mitersaw and tablesaw blade recommendations

[michael merlo]

looking to get a new 12" compound miter saw blade for finish crosscuts and a general purpose 40t tablesaw blade - leaning towards the tenryu gold medal for the tablesaw ($89.95 @ holbren) but read here a while back that the dw7657 was comparable ($49.95 @mytoolstore) and that price is intriguing - i cut a lot of mesquite and some oak - would like to know if anyone has spent some time with these blades and how they hold up as far as trueness and balance, both out of the box and over time. i know most folks swear by the wwII - but i have one and would like to try another to compare them.

as far as the cms blade goes - hate deflection but don't like running a heavy blade - because of the jumpstart (i misplaced the guard) :o- chopmaster? cmt? would like to stay in the sub $100 range ..... mesquite is nortoriously dirty so this is not a "til death do us part question" have a freud 80t on it now - been a decent blade but starting to burn a little in the red oak i'm working on now. any rec's on grind and hook - would appreciate input about the blade you're using and those you have used - thanks

[mike bailey]

Cmt all the way. I have never had a blade make such nice cuts and stay sharp as long as they do and I use mine every day.

[Paul Dwight]

For the CMS, I love my Chopmaster. Mine is the full-kerf version, which is all I'll ever put on the saw. I previously used a couple of thin-kerf blades that gave mediocre results and I finally concluded that the big 12" disc of thin metal flexed too much for fine finish work. The full-kerf Chopmaster is much, much better.

For the tablesaw, I generally run a Woodworker II. I see that Freud has a new premium line out (the name of which escapes me) that appears to use a very similar tooth geometry and grind. I may try one of these when I'm ready to buy a new blade. The new Freud is priced right at $100, which is about the same as the WWII. Never used the Tenyru or the DeWalt, so I can't make any comparisons.

Good luck! -- Paul

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

www(dot)guhdo(dot)com

You can get a really nice hollow face ground blade for about $83. I am becoming a fan of that particular grind. It cuts freeer faster and cleaner than most others I've used.