Blade suggestion for mitersaw

[Ted Baxter]

Time to replace the blade on my 12" miter saw need one for general cutting in hobby shop use.

The orginal worked great nice clean cuts but I hit a large piece of steel today and the blade is not safe to use now. It is for a Hitachi 12-in Miter Saw

[Steve Peterson]

Forrest Chopmaster blades are great for miter saws. They are a bit pricey at around $150, but worth it.

[Jim Becker]

Recent thread from a few days ago...

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?268909-Recommendations-for-a-replacement-DW780-Miter-Saw-blade

[Mike Cutler]

If you were happy with the OEM blade, just put another one on. I think Lowes sells them in a two pack.

[Van Huskey]

Jim linked the thread I was going to. It really does depend on your budget. I use and prefer the Forrest Chopmaster, at the other end of the price spectrum you have the Freud made Diablo at Home Depot which is a good blade and possibly a better choice if you are prone to hitting metal. There are also tons of choices in between. So what is your budget?

I keep a cheaper blade just for 2X and for cutting wood that may have foreign objects in it.

[Robert Hazelwood]

I have a chopmaster and its good. But the stock Dewalt blade (fine tooth/finishing) is really close, believe it or not.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I started that other thread as my Dewalt blade got super dull after cutting a roomful of hardwood flooring. I mainly use my miter saw for finer stuff, so based upon the recommendations of folk on this forum, I went with the Forrest Chopmaster. I go it a couple of days ago and it cuts through wood like butter and leaves almost glass smooth end grain.

But at $164 delivered from Rockler, I also decided to buy the replacement Dewalt blade at $43. It takes about 2 minutes to switch the blade on the Dewalt, so I'll start alternating between the two blades depending upon what I'm cutting.

The new Dewalt blade also cuts very nicely but doesn't leave quite the same quality of cut as the Chopmaster.

Another reason why I spent a little extra on the Forrest Chomater, I use a couple of their blades on my SawStop table saw, one in particular for nearly 3 years and its stayed relatively sharp. A couple of weeks ago, I sent it back to Forrest to be re-sharpened, $36 including return shipping, and it came back like a new blade. So when my Chopmaster gets a little dull, I'll send it back for sharpening. Yes, I know that price is close to the cost of the Dewalt bade new, but the Chopmaster has better quality finish and without me abusing it cutting 2x4's, it'll probably be 5 or 6 years before i need that service.

[Jim Andrew]

I purchased some CMT blades at Menards some time back, and find their blades very good.

[Ted Baxter]

thanks for all the suggestions.

[Randall J Cox]

I've got a series 20 12" Dewalt blade on my Dewalt chopsaw and its been sharpened twice over about 8 years. Great blade, don't remember the price, probably 80+ tooth or something like that...

[Scott Bernstein]

I have a Bosch miter saw and use a Ridge Carbide 12" 80-tooth Ultra Blade, about $165. I also use their blades on my table saw and they have made a couple of large custom router bits for me (3/4" cutting diameter, 3" long, plunge-tip straight cutting bit, for example) which I use for making large mortises on my pantorouter. I also have a Forest WoodWorker II blade for my table saw and the Ridge Carbide definitely cuts better. Both Forest and Ridge Carbide seem better than the Diablo blades I have used. Just one person's opinion of course.

[Ole Anderson]

I started that other thread as my Dewalt blade got super dull after cutting a roomful of hardwood flooring. That new finish with aluminum oxide is really hard on blades. I bought a HF blade sharpener just for bringing a flooring blade back to life. Worked on a 7-1/4" blade used to cut hardie board too. Not worth sending out to sharpen, and I just can't toss a disposable blade now that I have a free option.

[Jim Reffner]

+1 on Ridge Carbide blades for the miter saw. Ridge Carbide also provides excellent turnaround on sharpening also.

[CPeter James]

+2 on Ridge Carbide. Forrest has a bigger advertising budget, but Ridge has better blades. I have then on my PM72 and my 12" slider and had them on my PM66 that I sold. Always send them back to Ridge for sharpening. The RS2000 is on my slider and the TS2000 on my PM72.
CPeter