Miter Saw Blade

[ryan feasel]

Another recommendation question. Any preferences out there for miter saw blades? I have a 12 inch miter saw. I'm really wondering if the extra $50 to $75 is worth it for the Forrest Chopmaster over an 80 to 100 tooth Diablo or Dewalt. Thanks in advance.

[Darcy Warner]

I am a fan of Everlast.
I have never liked any Forrest blades.

[Jim Becker]

I've run the Forrest ChopMaster for years...great blade.

[Tim Bueler]

I'm currently using 10" and 12" CMT blades. Have a Chopmaster, an old Freud and an old Systematic that need sharpening. I've been happy with all of them. Some of the newer Freud blades (I've tried 2 different ones) have left me underwhelmed. More run out than the others mentioned above.

[Van Huskey]

What are you cutting? It makes a lot of difference what blade I put on if I am rough cutting stock to length or cutting miters in small trim.

[Scott Brihn]

I am sure the Forrest is nice. I have used a similar blade from Freud - 12", 96T (LU85RO12) since 2006. Blade has performed well cutting household trim, pre-finished 3/4" wood flooring, rough lumber and furniture parts. Over the years I have had it sharpened a couple of times.

[Paul F Franklin]

I have a forrest and a dewalt blade for my dewalt slider. I see somewhat less chipout and feathers with the forrest on fine work; most times I don't bother to back up the cut when using that blade. The dewalt blade gives just a little rougher cut on most materials. OTOH, the dewalt seems to stay sharp longer.

I tend to leave the dewalt blade on there most of the time as I do a fair amount of carpentry work and cut OSB, MDO, and MDF with it; those materials will dull the forrest quickly. I put the forrest on when I need finish quality cut in chipout prone material.

[Stew Hagerty]

This is what I use: Freud LU74R012 12-Inch 96-Tooth ATB Thin-Kerf Cut-Off Saw Blade with 1-Inch Arbor and PermaShield Coating

I have a DW716XPS and the combination works very well together. At $93, I think it's a pretty good deal too.

FYI - Diablo blades are considered "construction grade" and aren't up to woodworking standards.

[Bruce Wrenn]

One of my saws has a Avanti (by Freud, not HD) 96 tooth thin kerf which has exceeded all my expectations over the years. Lowes is currently clearancing the two pack of Hitachi 12 " blades for $24.99. One blade is a 96 tooth and the other a forty tooth, if memory serves me correct. I have a Hitachi on my other 12" MS. Check and see what Cripe distributing is offering.

[David T gray]

This is what I use: Freud LU74R012 12-Inch 96-Tooth ATB Thin-Kerf Cut-Off Saw Blade with 1-Inch Arbor and PermaShield Coating

I have a DW716XPS and the combination works very well together. At $93, I think it's a pretty good deal too.

FYI - Diablo blades are considered "construction grade" and aren't up to woodworking standards.


i would not agree at all diablo blades are perfectly fine blades they just have tiny amounts of carbide compared to blades 2x the price i thought it would be not great but the 96 tooth one i have is great only "cheap" blade i own.

[Edwin Santos]

I use and highly recommend the 12" Tenryu Miter Pro 80 tooth with ATAFR grind, 1" arbor. It's an interesting tooth pattern, alternating tops and faces with a flat tooth raker in between. It produces very smooth cuts in trim and molding and general miter work. It was not a cheap blade, I think it ran me around $120 but I feel it is worth every penny. I think it would be about $30 or $40 less than the Forrest Chopmaster. There are some reputable sellers on Ebay that offer Tenryu blades.

[Ben Rivel]

Ran the Forrest ChopMaster in a DeWalt DWS780 and now a Bosch GCM12SD and cant imagine going back to anything else.

[ryan feasel]

Thanks to all. Some great info.

[lowell holmes]

I've had good luck with Tenyru blades.

[scott spencer]

For a 12" blade it's best to go with something wider than the typical 3/32" thin kerf to prevent flexing. For lowest tearout, look to a Hi-ATB grind. If you're looking more for durability than cut quality, look to a triple chip grind (TCG). Freud, CMT, Tenryu, Infinity, Ridge Carbide all have excellent examples for reasonable price. Best bang for the buck is probably Oshlun.