Recommendation for a Miter Saw Blade

I have the forrest chopmaster on my Bosh 5412L (dual sliding compound mitre) and it is excellent. I had a freud on it and it was ok…but nothing like the chopmaster. The saw used to drag a bit going through thicker pieces of hardwood…now it cuts extra smooth and the wood is like glass at the cut….The chopmaster is definitely not an inexpensive blade…but it is well worth the cost….I have yet to see any chipout sinch I started using this blade…it has been in my saw for over a year and is still sharp as ever…and that is after alot of use (I do switch to the freud when I am cutting dimensional woods though)

-- Woodworking.....My small slice of heaven!

Jim – Do you need 10” or 12”? You’ll want a blade with a low to negative hook for your SCMS…up to 10° should be fine. Tooth grind is a matter of preference and objective. ATB is a good all around ground for smooth crosscuts…the Hi-ATB blades with a steeper bevel have even less tearout than the ATBs, with a downside of slightly faster wear. Triple chip grind (TCG) is very durable…good choice for MDF, flooring, and other tough materails. The Forrest Duraline is an extremely good crosscut blade, but so is the Chopmaster. Freud’s better 10” offerings include the LU80 (LU79 is the TK), LU85 (LU74 is the TK), or the LU91 (TK). WC’s website shows they have the CMT and DeWalt’s too…both good quality names. The DW 80T is a good value at ~ $60. If you venture outside of Woodcraft, the Infinity Hi-ATB blades are excellent too (010-080 and 010-060 in 10”).

I use Freud blades in my table saw and miter saw and couldn’t be happier. The ones I use have a chrome coating to reduce build up on the blade and they can be sharpened up to 6 times, they are also reasonably priced. I haven’t had experience with Forrest blades and I doubt I ever will because I can’t see myself changing from Freud as long as they keep up the good work.

-- A hammer dangling from a wall will bang and sound like work when the wind blows the right way.

Good questions Jim! I’ve been looking for a new 12” SCMS blade for my Bosh 5412L for about, well lets just a long time. I’ve been back and forth on the Freud’s and Forrest. I just don’t use the SCMS that often to justify the heafty price tag. But I think if I had a sharp blade in mine, I’ll use it a whole lot more.

I’ll keep an eye on this thread.

cc

-- Chunk