Saw Blades

[Bob Johnson2]

A few questions on saw blades.

Since getting rid of my cabinet saw and getting a Dewalt job site saw I need to change or add to my blade selections on the Dewalt and also my circular, which I'll use for cutting down sheets of plywood. I'm going with thin kerf on the Dewalt as the full kerf blades seem to it bog it down. If I slow up enough to not bog it down, the wood burns. picked up a Diablo 40T combo which works a lot better, but leaves a lousy surface when ripping. So I need a 10" thin kerf rip blade and am looking for recommendations. I se Freud also makes a 24T thin kerf rip blade but know nothing about Freud blades other then the price is right and HD carries them.

I Have a pair of stiffeners/dampeners I used on an old RAS. If I put the 2 on the Dewalt it throws off the riving knife, is there any benefit to using just 1? it would be on the arbor nut side.

Last question. I also need a good 8 1/4" plywood blade for the circular saw. I see glue line blades, standard, and industrial, depending on where I look. Any suggestions on a good 8 1/4 crosscut blade? Anyone try a Makita? Okay, that was 2 last questions.

[Paul F Franklin]

I have three go-to blades for my table saw, all freud. Their glue line rip blade, the ultimate melamine and plywood blade, and their combo blade. The glue line rip gets used for any solid wood ripping. The ultimate melamine and plywood blade for crosscutting solid wood and any cuts in cabinet grade plywood. The combo blade gets used for MDF, framing lumber, and the like. I like this trio because they all are the same kerf so my zero clearance insert works with all of them. I use the full kerf versions, but freud makes them in thin kerf as well (although I don't have experience with the thin kerf versions). I have other blades, but have settled on these for 99% of what I do.

As far as the stiffener goes, if it is just a flat disc, you could use it on one side only, although I doubt it will make much difference. If it has a thick rim and is recessed near the arbor, I wouldn't use it only on one side as it might deflect the blade.

Freud makes the ultimate melamine and plywood blade in 7 1/4, not sure about 8 1/4? Pretty sure it's thin kerf only in that size. I use the 160 mm version on my track saw and it cuts plywood very well.

[Robert Engel]

I’m pretty much the same as Paul, except I’m using mostly CMT blades. The key to good good plywood cuts is a sharp blade, good feeding technique, material support & a well aligned saw.

I’m not familiar with any 8 1/4” blades I use a track saw but I also use a Diablo 60 tooth in a circ saw and it does quite well

Never done it b/c I have track saw, but adding a zero clearance to the bottom of a circ saw plate helps with tear out, too.

[Lee Schierer]

I have used Freud blades for nearly 30 years. I'm still using most of them. I get clean cross cuts and burn free rip cuts. I have a 1 Hp Craftsman 113 table saw. All my blades are full kerf. The blades I use most are the Glue line rip blade, a LU73 and a F80 Hyper Finish blade.

To get the best performance from any saw you need to spend the time to give it a precision alignment. Burn marks are a sign of poor alignment or a dull/dirty blade. I use a dial indicator mounted on my cross cut gauge to set the alignment. I have dialed my saw in to less than .001 according to the indicator. I also check it from time to time to insure it hasn't changed.

[Phil Mueller]

I also have a Dewalt jobsite saw. Infrequent use, but go to for rough dimension cutting is a Freud combo full kerf. For more accurate rips I use an Amana 20T full kerf, and for accurate crosscut (primarily miter cuts for picture frames, etc) a Freud thin kerf 60T with a -5 degree hook.

All work well. I have never had the saw bog down in hardwoods up to 8/4. Early on, I would get burning on woods like cherry, but some fine tuning to square up the blade has all but eliminated that.

Lee was posting at the same time and I agree that spending the time to align the saw will get you better results.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Paul and Robert, it takes 10" blades.

Bob, it's a good saw, but it will never have as much power as a full size, perhaps just accept it and slow down a bit, oh and use good blades. What we use on ours are what you've mentioned, the 40 and 24 tooth Freuds only because they are cheap and easy to find even though I personally don't like thin kerf blades, and I like stabilizers even less. Forrest blades have always been good to me, I recommend their lineup for thin or full kerf. Woodworker 2 is my go to. Skip the stabilizer though.

Oh, plus one about aligning it really well.

[Jim Dwight]

I use and like my SawStop PCS with the 1.75hp. I thought it would be able to handle full kerf blades, like my BT3100 did, but it does not. I had major difficulty ripping softwood with it using a full kerf blade. I was using new Infinity full kerf combination and then ripping blades. A freud 24 tooth ripping blade did much better despite the fact that it was well used and not terribly clean. But that experience convinced me to just switch to thin kerf blades.

I've tried other brands but keep coming back to Freud. I like the CMT blades I have tried, however. But I think Freud blades are any easy decision, they have always worked for me. I bought a 40 tooth Fusion blade first only because it was readily available at a good price. I wanted the thin kerf 50 tooth with 40 ATB and 10 flat topped rakers. I like this tooth design in a full kerf in Freud or DeWalt blades but still haven't tried it on the PCS. The Fusion blade is doing really well. Most recently I ripped some 3 inch thick softwood glueups with it. I have a thin kerf 24 tooth ripping blade too and was prepared to switch but I thought I would just try the 40 tooth fusion first. It did the cuts without struggling and left a smooth surface. I have used it in hardwood too but nothing over an inch thick that I remember. Worked well. Works well in sheet goods too.

[Marc Fenneuff]

Another fan of the thin-kerf Freud Ultimate Plywood and Melamine blade here, for sheet goods and most crosscuts. I also used it on a BT3100, which had a 15A motor.

[Bob Johnson2]

Thanks for the help folks. I found the 10" Freud Glue line rip blade but it's out of stock everywhere, asked to be notified when it comes in. The only 60 tooth 8 1/4 I found is the Forrest, at least it's the only one from a company I've heard of. Don't want to spend that kind of $ for a circular saw blade so I'll go with a 40T and see how it does. Have to decide on the Freud or a Makita.