Favorite TS Blade Poll

[onedash]

would it be generaly safe to assume that the more you spend the better it will be? I guess the question would be how good do you need and at when does the price to perfomance level peak.
ie a $4 blade would suck a $15 blade is ok for cutting 2X4's a $50 blade leaves no tear out and a smooth edge and a $100 blade leaves no tear out and a smooth edge and a $200 blade leaves no tear out and a smooth edge.
Or am I off a little?
The two pack of Craftsman C200 had a 40 and 60 tooth and it was $50.
The Thin Kerf Freud I got was $35 and I haven't tried it yet but I dont expect it will much better or worse but will waste a tiny bit less wood.I might try the Freud combo with like 5 teeth big gap 5 teeth big gap. Do they tend to burn the wood less????

[LarryG]

quote:Originally posted by onedash

Or am I off a little?

It's not that you're off so much that there's a lot more to it than just the cut results. The quality of the steel used in the blade, and how well the blade is designed to accomodate expansion, will affect how well it performs, how well it stays flat. (A really cheap blade may not be very flat to begin with.) The size of the carbide teeth -- the ones on my Forrest Chopmaster are MASSIVE -- will govern how many times the blade can be resharpened. And so on and so forth.

Tearout is definitely affected by how well the blade cuts and how well it is sharpened (not just absolute sharpness but also how accurately the individual teeth are set relative to each other), but tearout is really more a matter of how well the stock is backed up during the cut, the feed rate, and how prone the particular species of wood is to splinter.

I don't think anyone would disagree that spending more will get you a better blade. The point of disagreement is where and when you enter the old point-of-diminishing-return territory.

[LCHIEN]

Well, if all people were good and honest then price would be a good indicator. But price goes bad when:
1. A manufacturere sells the same item for $10 and $50 but calls the $50 item the deluxe model.
2. When the extra money goes into useless items such as packaging, advertising, etc.
3. When the extra money goes for a gold pated machine shop
4. when the extra money goes to the owners 15 unmarried sisters working as quality inspectors.
5. when the money goes to a costlier materials but the material adds no value to the end user.

so you get the picture, the extra money must be spent right, you can't tell where it went just by the price tag.

Look at the picture below of two 40-T blades, one's a $20 blade the other's a $100 blade,
you can definately tell the difference (Don't peek at the names).


The article:
http://www.bt3central.com/forum/topi...ade,comparison

Incidentally I also hold Freud blades in high esteem for overall quality, breadth of product line and value for the money. Although the array of products they have can be overwhelming.

[Knottscott]

Just got my Forrest back from sharpening...it'd been in need of it for a while, and man did I quickly forget how good that blade is! It's a WWII 40T and is hard to knock on any type cut or material. It's really pretty amazing....you have to look really, really hard in bright light or sunlight to even find the saw marks on most woods. It cuts cleaner than my brand new DeWalt Series 60 DW7646 60T crosscut/finishing blade (guess that'll go to the CMS!), cleaner than my Freud LU84R011 (sold it), cleaner than my Leitz 40T, and much cleaner than my Oldham and Vermont American (junk...gave them away!). It's pretty respectable in ply and melamine too. It even rips quite well, but to save it from the bull work of heavy ripping I did get a DeWalt DW7124TK that I really like it alot. The 7124 is a 24T ripper with a similar design to the Freud LU72 (FTG configuration), but is a TK and cuts alot faster on my saw (sold the LU72). My recommendation is two good blades for a total of abou $130 to cover everything....A WWII 40T general purpose and DW7124TK ripper...no crosscut blade needed.

[mr.g]

I also use a Porter-Cable Razor. The 100VT50 is a 10" 50 tooth variable spaced tooth design. I find that it does a good job both ripping and crosscutting. What I have found with it is that you need to increase your feed rate a little beyond what you normally would. The blade is actually designed with the variable spaced teeth to have a higher feed rate. When I bought mine at Home Depot about a year ago it was under $40. For this price point I don't think it can be beat.

[gtd]

Hello - I'm new to this forum. I have sold my craftsman TS after 15 years of now and again use. The BT3 has peaked my interest - can you tell me the blade that is currently sold with this TS? freud / forrest / Ryobi. is this consistant across all HDs? thanks

[onedash]

I was looking at the sharpening services from forrest. Of course im sure most people think they do a good job so I was wondering if any especially dustmite who might have had blades sharpened at their factory and if they are better than others?
I can get em done for .25 cents a tooth and forrest is about twice that plus a lot of shipping. I haven't had any sharpened yet (ever)so just wondering what to expect when I do. Wonder if I should make that a new topic?

[LCHIEN]

quote:Originally posted by gtd

Hello - I'm new to this forum. I have sold my craftsman TS after 15 years of now and again use. The BT3 has peaked my interest - can you tell me the blade that is currently sold with this TS? freud / forrest / Ryobi. is this consistant across all HDs? thanks

The BT3100 comes with a venerable 36 tooth freud=made, rYOBI-LABELED blade that is
quite nice - makes very clean crosscuts and rips. Not a Forrest, but quite good for a blade supplied with a saw.

[JimD]

I don't remember how many carbide toothed blades I have but it is more than 6. I have not tried a Forrest but if Loring says it is good I bet it is. For general stuff starting out, I think the stock blade is probably all you need. If you will cut thick material (more than an inch thick, especially hardwoods), I think your next purchase should be a dedicated ripping blade from Freud. I was surprised at how much easier thick rips in hardwood were with a ripping blade. Feed rate was controlled more by getting the dust out than the saw hp (I pushed too fast and got some saw marks that I think were the result of the blade being moved by dust build-up against the blade). The blade I just got has 24 teeth that are 1/8 inch wide. I do not think thinner blades are generally a great idea. It seems like they flex or something and the difference in the power is not very apparent. Anyway, my general purpose blade is a Freud LU84 as has already been mentioned. When it goes out for sharpening, I use a similar 50 tooth with 40 ATB and 10 are rakers made by DeWalt. One of these blades is on the saw when the ripping blade isn't except if I decide to give the stock blade a try. The difference between my LU84 and the stock blade is much less than the difference between either of them and the ripping blade (when ripping). I would make a zero clearance insert for the stock blade and make some stuff.

Jim

[Knottscott]

Hi onedash - No, I haven't tried the Forrest sharpening service, although I hear great things about it....even from people who sent in another brand. A good friend of mine has sent his WWII in twice and has been very happy with their service. Between shipping the blade both ways, and their sharpening price, it would have been > $30...more than twice what a good local place charges. I decided to give my local guys a shot and they did a fine job.

OT p.s. I need help turning back on the pic feature on this forum....how do I do it?

[Fuzzy]

There are so many responses to this question mine may not fit in here! I am pretty new at this woodworking stuff too as far as
attempting some of the fine workmanship some of you guys put out!!
after a few weeks with the stock blade on my bt3100-1 I too went
looking for a reasonable replacement and found it in the "don't laugh" Black and Decker Piranha 60t blade at (i will repent later)
WallyWorld.. For around $20 it is to me comparable to the stock blade
and easy on the wallet,,, yes yes yes.. I will get a WWII or such
after I have learned how to======everything better!!

[Harris]

Hi all. I saw some other positive reviews of the PC Razor so I went with it.

I am a newbie and have never used a TS before but the PC Razor compared to the ancient blade that came with the ancient TS I am reconditioning was pretty impressive. Very clean and smooth cuts. I can't wait to make some more sawdust.

Concensus seems pretty strong about the Forrest WWII. I emailed the company and even though it is isn't on the website they do make a 10" with 5/8" arbor. That will go on the someday/maybe/wishlist.

[Jim-Iowa]

I am using a Freud Avanti 60 T blade.
For $40, I am very impressed with this blade.
I think I will be getting an 80 T in the same line as well it`s about $10 higher.

[vaking]

I want to mention that it is not fair to compare quality of crosscut between Ryobi stock blade and WWII. One is a general purpose blade with 36 teeth, another is made for crosscuts and has 80 teeth. The stock blade will not excel at crosscut or at rip cuts but it will make both cuts decently. WWII will excel at crosscut but will not be good for rip. If you want a fair comparison - match 80 teeth blades from Forrest and Freud.
Also, many manufacturers make different lines of products with different quality. Freud makes contractor grade blades but I haven't heard much praise to Diablos here.
Finally, B&D Piranha blades are not very consistent. I have one (32 teeth rip) and it is made in UK but most are made in China.

[LarryG]

quote:Originally posted by vaking

I want to mention that it is not fair to compare quality of crosscut between Ryobi stock blade and WWII. One is a general purpose blade with 36 teeth, another is made for crosscuts and has 80 teeth.

Um, you may be thinking of the Forrest Chopmaster, which I have on my CMS. It's an 80-tooth blade made specifically for miter saws. The Woodworker II is a 40 tooth combination blade for table saws (it doesn't have combination teeth, but it's advertised as being for combination use and I have read many comments from people who use it as their all-purpose TS blade).