OK, now looking for saw blade info...

[steveg]

I have found some discussion on blades on the forums, which is helpful, but thought I'd ask a specific couple of questions.

First, does anyone know what kind of blade might be on my 22811? I think it is most likely the original one that came installed on the saw. By cranking up the blade, I was not able to see a brand name, but I did see this info:

10" combination blade
7000 RPM
36 teeth
laser cut, carbide tipped
Made in Italy

Secondly, I figure I need a decent combination blade -- one that will do fairly nice crosscuts, and good rips. I am doing a little trim work on a home addition, and primarily need to rip some 3/4" oak to size, for some wood columns. Will the blade I have (whatever kind it turns out to be) do a decent job, or -- if not, can someone recommend what they consider to be the best blade to do this job, at the most affordable price? I have looked online for some blades at various websites (I glanced at ereplacementparts, as I need to buy a wrench as mentioned in my earlier thread and thought I might add a few things to that order), but it is tough to know what you are getting in terms of quality-- so I'd be interested in opinions from people who have used different blades...

Thanks so much,

Steve

[Knottscott]

Sounds like you got one of the Freud made 36T FTG blades made specifically for the BT saws...that's considered to be a pretty good all around blade. Keep it clean and sharp, and it should do ok.

It's certainly possible to upgrade to a good thin kerf 40T ATB or a 50T ATB/R blade for your saw that'll do a very good job of most tasks, though separate crosscut and rip blades will be better in their respective tasks.

The premium examples of an all purpose blade will run in the $70 to $100 range:
Forrest WWII TK
Ridge Carbide TS2000 TK ($81 shipped from Holbren with "BT310" discount code)
Freud Fusion TK
Infinity Combomax 010-150.

Lots of good < $50 choices in general purpose/combo bargains too:
CMT P10050 50T ATB/R combo blade from Lowes for $40
CMT 216.050.10 50T ATB/R combo from Holbren
CMT 214.040.10 40T ATB
Freud LU86R010 40T ATB for $42 shipped from Amazon
Ridgid Titanium R1050C (by Freud) 50T ATB/R combo from HD for $40
Freud Diablo D1050 50T ATB/R combo from HD and others
Freud Diablo D1040 40T ATB from HD and others
Craftsman Pro 32808 40T ATB from Sears (by Freud)
Craftsman Pro 32864 50T ATB/R combo (by Freud)

For a finer cut, the Infinity 010-060 Hi-ATB 60T is superb at crosscutting and plywood, while ripping well to ~ 5/4", and the Freud LU88 is very good in those areas, while ripping a little more efficiently up to ~ 6/4". You could always add a 24T FTG ripper to one of these and be set.

Tips for picking a saw blade

[Uncle Cracker]

A member here, Brian Holbren, sells a wonderful assortment of blades on his website.

He is extremely knowledgeable, and can tell you exactly what you need, if you let him know what work you will be doing, and your price range. He also offers a discount to BT3Central members on most items. Just let him know you're a member.

[steveg]

Thanks for the info, guys. I appreciate the link, Uncle Cracker, and Knottscott, thanks for the info on my blade type, and some good options.

A question -- you said the Freud blade is a decent one, and one could certainly upgrade. While the $70 to $100 blades you listed would be an upgrade, and while I could upgrade to a rip-specific blade, are any of the sub-$50 blades you listed, in your opinion, an upgrade from the Freud I have?

By the way, I just now saw the link you included at the bottom of your post about "tips for picking a saw blade." Thanks much for that -- I'm going to get to reading it here momentarily...

Steve

[Knottscott]

...A question -- you said the Freud blade is a decent one, and one could certainly upgrade. While the $70 to $100 blades you listed would be an upgrade, and while I could upgrade to a rip-specific blade, are any of the sub-$50 blades you listed, in your opinion, an upgrade from the Freud I have?

By the way, I just now saw the link you included at the bottom of your post about "tips for picking a saw blade." Thanks much for that -- I'm going to get to reading it here momentarily...Steve

Hi Steve - That 36T stock BT blade is kind of unusual. It has fewer teeth than most general purpose/combination blades so won't necessarily cut quite as cleanly as those, and uses flat top ground teeth vs ATB, which are primarily found in a 24T ripping blade and are efficient at ripping. There are pros and cons to every design....the 36T FTG configuration will rip more efficiently than most GP/combo blades, but will have more tearout on crosscuts and plywood. If it's still clean and sharp, it'd be ideal as a clean ripper in moderately thick material, having somewhat similar strengths as the 30T TCG glue line rippers like the Freud LM75. Your stock blade will also leave a flat bottom

So, which to get really depends on what you'll be doing most and how you like to work. If you're going to pick up a 24T FTG ripper for bulk ripping for efficient ripping (always a decent choice with a smallish saw if you rip much 6/4" + stock), I think I'd lean toward complimenting it with a 60T blade like the Infinity 010-060, Freud LU88, Freud Diablo D1060, Ridgid Titanium R1060C (by Freud), or CMT 206.060.10. These are largely considered crosscut/cutoff blades, but all have a positive hook angles and work well as very clean cutting general purpose blades...they actually rip really cleanly until you get into the thicker materials in the 5/4" range and up, at which point they'll have more tendency to bog and burn. The downside of using a 60T as a primary blade is that you'll need to swap blades more often than using a typical single 40T or 50T blade, but you'll gain a performance advantage with each blade.

Of those 60T blades, the Infinity is unique, and actually has a Hi-ATB grind that'll have the least amount of tearout in crosscuts and is superb in plywood, while the Freud based blades will be more efficient at ripping due to their steeper 15° hook angle...since you've got a very clean ripper in the 36T blade, and are considering getting a 24T FTG for thick ripping, I don't think you're really in need of the ripping attributes of the Freud 60T blades, which sort of leaves the Infinity 010-060 as the best choice for this scenario by default. Keep in mind that we're getting into fairly subtle differences, so either of these 60T blades are a solid choice to compliment your 36T blade or a 24T FTG ripper if you add one. Compared to the premium general purpose blades, blades like the 010-060 and the LU88 tend to cut more cleanly, especially in crosscuts and ply, but rip less efficiently.

There's really no wrong answer with these choices...it's just a matter of optimizing your situation with your budget and work habits. A couple of examples...
Scenario 1: Lets say for example you buy only a 40T Diablo D1040 for $30...it'll be cheaper than some choices, will likely be better in crosscuts and ply than your stock blade, requires fewest blade changes, but is also has the most overlap in capability compared to your stock blade. This still leaves you somewhat weak in thick ripping and fine crosscuts/ply cuts.
Scenario 2: same as scenario 1, but let's say you grab a Ridge Carbide TS2000 for $81 from Holbren (or a WWII) instead of the D1040...it's more expensive than the Diablo, will likely outperform your stock blade and the Diablo to some degree in just about every regard, has many of the same benefits as Scenario 1, but also has many of the same drawbacks, so you'd gain some noticeable upgrade in performance from what you've got now, but still wouldn't have the level of performance of going with separate blades.
Scenario 3: Let's say you grab a 24T ripper for $35-$50 for bulk ripping (something like a Freud LU87, CMT 202.024.010, DeWalt DW7124PT, Infinity 010-124, then add a $70 60T Infinity 010-060...it's obviously a more expensive choice upfront and you'll need to change out the blades more often, but you'll have the best performance across the broadest spectrum of cuts...very efficient thick ripping compared to any other scenario, very clean cutting 60T blade for general use, and superb crosscuts and ply cuts, plus both blades will actually stay sharp longer because they're sharing the load. You'll still maintain pretty good versality with the 010-060 as a primary blade.
Scenario 4 : Same as scenario 3...get a 24T ripper, but substitute the Diablo 60T D1060 or Ridgid R1060C for the Infinity to shave costs...nearly the same benefits and drawbacks, but won't get quite the level of performance in fine crosscuts/ply. (You could always add the 24T blade later as needed to help defer cost). You'll still be able to rotate in your 36T with any of these scenarios when you want cleaner ripping than the 24T can provide.

Hope this helped more than it confused!

[steveg]

knottscott --

So much good info there, I'll have to read it again to absorb it all.

But, I will give you some additional info. I have a 12" DeWalt compound miter saw, which I use for crosscuts of anything up to about 10" wide, which is most of the work I do at this point. So, the only time I'd use the table saw for crosscuts, in my mind, is if it is a board wider than my miter saw can handle. The problem with the miter saw right now is that I get alot of "tearout," using an 80T DeWalt blade (don't have the specs on me right now, but bought it at HD, I think it's the DW3128). I assume a better blade will solve this issue?

Bottom line is, for the project(s) in my near future, I need a blade on the table saw to do a nice rip job on 1/2" to 1" oak, and I need to make crosscuts of the same hardwood -- presumably on the miter saw -- with as little "tearout" as possible.

Given that, it sounds like I need some blade advice for the 12" miter saw, to do nice clean crosscuts. Then, perhaps, given what you said...

If it's still clean and sharp, it'd be ideal as a clean ripper in moderately thick material

...maybe my stock Freud blade will do me a decent job for now in the table saw.

After my current project, I'll use your advice, probably scenario #3 or #4 -- and thus have specific crosscut and rip blades.

If my thinking here sounds reasonable, then can you make any miter saw blade suggestions for crosscutting (obviously) 1/2" to 1" oak?

[Knottscott]

Steve - I don't own a 12" saw, but I can make general recommendations. You might find that your BT is capable of more accurate crosscuts than the miter saw, at least when cutting within it's capacity range.

For a 12" blade, I'd suggest full kerf...that's a large span for a thin kerf.

On the bargain end, Holbren has the Oshlun SBW-120080 for $45, and the SBW-120096 for $48....fairly nice blades for the price, and they're full kerf. He also has the higher end CMT 210.096.12 Hi-ATB blade for $80 (should have extremely low tearout), and the CMT 219.090.12 for $79. (use "BT310" discount code to get another 10%).

You could always go with a Forrest Chopmaster or Duraline, but they're typically pretty expensive. The Infinity Miter Max 012-190 is on sale for $90...similar to the Chopmaster. You might even find some deals on NOS in the DeWalt Series 60...their DW7649 is an 80T ATB blade.

[steveg]

Thanks much, Knottscott. This gives me plenty of info, and should get me set up well for my project!

Steve

[s78wingrider]

7 1/4

I've never used anything but a 7 1/4" blade on my 3000