I use Freud Full Kerf Glue Line Rip for years and very happy with them.
I use Freud Full Kerf Glue Line Rip for years and very happy with them.
The better Freud blades are good, but be aware that they are a “metric 10 inch” blade and are a bit smaller than a true 10” in diameter. With a Sawstop, that means more adjustment of the brake setting when you change blades. You might also drop below the minimum diameter to work with a Sawstop after a sharpening or three.
Freud Glue Line Rip Blade. I've had really good luck with mine.
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to post. It is great to hear all of the different ideas.
Here’s something out of left field.....
Where I live there are a number of sharpening shops. We have a bunch of industrial woodworking companies around here that they service. Most of these guys process red oak for trim, furniture, or RV accessories. They have the blade thing figured out. I had a sharpening shop tune up a backsaw for me. While I was there, I noticed a bunch of saw blades for sale. Industrial grade, huge carbide teeth, custom ground in any pattern you wanted. And very modest prices. I could buy three blades for my Ridgid table saw for the price of a Forest or Freud. I am a full 10 years in on a combo and rip blade. They still cut oak like styrofoam. The rip saw cuts a glue joint right off the blade. Places like this are worth a look.
Sharp solves all manner of problems.
I wish I knew of a sharpening service near me. I have mailed blades to Ridge and been happy with the result but it is not cheap or especially easy.
I like my full kerf Freud ripping blade, it has 24 teeth. But I bought a two blade set with a 24 tooth ripper and a 50 tooth combination from Infinity when I got my SawStop PCS 1.75. I used full kerf and thin kerf on my old Ryobi BT3100 and never noticed much difference. I have been unpleasantly surprised so far with the PCS and these Infinity blades. I think part of it is the riving knife is too thin and on one cut that gave me trouble it was letting the wood pinch the blade on the back side which is bad for multiple reasons. Long story to say I am not sure if thin or thick is recommended if you are less than 3hp. If you have 3 hp or more I would definitely go thick. I have not used the Infinity ripping blade, same as Ken has, on my old Ryobi but I see no reason it would not work as well as my older Freud. They both have 24 flat top teeth and deep gullets.
I have had great results with saw blades and recently an insert head lock miter cutter for my shaper from Royce-Ayr. Very high quality products and their customer service is second to none.
I have a Systematic 10" 24-tooth rip blade that I that I picked up about 10 years ago. Systematic has been discontinued but, if you can find one, grab it. Thick carbide which can be resharpened several times. I've had mine resharpened twice and it looks like the carbide could be sharpened at least 3 more times. Wonderfully smooth, no saw marks and it feeds easily. If you find one on eBay or at a flea market grab it! I have a Forrest Chopmaster on my slider, a Ridge Carbide combo blade on my Unisaw but if I'm doing any serious ripping I'll turn to the Systematic.
Last edited by Ron Kellison; 06-03-2019 at 9:55 PM.
Best regards,
Ron
You haven't really been lost until you've been lost at Mach 2!
I have the Freud 24 T 10" glue line rip blade. Compared to my Tenryu Gold combo blades, it leaves a fuzzy edge. It may be a little faster, but the cut is not as good.
Lee Schierer
USNA '71
Go Navy!
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I use a Freud LM72R010 rip blade. It has a FTG grind and a 0.126" kerf. I use it for most all of my solid wood ripping as well as cutting 1/8" box joints. The cuts are smooth and fast with a nice smooth and square cut.
Charley
Hi Lee, I hope I didn't come off as being argumentative about the Freud rip blade. I see others have had good results with it.
I do a lot of ripping strips from various species, and normally I just leave my combo blade in. I had purchased the Freud several years go but had not used it. I wanted to avoid dulling my freshly sharpened Tenryu Gold while ripping some Jarrah, Jatobe, and hard maple strips but was not getting a very smooth edge with the Freud. The Tenryu left a nice glueable edge that I have become accustomed to. I also tried for comparison, ripping some of the Radiatta pine the Orange store sells. Same result. My PM 66 is aligned well but I confess I do not use a ZCI often unless cutting good plywood. Perhaps my Freud is defective but I've had it for several years, and don't remember where I bought it. Anyway, thanks for the input and I hope I didn't step on any toes with my post.
I've used both the thin kerf and 0.026 kerf Frued rip blades. I think the thin kerf has 30 teeth, the 0.026 has 24. The thin kerf was just the ticket way back when I had an underpowered saw, and the 0.026 has been a great performer.
More recently I picked up an Amana euro rip, it's also a 0.026 kerf but has 20 teeth. It leaves a good surface, comparable to the Frued, but I think it rips a little faster.
But most recently I picked up a 16", 36 tooth, 0.1875 kerf blade from Popular Tools for the Oliver saw. It's been amazing. Now, arguably the machine has as much to do with its performance as the blade itself. The other blade on that machine is a Woodworker II.
Both the Amana and the Popular Tools came from my local sharpening shop. I feel spoiled with them because all I have to do is call them and their delivery truck will show up at my shop and bring me any blade I need.