All Replies on Need advice - tablesaw blades

1)YES! If yo have the funds, go for it. If not, Freud is always an excellent fallback. I just bought a 40T myself.

2) Again, if you can afford it, get one of each.

3) I have a freud stacked Dado I just had the blades sharpend on, and I love it.

Hope that helps!

-- Beer, Beer, Thank God for Beer. It's my way of keeping my mind fresh and clear...

A combo blade is easier to use, but a dedicate ply/crosscut blade will give better results within it’s intended range. A rip blade is easier on the saw and saves the edge life of your better blades.

The Infinity Dadonator is the best dado set I’ve used to date…..their other blades I’ve tried are also world class (Super General, Combomax). They have some nice package deals that can save some coin. Package deals.

Tips for picking saw blades

-- Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....

Go on eBay and look for Onsrud blades. Very nice, I think German manufacture. VERY inexpensive on eBay. I think I paid $22 each. MANY choices in terms of grind (ABT, TCG, and many more). I got a dedicated ripping blade and plywood blade. You can get a glueline rip blade, etc. For a couple hundred bucks, why get 2 blades when you could get EIGHT…. or just get 4 and use the extra C-note for something else :)

@knotscott – thanks for the links. Your “tips” write-up is outstanding!

I’ve had 10” combo Forrest, Ridge, and a custom blade with Cermet teeth from Carbide Processors. They all perform about the same. If you do a lot of heavy ripping, a dedicated rip blade is worth it. For less than 1 inch inch ripping and all else, I now use an 8” Freud Premier Fusion. It does just as well as the much more expensive big boys, without degrading my self esteem.

-- Clint Searl.............We deserve what we tolerate

Charlie gave ya a good tip. I picked up 2 Onsruds, a glue line ripper and combo. Excellent blades.
I have a bunch of Freuds as well. Also good.
Check ‘em out.
Bill

-- bill@magraphics.us

The Onsrud blades are a great value, but their supply is dwindling. He’s got 9 listings right now, for 10” blades.

-- Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....

I have a combo blade from Onsrud I purchased from ebay at Scott’s recommendation. I’m very, very happy.

-- When you earnestly believe you can compensate for a lack of skill by doubling your efforts, there is no end to what you CAN'T do

I have used freud combo which I liked Now have Separate rip and crosscut Frued which if you have the $ I think is a better choice. Just depends on what you are doing with it and what your cutting

I have used almost all of the very good combination blades that there is available today. But if you intend to do alot of ripping, then I would go with a decent ripping blade. The best combination blade cannot compare to a good ripper.

I don’t know what the name is but if you go to Home Depot, go to the machine they use to cut blinds and find out the blade name. I have about 5 of them and they are the sweetest blades I ever used. They have about 120 teeth and are super balanced I have never had Tare out, never got a burn on the edge. They only come in 8” but work great on my uni-saw. I will go down to the shop and look at one after this post. BRB

OK I found it. The blades are made for “Nien Made blinds” by ACAT. From what I see you can’t buy them commercially. You will have to get hold of the person that repairs and services the Nien Blind machine and as him to get it for you. or give you the old one. I worked for a company doing maintenance on them and use to service them. I had to change out the blade when they asked me to even though the blade was still good. I asked the parts people if they wanted the blade back and they said just through it away. I asked if I could keep it and they said “sure”. That was 5 years ago and I still have the blades. Its worth the trouble they are a great blade.

Go for the Forrest Woodworker II (I use a 10” 40 tooth regular and thin kerf) and a Freud Stacked Super Dado set. This combination is hard to beat and will serve most all of your needs. I would use something else if I had a lot of green or wet wood to saw. The Forrest blades stay sharp for a long time and perform well for ripping and cross cutting. The Freud Stacked Super Dado is extremely accurate and results in a flat bottom. Buy these and pretty much forget the search for others.

-- Roger M, Aiken, SC

Go to this site; Everything you could ever know about saw blades. http://www.carbideprocessors.com/pages/saw-blades.html

FORREST-FORREST-FORREST. I use Woodworker II blades and the Forrest 8” dado set. Finest, longest lasting blades ever. Send them to Forrest for sharpening when needed and you have a new blade again. They are very good at sharpening their blades and very reasonbly priced. Send them UPS or Fedex. You CAN NOT go wrong with these blades or with the Forrest customer service. They will pay for themselves with their quality and longevity, justifying the little bit higher price going in the door. It is a family owned, small US company to boot.

-- Improvidus, Apto quod Victum-- Improvise, Adapt, Overcome

If you’re not ripping anything thick, you might consider installing an 8” blade. A little cheaper.

-- Failure does not stop me, it makes me try harder..... because I'm crazy.

My suggestion is to call Ballew Saw & Tool, 325 S. Kimbrough, Springfield, MO at 417-865-7511, and see what they have on sale as I know they’re closing out some old (but good) stock, including blades from Germany you don’t see often and at great prices (for instance 8” stacked dado for $160), but no Forrest. I’ve bought Sysmatic carbide blades from them and like them better than either Frued or Forrest. In the interest of full disclosure, I am good friends with the owners but have no financial interest in BS&T. Good luck.

-- John C. -- "Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth." George Washington