Could use some help with blade selection

[Rob krokus]

Hi Guys -
I really appreciate all of the advice / ideas I have been getting from the site. I've been researching & researching all of the info on the site, but I could really use some specific advice on 2 blade purchases. I need new blades for my 12" SCMS & TS. For my TS I'm using it 90% of the time right now for ripping mdf as I'm making all new casing. I can't afford job specific blades, so a combo (if it will work) is best for me. I also use the TS alot for ripping sheet goods (3/4 birch/oak) and on occasion cross-cuts.
I also need a new blade for my SCMS - I use this ALOT for moulding/and cross-cutting soft material. (I have a lightweight CMS with a 40T that I use for general purpose.

If you had around $170 or so for both blades, what would you get? I bought two Diablos - but returned them as I don't want to settle/ but at the same token I'm def. still on the learning curve and cutting my teeth so to speak :)
The two saws are a Delta contractor saw (souped up a little) so I'm thinking I should get a thin kerf & the other saw is a DW718.

I'm in the air about the Freud 10" x 50T x 5/8" Combination Red Teflon saw Blades - but with the $10 off at woodcraft the WWII - is right @ $100

I"M LOST!!!!!! HELP

[Dewey Torres]

The Freud Premier fusion or the Forrest woodworker II are going your best bet for the table saw. They both cost about the same. My pref is the Freud and I have both blades but others prefer the Forrest. It is very hard to tell the difference really.

As for the SCMS blade I will let others answer as mine is a regular Miter saw but for $170 you should have no porb getting 2 top notch blades.

Bonus Advice:
Get the very best for your table saw and make the cheaper blade on your MS if you have to cut funds.

[Dave Falkenstein]

More money than you mentioned ($210 for both), but less than Woodcraft, you can buy Forrest WW II and Chopmaster here:

http://www.forrestsawbladesonline.com/

[Tom Esh]

For TS if most of your hardwood cutting is 4/4, the Forrest WWII 40-tooth is excellent. The 30-tooth (my favorite) is nearly as smooth but does much better ripping thicker stuff. However I would not waste a premium blade on MDF other than a few quick cuts. It dulls them quickly plus mdf cuts almost as nicely with a crappy blade. My mdf blade is a 60-tooth $20 Firestorm from one of the BORGs. Works like a champ. If I'm cutting much ply (which also has enough glue in it to dull blades) I use an Irwin 80-tooth (also cheap) with a zero-clearance insert. It was my MS blade before I got a Chopmaster. Save the good blades for what they do best - hardwood.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
Somewhere in the vast area which is the General WW'ing forum is an excellent post listing all different blades & how they perform.
W/luck someone will chime in and bring the post back up to the top or post a link to it here.
I keep meaning to tag the post somehow so I can call it back easily.

[Jason Whitaker]

another vote for the 40 T WW II ...terrific blade - also have a Ridge Carbide on order that I have read great things about... looking forward to that

On my CMS I use a 60 tooth Freud (just the plain, red kind (about $50-60 I think) and have been pleased with the cross cuts and miters for being clean, virtually no tear out.

[Doug Shepard]

I've got a Forrest WWII and it does pretty good on ply and very good on MDF. If I were doing the cuts/material you mentioned though, I'd be getting out my 80-tooth red Freud. It's an excellent blade for crosscutting and sheet stuff and can be picked up for decent prices.
No expert on the SCMS but I think you want something with a negative hook angle both for cut quality and avoiding the possibility that the stock would want to lift.

[John Thompson]

If sheets and MDF is the main attraction on a contractor saw... I would go with any premium 40 T TK blade and for those items you don't have to use a $100 blade. I run a 40 T Infinity General and love the Ridge blade.. Teneyru.. etc. etc. will suffice. I run Amana 20 T and CMT 24 T for ripping as all these are excellent.

But.. even more important is the blade for the SCMS. You can run a TS blade on a CMS but... a slider really needs a blade with negative hook or at least a very low positive hook. I have used several but keep coming back to the Freud 72 T TK (most SCMS blades are thin kerf) as it is about as good as it gets with that saw.

BTW... I always used the red teflon coat 72 T for the 12" but recently purchased the same in Frued's Silver Ice coating. Both are excellent but I like the Silver Ice coating the best I do believe at this point.

Scott will come along and post some charts for you as he is somewhat of a blade guru and test many different ones. I bought my Infinity from him after the tested it at a rather great price.

Sarge..

[Rob krokus]

I really appreciate the advice so far. Like I said - I've really searched the site - but could not find the info:). John Thompson- when you say Infinity, is this the blade you mean? 010-124, 10" x 24 Tooth Thin-Kerf Ripping Saw Blade x .097" Kerf, 5/8" Arbor. I know it's a 24T, but should I go that low if I am really looking for a clean edge on the long cuts? Right now I'm spending so much time ripping the sheets and then running each edge on the joiner.

Unfortunately - I am mainly using my TS right now for ripping mdf & ply; Furniture is taking a major back seat to getting the house re'modeled!
I was looking at the amana blades today - they looked great, but did not have any in a thin kerf.

Any other model #'s out there?

[Bruce Wrenn]

If you can catch a Delta 7657 on sale, it is a bargin. It's a 40 tooth GP blade. Often can be had for about $40. I have two WWII's but this is the blade I run every day. The Fussion blade has a high alternate bevel, and wouldn't give you as good a service in the MDF as you would expect. Check and see if Mike Jackson (xcesstooling) still has any of those $10, 60 tooth Delta blades left. Check classifieds here and at other forums. I use one on my miter saw, even though they were designed for use on table saw.

[John Thompson]

I really appreciate the advice so far. Like I said - I've really searched the site - but could not find the info:). John Thompson- when you say Infinity, is this the blade you mean? 010-124, 10" x 24 Tooth Thin-Kerf Ripping Saw Blade x .097" Kerf, 5/8" Arbor. I know it's a 24T, but should I go that low if I am really looking for a clean edge on the long cuts? Right now I'm spending so much time ripping the sheets and then running each edge on the joiner.

Unfortunately - I am mainly using my TS right now for ripping mdf & ply; Furniture is taking a major back seat to getting the house re'modeled!
I was looking at the amana blades today - they looked great, but did not have any in a thin kerf.

Any other model #'s out there?

The 24 T with a flat grind tooth is best suited for ripping solid wood as the fewer teeth and deeper gullets allow more efficient waste removal and speed a rip cut. But.. you are better off with more teeth on the ply as you encounter laminated sheets with grain running one direction in a layer and another on the layer under it.. etc. etc.. So in essence you are cross-cutting and ripping at the same time.

I do very few sheets of ply and mainly a cut-down of a few 1/4" sheets on occasion to store on my rack for drawer bottoms and chest dust backs. When I do them... I cut them down outside with a circular saw and guide and then down-size on my TS. I will usually score the cut line with a razon knife and then tape over with blue painters tape. I cut with a 40 T on ply and that combination produces little splinter.

But frankly.. I get about as good of a cut with a 24 T on MDF as with the 40T. BTW... I don't use TK blades period with exception of the SCMS as I run a 5 HP Steel City TS and it has absolutely no problem pushing full kerf. Pretty much true with a 3 HP TS also with a few exceptions of black walnut.. lignum vitae and a few other extremely dense hardwoods.

But under 2 HP I would use the TK which I used to do with a contractor saw with the smaller motor. So.. many choices as the Delta Bruce just posted at a bargain. And if you don't want to switch blades as I do almost daily.. the 40 T would be your best bet. A 50 T you oriiginally mentioned is just not a good compromise IMO for ripping but is fine for cross-cut.

Good luck...

Sarge..

[Paul Demetropoulos]

I agree with Tom Esh's comments, I don't cut MDF with my good blades although I do use them on ply. I'd get a blade in the 10-20 dollar range for the MDF and consider it disposable. You'll end up spending about that much to have the good ones resharpened.

[Rick Cabot]

Try this link for some excellent input!!
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=46517&highlight=blade+comparison+chart

Hope this is helpful.
Rick Cabot