

I'm very happy with CMT blades.
The rip blade has twice the carbide of a Freud.
For the price, I think they're worth a try.

[glenn bradley]

I have used a few top name blades and once in that category the differences get smaller. The tooth material and geometry become more important in differentiating cutters. I stopped experimenting when I got a blade from our own Tom Waltz at Carbide Processors. I have since outfitted the arsenal with all CP blades. I just added a 55 tooth plywood blade recently that cuts like a dream.