Freud Thin Kerf Ultimate Plywood & Melamine - LU79R

Hi sIKE;

The link didn’t work, but Freud does make good blades. I still stick to Forrest even though they’re a little pricey.

By now it just maybe a habit!

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Try this Lee:

http://www.freudtools.com/p-16-thin-kerf-ultimate-plywood-melamine.aspx

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

Everything I have read on Freud suggests that they make a quality blade but I agree with Lee. I use all of the different Forrest blades on my saws and simply have not found a reason to switch to another manufacturer. But at one-half the cost of the Forrest blade this on may be worth looking into.

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

Thanks! I have ordered one, had a 15% off coupon to Rockler that was going to expire n the 31st so I went ahead and ordered one of these.

-- //FC - Round Rock, TX - "Experience is what you get just after you need it"

sIKE, you should post a review on the Freud blade. I would be interested to see what kind of quality the blades are.

-- Steve-o

I usually use an industrial, very thick, blade for the miter saw. A thin kerf blade will work for thin material, but will deflect a bit when trimming thicker stock. You might consider getting a thicker blade also for those thicker, heavier boards.

-- Oldworld, Fair Oaks, Ca

Thanks John that is what I was interested in hearing, Freud has the LU80R which is basically a standard kerf version of the same blade.

-- //FC - Round Rock, TX - "Experience is what you get just after you need it"

I use all Freud blades and love them. For plywood I use their blades that have an excellent rating for plywood use. My experience has been almost no tear out on plywood cross cuts. I use them on my 7.25 circular saw and 10 table saw.

-- DaveH - Boise, Idaho - “How hard can it be? It's only wood!”

The LU79 is the thin kerf version of the LU80 (formerly the F810), which is an 80T Hi-ATB grind. The high bevel angle on the top of the tooth gives the Hi-ATB grind the lowest amount of tearout of any other grind, which makes it outstanding for crosscuts, plywood, melamine, veneers, etc. The downside of the high bevel angle is that it tends to abrade a little more rapidly than most grinds….keep it clean and it should stay sharp for quite a while for hobbyist uses.

The LU79 and LU80 are similar to the Forrest Duraline 80 tooth, the Infinity 010-080, and the Amana MB 10-800. I’ve tried the F810, Forrest 100T Duraline, and a similar Infinity 010-060 60T. All are exceptionally clean cutting, and anyone of those should serve in a similar fashion for the application you described.

I replaced the 60 tooth blade on my Hitachi SCMS with the Freud LU85R010 10-Inch 80 Tooth ATB Ultimate Cut-Off Saw Blade with 5/8-Inch Arbor and PermaShield Coating
The crosscuts are glass smooth, and it costs less than a Forrest (which I have on my TS and love). Makes a lot of powder quality sawdust, so use your dust collection behind the blade.

-- Gerry

I’m about due for a couple of new blades here.

What are your thoughts on “thin kerf” blades now?

I have always avoided them in the past to help eliminate flutter.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

I’ve had a lot of success with high quality TK blades. They’re an excellent choice for smaller saws, not so much to save wood, but to save motor strain. A full kerf blade is 33% thicker and simply requires more power to get through the same cut. If you’ve got a true 3hp + cabinet saw, there’s less reason to use TK, unless that’s what you’ve already got or if you cut a lot of expensive exotic woods (then the savings can add up).

Modern TK designs are excellent and can cut as well as a comparable full kerf blade….a couple of magazines have stated pretty much the same thing recently. I’ll reiterate the importance of sticking with the higher quality blades… don’t expect a $16 junker from HD to consistently to justice to woodworking projects. $35-$40 tends to be about the starting point for higher end blades, and can easily hit the $100 mark. If you stick with the better Industrial Freuds, Forrest, Infinity, CMT, Leitz, Amana, DeWalt Precision Trim, you shouldn’t experience any flutter on a saw that’s running smoothly doing hobby level quantities. If your saw vibrates alot or has excess arbor runout, then a TK blade will tend to amplify the problem.

On the CMS/RAS I have TK blades and I have not had any issues what so ever. I have been extremely happy with both blades so far.

-- //FC - Round Rock, TX - "Experience is what you get just after you need it"