Buying blades for a new Sawstop 3hp. Please double check me…

[Kyle Mills]

I’m going from an underpowered saw that I use with thin kerf blades to a Sawstop that I want to use full kerfs on. Historically, I’ve had two blades—a glue line rip blade and a crosscut blade that I could use on pretty much everything including melamine and veneered plywood.

I like to have blades that are the exact same kerf so that my tape always measures the same and this seems to go double for the Sawstop due to potential brake spacing issues. Also, you can’t have depth-limiting shoulders or coated blades because they can interfere with the safety feature.

The only blades I can find that fit the bill are from Carbide Processors. The glue line rip blade and the melamine veneer blade.

Do you see any problems with using these blades? Is there a better—and perhaps cheaper—option that you know of? Any thoughts would be helpful.

Thanks!

[John Schweikert]

I use Forrest, Carbide Processors, Oshlun, Tenryu, Freud red coated and clear coated with my PCS. No issues with any of them. Plenty of blades with true 1/8" kerfs from many manufacturers. You may be over thinking this or unnecessarily worrying.

[Chris Padilla]

I use 3 types of blades:

(1) crosscut (very high tooth count, alternating top bevel (ATB))
(2) ripping (very low tooth count, flat top)
(3) general purpose (tooth count in the 40-50 arena, usually ATB)

From this group, you'll have your 'good' blades for nice hardwoods/plywoods and your 'crappy' blades for junky plywood, MDF, and other stuff you don't want to use your 'good' blades on. You'll probably have at least 4-6 blades on hand at any one time. Waiting for a blade to be sharpened can be a pain so that is where multiples creep in on ya.

All are 1/8" kerf...very standard...everyone makes 'em.

[scott spencer]

I hear nothing but good things about World's Best blades, but both are a tad steep IMO. I definitely wouldn't spend close to $80 for a 24T rip blade. You'll have a very hard time differentiating between the performance of good 24 tooth rip blades, so I don't see good reason to pay a premium for that one. They're generally considered a rougher cutting very efficient blade suitable for thick rips...the best of them are marginally capable of a glue line cut if all goes well (there are several factors involved). I'd also prefer a flat top grind (FTG) to the TCG. There are several really good 24T full kerf FTG rip blades for $50-$60....Freud LM72, Infinity 010-024, CMT 201.024.10, Guhdo 2400.100A24, Amana Tools, etc. I'd even consider a $30 Oshlun for this type of bull work.

There are also several excellent choices in a melamine veneer blade ($100+ buys an awesome blade), but it's worth determining what your volume levels will be first. High volume commercial shops favor edge life at the expense of some cut quality. If your volumes are that of a typical hobbyist, you can get the best cut performance without worrying much about edge life. If that's the case, I'd look to a Hi-ATB grind like the Freud LU80, Infinity 010-080 Ultrasmooth, CMT 210.080.10, Forrest Duraline, or Amana MB10800.

I'd also look to get some sort of a 40T to 50T all purpose blade too. The Delta 35-7657 is tough to beat at a clearance price of ~ $30 shipped. US made, 40T ATB, full kerf, C4 carbide, well made blade that'll give many $100 blades a run for their money.

[Kyle Mills]

There are several really good 24T full kerf FTG rip blades for $50-$60....Freud LM72, Infinity 010-024, CMT 201.024.10, Guhdo 2400.100A24, Amana Tools, etc. I'd even consider a $30 Oshlun for this type of bull work.

I'd never heard of Guhdo. Seems like a great price and it's .126. The others aren't appropriate because of the shoulders that are strictly forbidden by Sawstop.

There are also several excellent choices in a melamine veneer blade ($100+ buys an awesome blade), but it's worth determining what your volume levels will be first. High volume commercial shops favor edge life at the expense of some cut quality. If your volumes are that of a typical hobbyist, you can get the best cut performance without worrying much about edge life. If that's the case, I'd look to a Hi-ATB grind like the Freud LU80, Infinity 010-080 Ultrasmooth, CMT 210.080.10, Forrest Duraline, or Amana MB10800.

I actually have the thin kerf version of the LU80 and really like it. And this one is .126 like the Guhdo.

I'd also look to get some sort of a 40T to 50T all purpose blade too. The Delta 35-7657 is tough to beat at a clearance price of ~ $30 shipped. US made, 40T ATB, full kerf, C4 carbide, well made blade that'll give many $100 blades a run for their money.

Great price but unfortunately .118 kerf. I really would like them to all be equal this time around. I've made more than a few mistakes forgetting about the differences in my blades.

[glenn bradley]

I’m going from an underpowered saw that I use with thin kerf blades to a Sawstop that I want to use full kerfs on. Historically, I’ve had two blades—a glue line rip blade and a crosscut blade that I could use on pretty much everything including melamine and veneered plywood.

I like to have blades that are the exact same kerf so that my tape always measures the same and this seems to go double for the Sawstop due to potential brake spacing issues. Also, you can’t have depth-limiting shoulders or coated blades because they can interfere with the safety feature.

The only blades I can find that fit the bill are from Carbide Processors. The glue line rip blade and the melamine veneer blade.

Do you see any problems with using these blades? Is there a better—and perhaps cheaper—option that you know of? Any thoughts would be helpful.

Thanks!

I made the switch to Carbide Processors awhile back. I can get just the blade I am after and have, over time, replaced my whole arsenal. I use a 30T rip, a 50T combo, a 50T FTG that is for specific slots that I use on some pieces, a 55T plywood blade, a 60T and an 80T. I have them all ground to 1/8" kerf which reduces the carbide a bit so, decide on that for yourself. This is my choice as I have quite a range of jigs, sleds and fixtures and its nice to be able to use them interchangeably without issue. This may not be important to others and I get that.

I have had some of the stable resharpened although you wouldn't know it to look at them. I have used many top name brands and many of them are quite good and worth the money. After having used the Carbide Processor products for some time I just automatically call on them when in need. The lifetime on the blades is what makes them a bargain to me. I keep track of such things and am at a nearly 3 to 1 ratio on the WWII sharpening schedule and over a 3 to 1 ratio on the Freuds.

P.s. I run a SS 3HP PCS and change the blades without the need to adjust the brake. This is not really any big deal and I adjusted the brake for blade changes for quite awhile as I rotated the other makers blades out of stock. It never did me any harm ;-) My point is that this is not a decision-maker or a deal-breaker as far as I'm concerned; just a nice bonus.

[John Schweikert]

I went through the Sawstop manual and nowhere do they "forbid" a blade with shoulders.

Exact quote from the manual:

"Blades with depth-limiting shoulders may take longer to stop in the event of an accident than standard blades, and you could receive a more serious injury. Therefore, SawStop recommends using blades without depth-limiting shoulders."

"recommends ... without" and "forbid" are worlds apart.

[Kyle Mills]

I went through the Sawstop manual and nowhere do they "forbid" a blade with shoulders.

Exact quote from the manual:

"Blades with depth-limiting shoulders may take longer to stop in the event of an accident than standard blades, and you could receive a more serious injury. Therefore, SawStop recommends using blades without depth-limiting shoulders."

"recommends ... without" and "forbid" are worlds apart.

Yeah, but they write it in bold!

Since I have to buy new blades anyway, I figure why buy one that could reduce the effectiveness of the saw's safety features? Particularly, when the recommended ones are just as good and no more expensive.

[Steve Wilde]

I put a Forrest 40 tooth ww2 blade on my 3 hp pcs. I can't complain whatsoever about the blade. I'm looking for a ripping blade as we'll and won't estimate to buy another Forrest.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

The brake is capable of stopping a whole dado stack, and that's pretty heavy. Should stop a shouldered blade too.
I run Forrest WWII, Freud Glueline rip, cheapo 10 buck HD combo blade for recycled wood, Freud bulk ripper, Avantis. All the blades seem to run fine, no problems with paint, teflon etc. They all run perfectly fine on my ICS.

[Chris Padilla]

I wondered why a depth of cut limiting blade would be harder to stop unless it is just the extra bit of rotational mass beyond the ~5" radius?

While they can stop a much more massive dado blade, I bet that brake is stronger than the brake for a regular, single saw blade. I'm just guessing.

[Larry Frank]

If I had some good thin kerf blades, I would use them. I have the Sawstop PCS and use a mix of the thin kerf and full kerf blades. No reason to toss a good blade.

[Mike Heidrick]

Adjusting for dia of blade takes seconds. I would not sweat that.

[joe milana]

I believe that a depth limiting blade takes longer to imbed itself in the aluminum brake and come to a complete stop due to the "depth limiting" feature.

As far as blades, my favorite, and I have a whole collection of blades, is the Freud premier fusion 40T High atb. It just seems to give me the best result. In fact, I just took one off tonight to send to the sharpener, and replaced it with a WWII. The WW just has a wierd feel to it while cutting, and makes some odd harmonic sounds. It's almost brand new too.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I put a Forrest 40 tooth ww2 blade on my 3 hp pcs. I can't complain whatsoever about the blade. I'm looking for a ripping blade as we'll and won't estimate to buy another Forrest.

I assume spellcheck took you to estimate, rather than hesitate, in which case......

I have a bunch of Forrest - all std kerf. Observations for you, in case you are interested......

The WW II works fine for ripping most wood.

However - I have a 30t and a 20t rip blade for [roughly] 6/4 and 8/4, respectively. They work great - very easy cuts, even in hard domestic stuff, like QSWO.

I also have the 80t Hi-AT blade for panels, and also for crosscuts where I want to be particularly picky.

Btu - the WW II does 80%+ of the work. To the point that I have 2, so there is a sharp one on the saw, and the other is out to be sharpened.

If you don't cut a lot of the very thick stuff, you can get great results with just the 40t WW II. I do a lot of my work in 4/4-5/4.... So - mabye you don't need a dedicated rip for blade #2 - maybe the Hi-AT?

Just laying out your options...........

Oh - and I have the dado king, and 2 x 12" 80t chopmaster.

I also have a 10" 80t chopmaster from previous CMS - gave the saw away to a friend, but he did not want to drop $100 on a blade. I have been known to run that on the TS for crosscuts as well...........