track saw blade

[tom goede]

I have a Dewalt track saw that needs a new blade. Any experience with Freud/forrest etc as they offer blades now. My current need is cutting cabinet grade plywood.
Thanks

[Paul F Franklin]

I recently bought the freud ultimate thin kerf plywood and melamine 160mm blade. I've only used it for a few cuts on my dewalt track saw but it did a great job: no tearout on top or bottom crosscutting 3/4 cherry plywood, and a nice smooth cut.

[eta] since it's 160 mm and not 6.5 inch it very slightly reduces the max cut capacity of the dewalt.

[julian abram]

I bought this 48T Freud about 2 years ago to cut maple plywood for a set of kitchen cabinets. It worked great, it's still on great Dewalt tracksaw doing a great job. I'm a fan of Freud router bits and saw blades, never been disappointed in one of their products.

https://www.amazon.com/Freud-Ultimate-Plywood-Melamine-LU79R006M20/dp/B002IPHG9I/ref=psdc_552292_t1_B002IPGXRO

[Jeff Bartley]

You can also have your blade sharpened. I keep a couple fresh blades on hand and when two are dull I send them out.

I've wanted to try one of the non-dewalt rip blades for awhile. I think I could live with a 160mm blade if it ripped better than the 48t dewalt.

[Jared Sankovich]

I have a bunch of the 28t tenryu blades that I use for most applications. Really a good all purpose blade if you straight line lumber and still works reasonably well on cabinet ply. I've buried the blade full depth in 3" thick slabs and it keeps on going

[Paul F Franklin]

I have a bunch of the 28t tenryu blades that I use for most applications. Really a good all purpose blade if you straight line lumber and still works reasonably well on cabinet ply. I've buried the blade full depth in 3" thick slabs and it keeps on going

I have one of the tenryu blades and agree it works pretty well, but I also have the freud 160 mm rip blade (14 tooth?) that is excellent for ripping hardwood; saw doesn't strain at all and cut quality is good.

[Jared Sankovich]

I have one of the tenryu blades and agree it works pretty well, but I also have the freud 160 mm rip blade (14 tooth?) that is excellent for ripping hardwood; saw doesn't strain at all and cut quality is good.

I have the 14t Freud blade and a 14t tenryu. The Freud has way to much flutter for my liking. Enough that it ate the splinter strip every time I used it. The tenryu is better but still has more flutter than I consider acceptable.

[Paul F Franklin]

I have the 14t Freud blade and a 14t tenryu. The Freud has way to much flutter for my liking. Enough that it ate the splinter strip every time I used it. The tenryu is better but still has more flutter than I consider acceptable.

Hmm, I've not noticed any issue, certainly no problem with the splinter strip. Maybe you got a bum one.

[Rick Potter]

I have used three blades. DeWalt, Freud, and Makita. I have only used them on plywood, and my favorite is the Makita, which cuts really nicely.

The DeWalt is the standard one that came with the saw, it cut fine but not as perfect as I wanted, so I replaced it with the Freud. It was about the same.

The blade that came with my new cordless Makita cuts the best of the bunch for me.

Two track saws, three blades...plywood only. That is the only experience I can report on.

PS: These blades are pretty much interchangeable, but if you interchange, take note of the blade kerf. There are variations, which may or may not affect your rubber strip on the track. Also slightly different diameters.

[Jim Dwight]

I also get acceptable performance from Oshlun track saw blades but their main advantage is price. I just noticed Wen offers a 56 tooth 6.5 inch track saw blade. I have a table saw blade from them that was surprisingly useful. But it is almost the same price as the DeWalt - which Amazon has for just over $30. At that price I'd just buy the DeWalt.

[Tim M Tuttle]

I have used three blades. DeWalt, Freud, and Makita. I have only used them on plywood, and my favorite is the Makita, which cuts really nicely.

The DeWalt is the standard one that came with the saw, it cut fine but not as perfect as I wanted, so I replaced it with the Freud. It was about the same.

The blade that came with my new cordless Makita cuts the best of the bunch for me.

Two track saws, three blades...plywood only. That is the only experience I can report on.

PS: These blades are pretty much interchangeable, but if you interchange, take note of the blade kerf. There are variations, which may or may not affect your rubber strip on the track. Also slightly different diameters.

I get a lot of chipout on the offcut side with that stock DeWalt blade. Looking to get the higher tooth Makita blade.

[Erik Loza]

No complaints with the Freud thin-kerf.

Erik

[John C Bush]

Got a Dewalt track saw to rip 2"+ walnut slabs and ultimately cut 45* bevels for waterfall ends. Had to make incremental cut depths
due to the load on the saw(hand saw when cuts not thru) New to tracksawing & assumed that was par for the course due to the stock thinkness.
A friend used the saw to cut Sycamore slabs, bought a new Milwaukee blade(40 tooth?) and it ripped thru the 1 3/4" slabs without bogging down.
may be good to consider as well.

[Dave Sabo]

Got a Dewalt track saw to rip 2"+ walnut slabs and ultimately cut 45* bevels for waterfall ends. Had to make incremental cut depths
due to the load on the saw(hand saw when cuts not thru) New to tracksawing & assumed that was par for the course due to the stock thinkness.
A friend used the saw to cut Sycamore slabs, bought a new Milwaukee blade(40 tooth?) and it ripped thru the 1 3/4" slabs without bogging down.
may be good to consider as well.

I find this curious since I'm pretty sure Milwaukee doesn't make a blade with a 20mm arbor. I guess a 5/8" hole could be enlarged to 20mm for the DeWalt or perhaps a bushing found, but those would seem to be more trouble an expense than it's worth for a commodity blade.

So, it seems likely your friend's xtra performance is morel likely due to a more powerful saw and 8 less teeth that is the milwaukee blade anything special.

Last time I checked , Makita's blades are made by Tenryu - very good blades.
Freud makes 165mm x 20mm blades for dewalt, makita , bosch and mafell saws - but they are hard to find in the U.S.



I've wanted to try one of the non-dewalt rip blades for awhile. I think I could live with a 160mm blade if it ripped better than the 48t dewalt.
The reason you get poor results is because a 48t blade is prob. the worst blade you could choose to rip solid wood. 14-16t is ideal, and you might get ok results on some with a 28t. A 48t on a track saw is like using a 100t + blade on 10" tablesaw. you wouldn't dream of ripping with that setup would you ?




I have the 14t Freud blade and a 14t tenryu. The Freud has way to much flutter for my liking. Enough that it ate the splinter strip every time I used it. The tenryu is better but still has more flutter than I consider acceptable.

Jared - if you have flutter with both blades , then you need to check your saw ! It is either misaligned with the track or the bearings are shot. That freud performs flawlessly on my ts55.

[Jared Sankovich]

I find this curious since I'm pretty sure Milwaukee doesn't make a blade with a 20mm arbor. I guess a 5/8" hole could be enlarged to 20mm for the DeWalt or perhaps a bushing found, but those would seem to be more trouble an expense than it's worth for a commodity blade.

So, it seems likely your friend's xtra performance is morel likely due to a more powerful saw and 8 less teeth that is the milwaukee blade anything special.

Last time I checked , Makita's blades are made by Tenryu - very good blades.
Freud makes 165mm x 20mm blades for dewalt, makita , bosch and mafell saws - but they are hard to find in the U.S.



The reason you get poor results is because a 48t blade is prob. the worst blade you could choose to rip solid wood. 14-16t is ideal, and you might get ok results on some with a 28t. A 48t on a track saw is like using a 100t + blade on 10" tablesaw. you wouldn't dream of ripping with that setup would you ?





Jared - if you have flutter with both blades , then you need to check your saw ! It is either misaligned with the track or the bearings are shot. That freud performs flawlessly on my ts55.

You know went out and tried the 14t tenryu again and no flutter this time (from the couple boards I tried) the only change to the saw was that I had re-set the tow-in on the saw plate to .003" after a fall. Its possible the saw was off previously.

[John C Bush]

Hi Dave,
Hadn't considered the tooth count with regard to stock type. I use it for hobby solid stock projects and use the TS to cut sheet stock.
The Milwaukee fit the arbor but I will likely get a more appropriately "toothed" blade for the next slab project. Thanks for the insight. JCB

[joseph f merz]

this subject came up on the festool forum and also contractors forum .Tenryu seemed to get the highest marks . i found it to be better blades then festool put out .
depends on what you use the saw for .i have noticed with my festool saws blade quality is more about speed of cut or how long they last then blade cut .with tracksaws you tend to get great cuts with most any decent blade .buying a lot of blades over the years i have purchased a few over priced poor cutting frued blades .not to say all there blades are this way . i still buy that brand .i just do not rate the brand as a top contendor .

[Dave Sabo]

The Milwaukee fit the arbor but I will likely get a more appropriately "toothed" blade for the next slab project

Can you confirm that the DeWalt has a 20mm arbor or 5/8" ?

What's the hole size on the milwaukee blade you're speaking of ? I wasn't aware they made 20mm sized holes.

When ripping solid timber; a blade with a low tooth count is essential.

[Eric Schmid]

Jared - if you have flutter with both blades , then you need to check your saw ! It is either misaligned with the track or the bearings are shot. That freud performs flawlessly on my ts55.[/QUOTE]

One thing I’ve noticed with the Dewalt saw and track is that other blades, specifically Festool, tend to chew up the anti-splinter strip. I’ve replaced the strips a couple of times and, though I don’t recall, probably used a Dewalt 48T blade to make the initial cut. Each time, as blades are switched out, the strip edge gets knicked just enough to start chipping away at the edge.

My best guess is it’s the angle or set of the teeth on the other blades. Since I haven’t tried cutting a newly installed strip with a Festool blade, I can’t be sure of the cause. One thing is for sure, the strips are a pain to replace.

[Neil Gaskin]

I’ve used Forrest and ridge Carbide. Both are excellent.

[Jim Dwight]

I've never purchased a Forrest or Ridge Carbide blade. I had Ridge resharpen a Freud table saw blade once and it came back better than new. I consider both Forrest and Ridge a bit pricey but if they fit your budget I suspect both are very nice blades. But I am another Freud guy for blades. I bought a Freud 160mm rip after the 48 tooth DeWalt struggled in a deep rip in hardwood. It works fine. For most of what I do, I think the DeWalt works well. I play around with other blades but I could save some money by just sticking with Freud. Or for the DeWalt track saw, a DeWalt blade.