TS blade ?

[Al Willits]

Been reading past posts on cutting Brazilan Cherry/Jatoba and seems this wood burns fairly easy, so thinking the right saw blade might help....:)

Looking at Freud blades and have it narrowed down to two blades, the LU74R010 which is a 30 tooth blade and the LU72M which has 40 teeth.

Freud has reccomended the 30 tooth LU74 as a good general blade for hardwoods, but wondering if the 40 tooth LU72 would be better for Cherry?

I'm leaning towards the 30 tooth as it seems after reading past posts, the more aggressive blade may burn less, but wondering about smoothness of cut?
tia

Al

[Mike Cutler]

Al.

I've only had problems burning on long rips with jatoba, because I have to stop the feeding to reposition my hands. Cross cuts were fine.

I used a CMT rip blade, with good results. I believe that it's 30 teeth. I've also used a 24 tooth Freud with good results.

Jatoba is hard on blades. Keep your blades clean, and the burning should be held to a minimum.

[tod evans]

al, my rip blades are 24 tooth 12" which would be coarser than a 24t 10" blade. i`ve never cut jatoba but these blades work well in all domestics including hickory without burning...02 tod

[Al Willits]

Thanks, just received an answer from Freud, for this use they recommend the 24 tooth LM72R for ripping and the 30 tooth LU74R for cross cutting.
Evidently the more teeth is not always the smoother cut

Looks like a 24 tooth blade is reccomended by all.

Thanks

Al

Sooooo much to learn....:)

[scott spencer]

You mentioned the LU72 & the LM72, which are not the same blade. The LU72 is a 40T ATB general purpose blade, and the LM is a 24T FTG ripper.

If Jatoba is tough on blades, the LU74's TCG teeth should hold an edge well, but the LM72 will definitely cut more aggressively, but at he expense of a rougher cut....never a free lunch! What saw will you be using? There are folks here who spin the LM74 as a ripper and a general purpose blade on 3hp cabinet saws and love the results. The 40T LU72 may give the cleanest cut, but is more likely to burn if the feedrate slows. Charles M from Freud often checks in here...he should be able to explain their recommendation.

[Al Willits]

You mentioned the LU72 & the LM72, which are not the same blade. The LU72 is a 40T ATB general purpose blade, and the LM is a 24T FTG ripper.

If Jatoba is tough on blades, the LU74's TCG teeth should hold an edge well, but the LM72 will definitely cut more aggressively, but at he expense of a rougher cut....never a free lunch! What saw will you be using? There are folks here who spin the LM74 as a ripper and a general purpose blade on 3hp cabinet saws and love the results. The 40T LU72 may give the cleanest cut, but is more likely to burn if the feedrate slows. Charles M from Freud often checks in here...he should be able to explain their recommendation.



Yes, I know there not the same blade, and they reccomended the 24 tooth for ripping and the LU74R which is a 30 tooth blade for crosscutting.
I think I have this right...

I have the Delta hybrid saw, 1 3/4hp.

Freud has been great in repling to my questions on blades and I have to say I'm impressed with their customer service.

Al

[Mark Singer]

My favorite rip blade is a 24 tooth. I use a Mastercut and have many of them...not sure it is made anymore.....excellent blade!

[Al Willits]

Thanks all, Scott Spencer in a PM mentioned some other choices (thanks btw) and also mention with the lower HP I have (1 3/4) that a thin kerf blade would cut better with less possible burn.
Just wondering if with my saw, a thin kerf blade shouldn't be used for most all cuttings?

Or maybe my question should be, thin kerf, when to use and when not to use?

Al who thinks his learning curve has barely started....:D

[tod evans]

al, i`m in the anti-thin kerf camp, even with underpowered saws if you`re cutting thick stock you`re far more likely to get some blade body deflection. when thin kerfs first hit the market i tried one for ripping some 12/4 maple and the blade literally melted, it wobbled so badly from the heat that it ruined the throatplate on the 66 i was running. after i got the saw shut down and took the blade off there where hairline cracks radiating from the arbor hole out toward the cutting edge. needless to say the blade went in the trash and i no longer even look at a thin kerf blade.
obviously some folks like them but seeing a blade wobble like a hot vinyl record broke me from ever using one again.....02 tod

[Charles McCracken]

al,

The LM72 is also my recommendation for ripping. The LU74 is actually 80 tooth ATB and is an excellent choice for the crosscuts. The more teeth does give a smoother cut but also increases the friction (more likely to burn) and ripping requires less teeth than crosscutting. A good rule of thumb is to have 3 to 5 teeth working in the wood when ripping and 5 to 7 teeth working for crosscuts.

[Mark Singer]

I don't like the thin kerf either....regular kerf stays flatter even as it heats up

[scott spencer]

Sorry guys, gotta disagree about TK performance based on my experience using lots of both kerfs. Maybe commercial use would be different, but for hobbyist use, a good TK should pose no issues. The newer premium TK's from Freud, Forrest, Ridge Carbide, Tenryu, CMT, Infinity, Leitz and others shouldn't suffer from deflection. Their alloys are much stiffer than early versions, and many now incorporate comptuer designed laser cut expansion slots. I've seen no deflection... nada, from several top 3/32" TK's in all kinds of tough thick material (even 12/4" hard maple), and I can't recall hearing recent issues with deflection from this caliber of blade from other users, but I do still hear stories that predate current technology that I'm not sure apply to current offerings. These same manufacturers and several magazines (most recently Am WWer) will make the TK recommendation for saws under 3hp, which the OP has ... I'd definitely avoid the run of the mill cheap junk though. Your saw will labor noticeably less with a 3/32" TK allowing a faster feedrate that should help reduce burning, and will likely extend motor life.

P.S. Charles clarified questions about the LU74 which I confused with the LM74....