Best Carbide Blade for Cutting MDF

[bmuir]

New here. Searched MDF an found nothing. I cut a lot of MDF for speaker cabs. I would like to know what blade(s) you all think are the best for getting the through MDF (number of teeth, angle, etc.). I mostly cut 3/4-inch MDF from HD so it is not the real dense stuff. MDF is tough on carbide and worse on tool stee. But it is what I have to cut. So, do I go cheap or more expensive? What models?
Thanks for the help.

Bill

[Knottscott]

The most durable grind is a triple chip. Sometimes the Freud LU82M010 60T goes on sale < $30 delivered from Amazon.

Mike Jackson at Woodnet still has some Leitz deals going:
35-633 10" z80 TC 5/8" bore *0 degree hook*$28

http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB4&Number=2526328&Forum=f4&Words=&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Main=2516752&Search=true&where=bodysub&Name=33376&daterange=1&newerval=1&newertype=m&olderval=&oldertype=&bodyprev=#Post2526328

An alternative is to buy a few cheap 7-1/4" circ saw blades and just go through them....MDF is tough on blades, but it does cut easily.

[RHunter]

I gotta agree with the idea of using cheap circular saw blades.

I picked up some from HD when they had their buy 1 get 1 free deal on their Ridgid 7-1/4" circ. saw blades.

When I get done with 'em, I just toss 'em!!!!

Saves the Freud blades for the good stuff!!!

[SARGE..g-47]

And I'll third Dustmight's call on 7 1/4" circular saw blades. Why pay for 10" if MDF is all you cut. It eats blades alive if you use it on a regular basis.

BTW, don't over-look Oldhams. I use a 60T carbide Oldham in a PC circular on larger hard-wood panesl (I score the hard-wood) and get excellent results. I keep another on an old Shopmate circular for MDF.

Good luck...

[drumpriest]

I just use el cheapo B&D 10" blades for it, but a circ saw blade would work well also.

[Tom Slick]

if you really want the best you need a forrest duraline hi/at. they are $$$ though.

[LCHIEN]

New here. Searched MDF an found nothing....

Bill

The search here has some serious flaws.
One, it ignores all search words of 3 chars or less. So MDF, Saw, BT3, TS
all get thrown out when searching; that's why you got nothing, I imagine.

[truckman]

I've been wondering about this subject as well ...

I tried out the "What Saw Blade Do I Need?" feature on the freudtools.com saw blade web page, and they recommend either using the TK806 or LU98R010 when cutting 1 1/4" or less MDF on a BT3-class table saw. The TK806 is a 0.098" kerf ATB blade, and the LU98R010 is a 0.126" kerf TCG blade.

A friend who is a long time BT3000 owner suggested that to reduce wear on my BT3100 motor and belts I might use a smaller diameter blade if I don't need to cut through thick material. I noticed that the 10" LU98 blades are pretty expensive and I that could save quite a bit by buying an 8" or 9" version of this blade. Would there be any compatibility problems with this on a BT3100 w/Sharkguard, assuming that I'm always doing through-cuts on 3/4" or less material?

[LCHIEN]

I've been wondering about this subject as well ...

I tried out the "What Saw Blade Do I Need?" feature on the freudtools.com saw blade web page, and they recommend either using the TK806 or LU98R010 when cutting 1 1/4" or less MDF on a BT3-class table saw. The TK806 is a 0.098" kerf ATB blade, and the LU98R010 is a 0.126" kerf TCG blade.

A friend who is a long time BT3000 owner suggested that to reduce wear on my BT3100 motor and belts I might use a smaller diameter blade if I don't need to cut through thick material. I noticed that the 10" LU98 blades are pretty expensive and I that could save quite a bit by buying an 8" or 9" version of this blade. Would there be any compatibility problems with this on a BT3100 w/Sharkguard, assuming that I'm always doing through-cuts on 3/4" or less material?

using a blade of less than 10" diametere would raise a couple of minor issues with the sharkguard. I would not go so far as to say unsafe, but it would
1) leave a gap between the riving knife and the blade, slightly reducing effectiveness and
2) cause you to have to remove the riving knife for partial grooving (non-through) cuts.

That said, you noted you will always do through cuts, and MDF is so dimensionally stable that closing up on the kerf is never a problem, so just beware on cutting small squar-ish pieces about kickbacks.

[Knottscott]

I've been wondering about this subject as well ...

I tried out the "What Saw Blade Do I Need?" feature on the freudtools.com saw blade web page, and they recommend either using the TK806 or LU98R010 when cutting 1 1/4" or less MDF on a BT3-class table saw. The TK806 is a 0.098" kerf ATB blade, and the LU98R010 is a 0.126" kerf TCG blade.

The TK806 will cut MDF cleanly...for a while, but will dull more quickly than a TCG grind. MDF is pretty unforgiving to a sharp edge, and will very noticeable if cutting any large quantities.

[truckman]

The TK806 will cut MDF cleanly...for a while, but will dull more quickly than a TCG grind. MDF is pretty unforgiving to a sharp edge, and will very noticeable if cutting any large quantities.

I spent a bunch of time with Google to find out more on this subject. It sounds like ATB and H-ATB blades give a smoother cut and less chipping, but the acute angles wear out faster when cutting MDF, so TCG is probably a better choice for my intended usage. Here's a good explanation by DEWALT.

I was thinking the Freud LU98R010 was expensive until I checked the price for the Forrest Duraline HI-A/T