Blade recommendations

[SSO720]

I know this is probably the unanswerable question but I'm going for it anyway. What is the best "all around" replacement blade to use on the BT3K saw? My saw had the Ryobi 10" 38T thin kerf blade when purchased too long ago to remember.
When I replaced that blade last spring (or maybe the spring before that) there were no 10" 38T thin kerf blades to be found but I did find/buy a Ridgid 10" 50T thin kerf on closeout sale at HD. I also have a freud 24T thin kerf if I intend to rip a lot of stuff.
I hate changing the blade so I'm looking for the "perfect" blade that can do it all. I know, that's like the search for the best pizza, never ending.
I was at my local Woodcraft store yesterday and watched a Forrest blade demo. They recommended their WOODWORKER II 30T thin kerf but at $100 it was too rich for me.
I'm open to suggestions before I spend my $$$$.

Paul

[Daryl]

I think the Freud Diablo is a good value. 40 tooth is my go-to blade. Check at Home Depot, probably around 30 bucks

[LCHIEN]

you sort of answered your own question about what is the best all-around blade. Our member Knottscott often recommends the Woodworker II 30T TK blade. But then you add a criteria that the blade is too expensive...

so, the original Ryobi-labeled, manufactured by Freud "Made in Italy" 36T (I think that's correct, not 38T) blade for the BT3000's and early BT3100s was quite a nice blade; if money is the overriding object and it was satisfactory performance for you, why don't you just pull it out and have it sharpened by a reputable sharpening service. Would probably cost less than $15 and a properly sharpened blade will cut like new (or better).

There are usually local shops that do a good shop (ask a professional cabinet shop where they get theirs done, most hardware stores will take blades for a local service that does pickups). Or you can send it to Forrest for resharpening by one of the best.

The least cost option is to continue as you are doing - use the 50T blade for most work and put the 24T blade on doing multiple rips... with the 50T you make a small sacrifice in cutting speed but save time and effort changing blades. That's pretty much what I do - leave a 40T WWII on and change when I need to do a lot of rips.

[cabinetman]

For that saw a TK would likely work best. I prefer dedicated blades for crosscutting and ripping. There are some "combo" 50T that work well for both, but IMO not better.

If a saw is light in the HP range it will benefit from a thin kerf blade. I find a full kerf more stable (generally), but especially when cutting bevels, or in hard dense stock.

.

[SSO720]

Thanks for the input guys. I had looked at the Diablo 40T and was considering that. Having the original blade resharpened never occurred to me(duh). I think the local Woodcraft store has someone that resharpens. I will give that a try and see how it works out.
Thanks for the help.

[Knottscott]

There's only so much range that any single blade can cover well before something needs to give in terms of cut quality. The typical 40T or 50T blades tend to fall short at both extremes...thick ripping and fine crosscuts/ply. Any blade that's good at either of those extremes won't be good for much else. I do think the 3/32" thin kerf version of the Forrest WWII 30T covers about as much ground as any blade I've used yet, but it too falls a bit short in the areas of fine crosscuts and plywood.

It really boils down to you accepting one of two philosophies....getting a single blade that does a "good" job of most things, but excels at none, or buying two blades that each has an area of expertise but offers little versatility.

You might ask the sharpener to put a 10-20° top bevel on the stock 36T blade...that should improve crosscut quality a little, and will come closer to the configuration of the 30T WWII.

[cwsmith]

Well, I've been using the Ridgid-brand TIN-coated, 50-tooth combination blades on my BT3100-1, and on both my RAS and CMS.

I'm mostly working with pine, but have also done a good amount of red-oak. Ripping on the BT, and doing all my cross-cutting on the RAS. These blades have worked very satisfactory for me, and I have gotten very nice smooth rips as well as great cross-cuts (slow-cut).

Unfortunately, Ridgid no longer markets these blades and I understand they were dropped late last summer (2011). However, I believe these were made for Ridgid by Freud (like the original OEM blade for the BT, they are marked "Made in Italy".

So now, Home Depot stocks the Freud "Diablo" blades. They look almost exactly like my Ridgid, minus the TIN coating. I believe the Freud "red" is actually some kind of non-stick surface, but I could be wrong about that.

I believe a very similar question was posted just a couple of weeks ago and I recommended the Ridgid blades at that time and was told by one of our forum veterans that they were no longer available. I did stop at my local Home Depot shortly after and sadly confirmed that these were gone.

In any case, I'll be giving the Freud Diablo 50-tooth blades a try on my next purchase. The Freud Diablo's are available in the same "tooth" choices and at about the same price that I recall. $40 or so for a 50-tooth, thin-kerf combination blade and slightly less for a 40-tooth.

I too cannot afford to go with the WWII blades, which are completely out of my class. I also much prefer to buy my blades locally and as I need them. In my area my choices are pretty much Home Depot, Lowes, and Sears... or maybe a lumber yard. Home Depot has been my most recent preferance.

I hope this helps,

CWS

[SSO720]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for all the input on this question. I took my old Ryobi 36T blade in to the Woodcraft and it will be back next week. Cost is .35$/tooth, which works out to $12.60. Lots cheaper than a new blade. Will see how it does after sharpening.
I found the Ridgid blades on the net, thru the Ridgid web site and on Amazon, but the Diablo blade is now a better buy.
I wish I could afford the Forrest blade but for what I do, it's outa reach for me. I build custom electric guitars and use the BT to size my body and neck blanks. Most of the other work is done with the band saw, router table and the Ridgid ROSS.

[LCHIEN]

let us know how it goes!

[LCHIEN]

...
So now, Home Depot stocks the Freud "Diablo" blades. They look almost exactly like my Ridgid, minus the TIN coating. I believe the Freud "red" is actually some kind of non-stick surface, but I could be wrong about that.

...

CWS

Freud's red coating is supposed to be a non-stick teflon.

[tommyt654]

I think you would be hard pressed to beat this blade by CMT that our on member here Brian sells at Holbren, we get a 10% discount on these as well if I'm not mistaken. I have used this blade on my old Ryobi for a general use blade its thin kerf and works well and right now at $31 a steal IMO , http://www.holbren.com/cmt-itk-gener...x5-8-bore.html OR This one as well , http://www.holbren.com/cmt-thin-kerf...-5-8-bore.html

[Indywar2]

Table saw blade recommendations

Hi everyone,

I recently purchased a BT3100-1 table saw ($50 off CL) and searched the forum for blade recommendations. The last discussion appears to have been ~ 1.5 years ago, so I was wondering if any other blades are recommended.

Primarily, I am using the saw to make kids furniture (used the 9" homecraft I had to make doll beds, doll house and potato/onion bin). I will probable use my circular saw to rip sheets of plywwood down, rather than trying on the table saw. Mostly, I am using pine, but expect shortly to start with additional woods (oak, popular, etc), as my techniques improve. So I am trying to determine what blades would 1) work best with the saw, and 2) provide the best cuts for my applications. (I do not currently have a planner / jointer, so the TS and router would need to fill that function also).

I have read the Forrest WWII (10", 40 tooth, 0.125") is the standard, if you can afford the $127 price tag (I may at Christmas time). I have also seen folks talk about the Freud Diablo (10", 40 tooth, 0.125", $30). What are the opinions on the Freud Fusion (10", 40 tooth, 0.126", $79)? I also notice 40 teeth vs. 50 teeth blades- is there any significant performance difference between these, and would one be prefer over the other for my applications?

Sorry for the long winded message, and thanks for any advice,
Rob (IN)

[Black wallnut]

I've copied the last post into a new thread. Welcome to BT3Central. You get the benefit of 2 posts for the price of one. []