Best crosscut TS blade for 2 1/2" Maple

[Eddie Darby]

I own a 3 hp TS, and I am looking to buy the best blade available for the cleanest 2 1/2" crosscut in maple. Thank You in advance for your help !

[Steven J Corpstein]

I own a 3 hp TS, and I am looking to buy the best blade available for the cleanest 2 1/2" crosscut in maple. Thank You in advance for your help !

I have a CMT 60 tooth that does great crosscutting thick maple. I use a CMT 24 tooth for rip cuts. I think it is worth the time to swap out blades rather than than use a combination for everything.

[scott spencer]

The cleanest crosscuts will come from a blade with a Hi-ATB grind, a low hook angle, and a low side clearance like a Forrest Duraline, Infinity Ultrasmooth, or Freud LU80. Hard maple is tough stuff, so it's worth mentioning that the pointy tips of the Hi-ATB that create the clean slicing action will also abraid faster than other types. If you have miles of this stuff to cut, and/or prefer to get really long edge life, the "cleanest" cutting blade may not necessarily be the absolute best choice.

[Eddie Darby]

I should have mentioned that I wanted the cleanest cut possible, and that the total linear feet was not a major concern.

[Steven Hardy]

I should have mentioned that I wanted the cleanest cut possible, and that the total linear feet was not a major concern.

I have this one.(Cant speak about many others doing ultra-fine crosscut as ther has been no need for me to look any farther) Even on an old craftsman RAS..its cuts super smooth ! 50-55 bucks

Product Description: Freud TK806 Ultra Fine Crosscut Saw Blade

The Freud TK800 series are ideal blades for cabinet and furniture making. Use these blades for the best possible finish when crosscutting fine moldings and intricate wood parts. MicroGrain carbide tips thick enough for several re-sharpenings. Thin kerf uses less power. Kickback reducing design. Laser cut blade bodies and expansion slots. Tri-metal brazing impact-resistant tips. Covered by Freud's Limited Lifetime Warranty.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I own a 3 hp TS, and I am looking to buy the best blade available for the cleanest 2 1/2" crosscut in maple. Thank You in advance for your help !

I use a Ghudo and a Felder Silent Power on thick maple. Both are combination blades. The thing is you need a gullet that can handle the chip and not build up heat.

I have used an 80 tooth NFM blade on thick maple. Because the gullet is small I had to deal with over heating issues and the blade must be very sharp.

So I'd say any quality blade will do fine so long as it's got a lot of gullet.

[Phil Harding]

I own a 3 hp TS, and I am looking to buy the best blade available for the cleanest 2 1/2" crosscut in maple. Thank You in advance for your help !

I'm sure there are a host of good blades that will do what uou want. But, I can recommend from experience the Forrest Duraline, Forrest Woodworker I, and Freud LU80. I'm in the middle of building a home entertainment center from curly maple and have used all of these blades with great success on my table saw and radial arm saw.

-- Phil

[Eddie Darby]

I'm sure there are a host of good blades that will do what uou want. But, I can recommend from experience the Forrest Duraline, Forrest Woodworker I, and Freud LU80. I'm in the middle of building a home entertainment center from curly maple and have used all of these blades with great success on my table saw and radial arm saw.-- Phil

My concern was that I am going thicker ( 2 1/2") than the recommended thickness for the above blades, which is 2" or less.

Perhaps the LU88R from Freud is my best bet????:confused: at 2 3/4" thickness for the max.

[Charles McCracken]

My concern was that I am going thicker ( 2 1/2") than the recommended thickness for the above blades, which is 2" or less.

Perhaps the LU88R from Freud is my best bet????:confused: at 2 3/4" thickness for the max.

The LU88R010 would be an excellent choice. 60T is the most I would recommend for that application.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

My concern was that I am going thicker ( 2 1/2")

Thicker stock makes it more critical to have a deep gullet.
So bear in mind that you want a deep generous gullet. This of course means you are not going to have an 80 tooth blade.

In thicker stock, the teeth will be in contact with the work for a greater period & taking stock off all the while. That cut away stock (sawdust) has to go somewhere while the blade makes its circuit through the & board out the other side. If the saw dust gets packed in tight you can have a heating problem causing burning. The saw dust can get packed in so tightly that the Gullet can't dump the saw dust 'cause it's compressed hard and only gets more so as that tooth and gullet and freight of compacted saw dust re-enters the work.
This can cause a lot of friction and burning and heat the moisture in the wood so much that the stock compresses on the blade and kicks back.

In thick wood the critical factor is the gullet.

As an aside:
With my old one-horse contractors saw I used to use an 80 tooth 10" Non Ferrous Metal blade for everything. I made 2" thick maple butcher block furniture on that saw with no problem. I made my whole living room set back when butcher block popular.

However, the two factors that made this lunacy possible were the motor and the carbide on the blades. It was a superior fine grained carbide that was only available in the best industrial equipment back 25 or so years ago when I bought them. They weren't meant for the hobby shop.

So between (1) the superior edge quality of the carbide giving me a clean heat free cut and (2) the tortuously slow feed rate imposed on me by that itty bitty one-horse motor making sure the tiny gullets never loaded those factors worked together to make it possible for me to quite literally break all the rules and get away with it.

I can not get away with that on my new saw. It's got a motor that lets me feed as fast as I can shove the work.


So get yourself some deep gullets.

[Eddie Darby]

In thick wood the critical factor is the gullet.

So get yourself some deep gullets.

Gottcha!;)

Thanks!

Two possible candidates for me would be the LU88R and the Freud Fusion Combo blade.

[Steven Hardy]

Thicker stock makes it more critical to have a deep gullet.
So bear in mind that you want a deep generous gullet. This of course means you are not going to have an 80 tooth blade.

In thicker stock, the teeth will be in contact with the work for a greater period & taking stock off all the while. That cut away stock (sawdust) has to go somewhere while the blade makes its circuit through the & board out the other side. If the saw dust gets packed in tight you can have a heating problem causing burning. The saw dust can get packed in so tightly that the Gullet can't dump the saw dust 'cause it's compressed hard and only gets more so as that tooth and gullet and freight of compacted saw dust re-enters the work.
This can cause a lot of friction and burning and heat the moisture in the wood so much that the stock compresses on the blade and kicks back.

In thick wood the critical factor is the gullet.

As an aside:
With my old one-horse contractors saw I used to use an 80 tooth 10" Non Ferrous Metal blade for everything. I made 2" thick maple butcher block furniture on that saw with no problem. I made my whole living room set back when butcher block popular.

However, the two factors that made this lunacy possible were the motor and the carbide on the blades. It was a superior fine grained carbide that was only available in the best industrial equipment back 25 or so years ago when I bought them. They weren't meant for the hobby shop.

So between (1) the superior edge quality of the carbide giving me a clean heat free cut and (2) the tortuously slow feed rate imposed on me by that itty bitty one-horse motor making sure the tiny gullets never loaded those factors worked together to make it possible for me to quite literally break all the rules and get away with it.

I can not get away with that on my new saw. It's got a motor that lets me feed as fast as I can shove the work.


So get yourself some deep gullets.

I disagree...first he said he was crosscutting,second ,smaller teeth require smaller gullets(lessor angle). More teeth at a given rotation,and feed, results in a smoother finish.You would advise against 80 teeth for crosscutting maple??:confused:

[Eddie Darby]

When I was over at the Freud site, they had numerous crosscut blades to choose from, but only two of them would do wood that was 2 1/2" thick.

The LU88 thin kerf at 60 teeth with a max of 2 3/4".
The Freud Premier Fusion combination blade, 40 teeth, min 3/4" to max 3 1/2".

The LU80 at 80 teeth is only recommended for 1 5/8" max.

[Lawrence Smith]

I've used the Ridge 2000 blade on eight quarter rock maple with no problems. I wouldn't hesitate to use it on ten quarter. I built a perimeter for a table that was comprised of ten circular and straight pieces that had to be cut at precise angles. No problem. Hope this helps.

my $.02

[Eddie Darby]

I have a WWII combo which is close to the Ridge 2000, but at the Grizzly site they say up to 2" max for WWII, so I guess I'll have to give it a go and see what happens.

[Steven Hardy]

When I was over at the Freud site, they had numerous crosscut blades to choose from, but only two of them would do wood that was 2 1/2" thick.

The LU88 thin kerf at 60 teeth with a max of 2 3/4".
The Freud Premier Fusion combination blade, 40 teeth, min 3/4" to max 3 1/2".

The LU80 at 80 teeth is only recommended for 1 5/8" max.

In my shop there are two blades that I use more than the rest ,a Freud tk806 at 80 tooth 1 5/8 and a lu84r 50tooth rated for 3 and a half. The 50 tooth is a nice cut for crosscuts . The 80tooth exceeds it ,even crosscutting 9/4 by 12 air dried oak planks . The cut is slower...but the surface is smoother without a doubt. I have wondered how have I had great success with it while exceeding the recommendation? This morning I remembered. Blade stiffeners..I have been using two on thin kerf blades since the mid eighties. The 80 tooth is about two years old. The 50 tooth is only a month old. On my equipment and on 9/4 oak ,the 50 tooth will NOT give as smooth a cut as the older 80 tooth while crosscutting .I retested this morning.
Happy sanding !:D

[Eddie Darby]

Sounds to me like I should be ignoring the listed thickness recommendations and going with an 80 tooth maybe. I will explore this route and let you know if it turns out alright. Thanks.

[scott spencer]

Sounds to me like I should be ignoring the listed thickness recommendations and going with an 80 tooth maybe. I will explore this route and let you know if it turns out alright. Thanks.

Recommended thickness charts are basically a guideline for what a blade is optimized for, but many other factors will come into play.

If all else is a equal a 40T blade will leave a slightly rougher cut with more tearout than a higher toothcount crosscut blade but is less prone to burning and is more capable of effectively clearing the chip load of a thicker crosscut. Your WWII might do just fine...any additional tearout vs a true crosscut blade can be largely offset if you use a backerboard. A higher tooth count blade will have a tendency for less pronounced swirl marks, but a higher tendency to burn if progress is slow....never a free lunch! :rolleyes: Since your satisfaction with the results is subjective, I'd at least give your WWII a shot and see what you think.

[Charles McCracken]

Sounds to me like I should be ignoring the listed thickness recommendations and going with an 80 tooth maybe. I will explore this route and let you know if it turns out alright. Thanks.

Thickness charts can be a great resource for selecting the proper blade for an application but there are limits to how comprehensive they can be. A good way to determine the correct number of teeth for an application is to have 3 to 5 teeth working when ripping and 5 to 7 for crosscuts. This is assuming the correct tooth geometry. If you go below those numbers the cut quality will suffer and going higher could result in burning and difficult feed.

[Tom Walz]

We have a new blade we are introducing. If you want one free let me know.

We can also supply just the sandpaper for any blade you choose.

This will give you smooth cuts on the sides of the material. Since the sandpaper sticks out beyond the teeth it will give you a 100 grit sanded finish.

http://www.carbideprocessors.com/level2store/FinalCut/finalcut.htm (http://www.carbideprocessors.com/level2store/FinalCut/finalcut.htm)

We will supply the blade and / or paper free and pay shipping. All we ask is that you let us know what you think of it.

Tom

[Eddie Darby]

We have a new blade we are introducing.
If you want one free let me know.
We can also supply just the sandpaper for any blade you choose.
This will give you smooth cuts on the sides of the material. Since the sandpaper sticks out beyond the teeth it will give you a 100 grit sanded finish.
http://www.carbideprocessors.com/level2store/FinalCut/finalcut.htm (http://www.carbideprocessors.com/level2store/FinalCut/finalcut.htm)
We will supply the blade and / or paper free and pay shipping. All we ask is that you let us know what you think of it. Tom

Thanks for the kind offer.
I just don't think I cut enough total and varied stock to give you a worthwhile report. I will be keeping an eye open for reports here at SMC though.

I found the video on your site to most interesting. I can see where someone on a job site away from the shop, will like the two tools in one feature.

[Tom Walz]

What a gentlemanly reply.

I would be willing to send a couple out to different folks who thought they could test them.

We know they work in the lab. We know they work well in many shops. However we were involved in all those tests. We are looking for folks we have never met who will get the blades and sandpaper just like a customer and give us their honest feedback.

Amazing what you learn doing things this way. Everybody sees things a bit differently and a great number of woodworkers write clearly and insightfully.

tom

[Greg Hines, MD]

We have a new blade we are introducing. If you want one free let me know.

We can also supply just the sandpaper for any blade you choose.

This will give you smooth cuts on the sides of the material. Since the sandpaper sticks out beyond the teeth it will give you a 100 grit sanded finish.

http://www.carbideprocessors.com/level2store/FinalCut/finalcut.htm (http://www.carbideprocessors.com/level2store/FinalCut/finalcut.htm)

We will supply the blade and / or paper free and pay shipping. All we ask is that you let us know what you think of it.

Tom



Fascinating concept. Makes you wonder why no one else thought of it. One area that I would wonder about, as it seems to come up often, would be applying this to a dado stack. That would give you crisp edges without the typical fuzz that happens with other dado blades.

Doc

[Eddie Darby]

Fascinating concept. Makes you wonder why no one else thought of it. Doc

I think the concept is not the hard part, but making it work is. The web-site lists the fact that sandpaper and adhesives have advanced far enough to be able to do this type of set-up from when it was first conceived.

I wonder if the removal of the sandpaper is a hassle?:confused:

[Randal Stevenson]

We can also supply just the sandpaper for any blade you choose.


Tom


The video lists that they were using a DeWalt blade. OK, so I try to find the sandpaper on the site, and the store link (from the Link in your profile) doesn't work, and the above provided link, is only for the complete blade. (some of us here, use a guided circular saw system more)

Please update your sites!

[Steve Clardy]

We have a new blade we are introducing. If you want one free let me know.

We can also supply just the sandpaper for any blade you choose.

This will give you smooth cuts on the sides of the material. Since the sandpaper sticks out beyond the teeth it will give you a 100 grit sanded finish.

http://www.carbideprocessors.com/level2store/FinalCut/finalcut.htm (http://www.carbideprocessors.com/level2store/FinalCut/finalcut.htm)

We will supply the blade and / or paper free and pay shipping. All we ask is that you let us know what you think of it.

Tom

I'd be willing to test your blades.
I bought a lot of the paper at the woodshow in Collinsville, from the inventor himself.
I have tried the paper on one of my blades, ripping oak.
One rip only, didn't do so well. Lots of burning, like the paper is too thick maybe.
I haven't tried it again.
I also got some 12" for my miter saws, but haven't tried it on trim yet.