Rip Blades

Not sure that you need a rip blade. I use a combination for everything. A Forrest WW II does a great job
ripping and cross cutting.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

I also use a combination blade for most cuts.
Having said that, I do use a rip blade on rough or thicker stock. I believe the glue line rip blades are recommended for stock under 2”.

-- If we learn from our mistakes, I'm getting a fantastic education.

Yes, in my opinion, you are right. You DO need a dedicated rip blade.

Forrest blades happen to be really REALLY good, but in general you sacrifice in both directions with a combination blade. You will be amazed at how easily and smoothly a ripping blade works. You will get used to changing table saw blades and it won’t seem like a big deal.

The Freud blades are excellent. I absolutely love mine. If you have any issues with power at all (if your saw is wired 110v) then you should go with a thin kerf blade. It will also waste less material when you rip a board into several strips. With a more powerful saw (at least 3 hp on 220v), and not worried about board footage, go with the full kerf glue line.

But either one will cut like butter in long grain.

There is nothing like using the right tool for the right job. I believe the same thing goes for saw blades. Ripping blade for ripping, cross cut for cross cuts, and don’t for get plywood blades for plywood.

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I agree with Gary’s comment. I use a plywood sled on my table saw to straight line my rough stock and use a Forrest WWII predominately. I do take the milled lumber to the jointer after that. I have a 1 1/2 hp motor on my saw and it doesn’t have any problem with 4/4 stock. I feel that a combination blade is enough sawblade for most table saw applications. Blake is right about using the right tool for the job and a combination blade does have some trade-offs but for most operations the combination blade will do the job adequately.

The problem I have with a thin kerf blade is that they really need a stabilizer on them as the blade can deflect during the cut. The stabilizer reduces the overall height of the cut but unless cutting deeper than two inches this doesn’t pose a problem.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I guess I still lean towards a dedicated rip blade, because I don’t want to have to take the pieces back to the jointer after I cut – my jointer tends to leave a little bit of scalloping, which then has to be sanded off (unless maybe my jointer isn’t set up quite right… darn all these power tools!). I hate sanding, and want to do as little as possible.

Those of you that use a combination blade – what’s your process after ripping? How do you avoid tool marks on the exposed edges of your cuts?

-- -- Kevin in Mentor, Ohio

I would go with the ripping blade too, in most cases. There is nothing wrong with combination blades…and for a simple cut on just a few pieces, why not. For cutting a lot of stock or for cutting thinck stock, you really should switch blades.

Kevin, you really should get a better surface from your jointer than a saw blade. Some tuning and maybe sharpening is in your future.

Longhair – the surface is definitely better from my jointer than from my current saw blade!

But it still leaves some scallops that aren’t feel-able, but are visible after finishing. It’s brand new, so sharpening shouldn’t be necessary… but if you have any tips for tuning it, I’d appreciate it.

-- -- Kevin in Mentor, Ohio