[Noek]

I am thinking about the different types of blades that are available, thin kerf, crosscut, etc, and wondering what would be a good fit for replacements when it's time, or just stick with replacing what I currently have.

In my table saw I currently have a Sawstop titanium 80tooth and my mitre saw I have a Diablo combination 50 tooth.

They both seem to do decent jobs but I am wondering if I should be using the Sawstop blade for crosscuts or not and am I missing out by not using specific blades as opposed to combo blades or is not really a big deal.

Thanks in advance.

 

[knotscott]

My take on blades

 

[ryan50hrl]

My take is the miter saw is crosscut only.....a frued ultimate cutoff if it's not a slider or a lu91 if it is.

For the tablesaw I'd pick a glue line ripper and a crosscut blade. I keep a combo blade for cut I don't want to do with my good blades...like MDF.

 

[mmwood_1]

I don't know where knottscott is getting his blades or what he's buying, but I cannot find a really good blade under $70. My suggestions? Dedicated blades do a better job at their task than combos. A rip blade will rip more easily than a combo, a crosscut will cut more cleanly than a combo. BUT, it depends on the level of accuracy you are striving for, and the budget you have to work with. I have an Orion combo blade that does a pretty good job on both, but I prefer my Freud crosscut because it's a little bit more stable, and my Matsu****a thin kerf rip blade zips through 2" maple or oak like paper. Although the thin kerfs do need to be cut slightly wider to account for some minute wobble. There is more stability ripping with a 1/8" kerf combo blade, but you stand a greater chance of burn marks if you don't have perfect alignment between blade and fence. Anyway, that's my analysis, for what it's worth. I would definitely like to try a Forrest blade, but the price tag is pretty steep. I don't know anyone who uses them.

 

[knotscott]

The deals vary with the sales and closeouts, but they are out there. $100 pretty much assures that you'll get a great blade, but if you're patient and selective, you can come very close for 25-50% of that...

Here are a couple of examples of excellent blades made in the USA for very low prices:

Delta 35-7657

Oldham Pro Series 100PT80:

Here's an 18T bulk FTG ripper made in Germany by Leitz:

 

[Noek]

My take on blades

Thanks, very informative. Lots of good reading.

And thanks to everyone for the answers.

 

[Steve Neul]

What are you cutting? No one blade does it all. Each has it own applications. I might use a 80 tooth blade to cut plywood or a fiber cement blade that has only 6 teeth for ripping hardwood.

 

[Noek]

Mainly just hardwoods like maple, walnut, etc...

Rarely cut ply but when I did I was using my combo blade.

Perhaps I need to clean my blades but I have noticed some burning from my table saw blade once in a while.

 

[jokker78]

Irwin Marple blades from Lowes are pretty good. Their combo blade is good all around. A 24 or 30 tooth rip blade from Freud is amazing. They are about 50 ish

 

[MarkE]

Freud blades are excellent and a good value. I get mine from Amazon.

My saw usually has a combo blade. I switch to a rip blade(glue line rip) for thick rip cuts. I use a melamine blade for ... melamine. Most crosscuts I do on the sliding miter saw with a 12" 80-96 tooth blade with negative hook angle.