Freud TK200 series blades

[tommyt654]

I,m thinking about purchasing either a 40T thin Kerf or a 60T thin kerf to replace the factory Delta blade on my old Delta 36-600 contractor saw has anyone ever used these or have any advice on the Freud TK200 Series blades

[sweensdv]

My advice would be to upgrade and buy a blade from the Freud Industrial Series blades.

[LCHIEN]

My words of advise:
Going to the industrial line will cost more but not buy you much more precision or smoothness, it will mainly buy you thicker carbides allowing more (like 10 times) resharpenings. If you are a home weekend hobbyist then the TK lines will probably be satisfactory at lower cost. I've only had some of my blades resharpened once over several years.

As for tooth count, the 60T TK406 is designed for smooth crosscutting (cutting across the grain). The 24T TK206 is a fast ripping blade for cutting with the grain, e.g. turning 2x4 into two 2x2, whereas the 40T is a more of a compromise between the two. the 60T is a poor ripper.

So I would not buy the 60T alone unless you were satisfied to put you old blade on for ripping tasks. So buy the 40T for general purpose work and not have to change blades. Or, buy the 40 and the 60 and maybe the 24. Then you use the 40T for times when you are doing non-critical work and don't want to bother changing blades. Use the 60 for fine crosscutting when building furniture and jewelry boxes, and use the 24 when ripping several boards to thinner pieces. If you don't want the 24, then the 40T will do an OK job of ripping, not as fast but OK.


The TK 206, 306 and 406 are on sale here:
http://www.ptreeusa.com/edirect_032409.htm

[Knottscott]

The Avanti and Diablo series are made from the same materials on the same machines as their Industrial series, but are marketed differently (different retailers). They're often an excellent value. The Industrial series has larger teeth and a broader selection.

I'd go with the 60T TK406 over the 40T depending on how clean of a cut you need....True, the 60T is labeled as a "Crosscut" blade, but in this particular case, it features a 15° hook angle which is an angle in the range of 2-3x steeper than most crosscut blades and it feeds very well, meaning it's ripping ability will surprise you. It'll cut cleaner than the 40T, is better in plywood, and will still rip pretty well in material up to ~ 1-1/2". Your 36-600 is plenty capable of spinning it. It's very similar to the Freud LU88R010 from their Industrial line, which was always one of favorites and ran it many times. You can always round out your collection with a TK206 ripping blade for ~ $25 if and when you need to rip thicker material. If you truly want just one blade, and think you may need to rip to 2" or so regularly, then the 40T is a safe bet, but you still may want to consider a 24T for thick ripping.

TK406 for $35 shipped.

[tommyt654]

Thanks for all the info, I,ll be going with the 40T as a starter for now. Mainly due to finances and I,m not really doing much work cause of the leg but PTREE is not far from a friends work so I won,t have to pay for the shipping, Thanks for the advice gang

[Knottscott]

The Avanti 40T is very similar to the Industrial LU86R010. If your stock Delta blade was anything like my 36T bludgeon blade, this 40T Freud is gonna seem like a Cadillac comparatively...enjoy!