Blade reccomendation: 12" compound slider

[Michael Drew]

I have a Dewalt DWS780. Two of them. I use one for woodworking, the other for construction related duties. My construction saw is in need of a new blade. It found too many staples in pressure treated wood that I failed to find and remove.....

24 tooth seems to few teeth. 80 too many for standard 2X material.

I'm hoping I can find a blade that won't kick back as much on some of the cuts I have to make on boards that have a slight bow. They are just part of the game anymore when sourcing dimensional lumber from the box stores.

Not looking for a high end Forest, but better than what Dewalt ships with these saws. They are crap.

[Richard Coers]

No blade will crosscut wood that isn't flat without kickback. You might try using the saw clamp to bring it tight to the table.

[George Yetka]

Id stay higher tooth count it will give you cleaner cuts. The kick back can be reduced or avoided by cutting method. Take small bites on boards that dont make contact with fence and base where the blade is cutting. as the board is cut it will start to move towards those 2 points. as it does and you raise the blade and recut you will keep the kerf open. The kick is from the board closing on the blade

[Tom M King]

For general use the Dewalt blades are fine. Lowes almost always has some pair on sale. At this price there's no need to think about sharpening. When done they go on the scrap metal pile. I never have kickback, because I never push cut. Proper wrench always on the saw.
506455

https://www.lowes.com/pd/DEWALT-DW-12-In-40T-Combo-Pack-Saw-BLD/5002187697

[Michael Drew]

Yah, the push cutting is what gets me every time. I need to train myself to not do that. I'm not inexperienced, and know what causes kickback. Was hopeful that blade tooth style might reduce it is all.

Dewalt blades suck. We will not agree they do not.

I should have asked about table saw guards......

[Patty Hann]

For general use the Dewalt blades are fine. Lowes almost always has some pair on sale. At this price there's no need to think about sharpening. When done they go on the scrap metal pile. I never have kickback, because I never push cut. Proper wrench always on the saw.
506455

https://www.lowes.com/pd/DEWALT-DW-12-In-40T-Combo-Pack-Saw-BLD/5002187697
Sorry for the slight thread derailment, and also my ignorance...
But I thought a CSMS was designed for a push cut.
You pull the saw all the way forward, bring it down into the wood, then push it towards the fence.
If that is not correct, what is the right way? Thanks

[Tom M King]

I know that's the recommended way. I never do that. I always do some combination of chop and pull, more like what Chris was talking about. I have over 50 years experience using a radial arm saw, so pushing scares me. The one time that saw has ever locked up in wood is when a friend was using it, doing a push cut. It made me a bit angry that he had locked the saw up in a board, and spewed sawdust all in the air, but the saw didn't suffer from that one time and still cuts true after close to 20 years. I'm not suggesting it for anyone else, but I will never do a push cut, and never have needed to clamp a board to cut it.

Sawdust collection is good too. We use that saw in finished houses with no dust in the air using a 3hp four bagger, or rather I should say I use it. No one else cuts with it now after my friend did once.

The 2x12 in the picture was cut cleanly, with no dust in the air. I intended to take a video, but didn't have anyone else to video it, and wanted to pay attention to what I was doing.

I'm either using a Dewalt blade or a Forrest blade. I have no need for anything in between those.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I've gotten good service out of the Diablo's that Home Depot sells. The Avanti (made by Freud, not current Chinese junk) were good blades I bought a couple of Hitachi blades that served me well.

[Jim Becker]

I was going to mention that I've been very happy with Diablo products for my "construction" blades. They are a really good value for the money, IMHO. And for the portable circular saws, they have some versions that are extremely durable for "demolition" type work, too.

[Curt Harms]

Yah, the push cutting is what gets me every time. I need to train myself to not do that. I'm not inexperienced, and know what causes kickback. Was hopeful that blade tooth style might reduce it is all.

Dewalt blades suck. We will not agree they do not.

I should have asked about table saw guards......

One thing I don't think anyone has mentioned; tooth hook angle. Zero or negative hook angle blades are recommended for radial arm saws to tame the tendency to self feed. It seems like it would help with sliding miter saws as well.

Hook Angles

The hook angle is the amount of forward or backward lean each tooth has. A hook angle can be thought of as the angle at which the tip enters the material. If the saw tip enters the material at an angle it will be more efficient than if it slaps down flat. A 20 degree positive hook angle is used on rip blades to pull the wood into the blade. Standard hook angles range from 5 to 15 degrees positive. Steeper angles, from 18 to 22 degrees, are most effective for ripping and cutting softer materials. Hard materials require a shallow angle such as 6 degrees. Negative hook angles, usually -5 degrees, are used to prevent self-feeding of materials and give the operator maximum control over the feed of cut.

Using a saw blade with a positive hook angle to cut metal, such as aluminum trim, can be dangerous because the blade will have a strong tendency to grab the material causing the operator to lose control. To prevent self-feeding, sliding miter saws and radial-arm saws require a blade with a negative tooth angle.

In general, a blade with a positive hook angle is a faster-feeding blade and one with a negative hook is less aggressive. One thing we need to add here is that you ALWAYS want a negative hook for cutting metal and the new SystiMatic Melamine blade is a negative hook - it seems to work better for cutting Melamine.

More good info here https://carbideprocessors.com/pages/saw-blades/saw-tip-angles.html

[Edward Weber]

For RAS and SCMS, I prefer the negative hook angle blades.
I use Freud
https://www.freudtools.com/explore/saw-blades/crosscutting/sliding-compound-saw-thin-kerf

[Michael Drew]

One thing I don't think anyone has mentioned; tooth hook angle. Zero or negative hook angle blades are recommended for radial arm saws to tame the tendency to self feed. It seems like it would help with sliding miter saws as well.


More good info here https://carbideprocessors.com/pages/saw-blades/saw-tip-angles.html


For RAS and SCMS, I prefer the negative hook angle blades.
I use Freud
https://www.freudtools.com/explore/saw-blades/crosscutting/sliding-compound-saw-thin-kerf

Thank you both. That was the kind of info I was looking for.

[Tom M King]

I can't stand negative hook blades. They seem like trying to cut steak with a butter knife, to me. I cut with any saw, including chainsaws and handsaws, with what is called a light hand. That doesn't mean cutting slow, but just in control with a feel for the cutters eating as fast as they can without being pushed too hard which loads them up. You never hear of people with woodworking tools talking about cutting with a light hand, but you hear it all the time with experienced chainsaw users.

People that do it don't do it by thinking about it. It came to them with experience as being the most efficient way naturally. I think it helped that the first woodcutting saw I ever used was my Dad's 9" RAS with a bent blade. If you didn't control what that blade did, it would lock up immediately. I also learned how to straighten out a blade and sharpen one out of necessity with that saw. When I teach someone new to use a circular saw, I give them one with a bent blade to start with. Once they can stay on a line with that, they are amazed how easy it is with a good blade.

[Michael Drew]

I ordered the Freud LU91R012. -5 deg ATB, 72T

I'll post back if it's an improvement or a butter knife.

95% of the cuts I make on this saw are without issue. It's the 5% that catch me off guard and can be startling at times. If the neg hook angle can reduce the force the saw wants to jump back towards me, even if it's a small amount, that would be a good thing.

If I make a cut on a board that's obviously not flat to the saw bed, or I know it has a bow, I can - and do prepare for that. I also know to cut with care and start at the back or do some type of progressive cut. But there are those times when bow or flatness just isn't all that obvious.

[Edward Weber]

I can't stand negative hook blades. They seem like trying to cut steak with a butter knife, to me..

I don't know what blades you've used but this has never been my experience.
Yes they're less aggressive but trying to cut something too hard for a positive rake blade and it can literally but off more than it can chew.

Along with minimizing (eliminating) the self feeding effect, negative hook angle blades also cut hard tropical and exotic species better.
JMHO
What ever you use, cut safely