Three part question. First when it comes to 10" saw blades what do you keep on hand as far as teeth per inch? Secondly, who makes the best blades for the money? And last are there any blades to just flat stay away from?
I keep 2 identical blades, both are Forrest WWII's 40 tooth regular kerf. I have no other for regular sawing. This particular blade does rips, corss cuts, and compound miters better than any single blade that I have ever owned in the past 28 years.
Secondly, who makes the best blades for
IMho the above mentioned brand. They stay sharp for a very long time.
And last are there any blades to just flat stay away from?
Probably
I use a Forrest WWII (own 2) for 99% of my sawing needs on the TS; a Forrest
10" ChopMaster on my SCMS; and a Freud GlueLine Rip for those expensive wood panel glue-ups.If I was limited to one blade, it would be a Forrest WWII. While there are other blades that may cut as well, the Forrest is likely a top contender for best value for the buck considering the number of times they can be re-sharpened to "like new", cost effectively.
The latter is an important consideration if you do much woodworking for profit. I have a friend with a furniture/cabinet shop who goes through ten Forrest WWII's a year with re-sharpening.
As always, YMMV depending upon your type of woodworking.
I cut all my moldings on the table saw with 80 tooth blades but I'll change blades for specific purposes. I think my fewest TPI on a 10" is 24 with the largest being 80 and several in between.
I'll agree that the Forrest blades are top of the line and in the long run I think the best value.. For a little less money look at the Amana and Freud. I've used both and they are quality blades but don't quite measure up to the Forrest.
Any blade that came with your new saw. ;-)
Mike O.
I usually have a 40 tooth full kerf blade on the table saw. I have 30 tooth full kerf and 24 tooth thin kerf for when I need to do some serious ripping in thicker stock. If you have a standard 1-1/2 hp or less saw then it helps. Never used a more powerful cabinet saw, but I imagine they can mow through 2" of maple with whatever blade you want to use. For more than one cut it's worth the time to change blades on my saw.
On the miter saw I have an 80 tooth. Not particularly any reason to have anything else there.
Safest bet and bang for the buck: Freud. That's what all my blades are except for the 40 tooth are, which is a Ridge Carbide.
-Leuf
I use a Leitz 50t ATB & R for my normal table saw blade; replace with a Leitz 60T ATB if I'm doing a lot of cross cutting, miter cutting, or working with composites. These both do a great job, however, it was not a purchase decision, it was because they were Delta OEM and I had low cost access to great, German made, blades.
I use a Forrest chopmaster which is an 80T TC & F with a negative hook angle on my radial arm saw. Another great blade. Negative hook important for control, particularly on a RAS.
I have a number of others being involved with the blade testing during the transition of Delta OEM from Leitz to Oldham after Delta purchased Oldham. These others, mostly test prototypes are branded Delta, but would probably be the equivilent of Oldham Signature series. I like them, and know from the testing they are good blades. This information approximatley three years old, today, who knows.
There are many very good blades, and I suppose there are some junk blades, however, other than some of the throw away stamped steel blades used to satisfy UL (saw has to be sold with a blade, but we sure don't know what you want...), I'm not too familiar with them.
Frank
Interesting ... That probably explains the Delta branded blade that came with my Unisaw a few years back that is one of the best blades I've ever used.
Although I keep a Forrest on, if I have to ship both back for re-sharpening which ocassionally happens, it is the first blade I grab.
I've said many times that it was an excellent blade, something you wouldn't expect as OEM.
Several years ago Jet saws came equipped with Systematic blades. A Systematic blade was my first good blade I ever had.
Yep, more than likely a Leitz. Great balance, radial and axial runnout tolerances, nice clean body polish and laser engraving rather than silk screen labeling. Cuts like a dream.
I would have preferred to not buy Oldham and stay with Leitz. It was not a Delta management decision, but a Pentair tool group decision. Oldham pretty good, but Leitz slightly better IMHO.
Don't know what Oldham has become with the sale to B & D. They had their own blade sources, and I think they shut down Oldham's North Carolina facility.
Frank
nothing. circular saw blades are measured in teeth per blade. how many teeth you can run on a blade is largely a function of how much horsepower your saw has. the shape of those teeth is largely a function of what you are cutting.
what is the best flavor of ice cream?
blades with too many teeth for your saw motor, blades with the wrong tooth configuration for your material, blades with the wrong service life for your business model.
The one that came on my saw is equal to a $10 Craftsman blade I use for rough cutting questionable wood. Can't tell them apart. Either you got lucky or I got a reject.
For serious work, I use a Ridge Carbide 40T and I have a couple of Freud Diablo 80T that have done more than they were designed for.
Like I said, I've always been a bit puzzled when folks bitched about the Delta blades that came on the Unisaw, but it looks like Frank has cleared up the mystery ... not my usual "luck", BTW.
Funny story there. Last year the vice principal at the school where I teach agreed to buy my shop a new Saw Stop. (Please - let's not have a SS pro/con session here) Since it is three phase the hook-up had to be made by one of the school electricians/custodians. He saw the manual and thought the idea of a saw stopping mechanism was just too cool, so he fired up the saw and touched the spinning blade with an alan wrench. The blade stopped all right, but it was toast. He had to replace the POS stock blade with a new blade. I ended up with a good quality Freud blade in place of the one that came with the saw.
Glen
Not a matter of luck or a reject. Depended on the model. Most special edition Unisaws over the last twelve years had the Leitz or, more recently, the Oldham blades. That was most of the saws sold. IMHO, the special editions were usually a pretty good deal.
The factory could not substitute blades, had to supply what was on the BOM for the particular model. Sweat it out many times waiting for those Leitz blades to come in so the line could run.
Frank
agreed to buy my shop a
three phase the
the manual and thought
and touched the
toast. He had to
Freud blade in place
Did your school end up with a new electrician (or the electrician need a new
*rsehole)?
No, but I understand thet the night supervisor had a talk with him, explaining that he should not play with the toys. I believe that the blade came out of his pocket, but the SS cartridge came out of the dep'ts budget.
Glen
I almost hate to admit this but I bought a "Lifetime" 10" saw blade sku# 46231 50 tooth with raker blade and carbide tipped distributed by Harbor Freight. We are running it on a 3hp Delta unisaw to rip and cross cut red oak and white pine and it is great! Don't remember what I paid for it but it was cheap or I wouldn't have tried it! (one of those something for nothing moments) It's been running for three months with no degradation so far. Kenneth
So what you're saying is that the saw brake mechanism fired after being touched with a wrench?
Frank
If so, you'd think that would classify as a misfire.
I am not electical expert by any means, but wouldn"t the wrench act as a conduit between your hand and the blade--the same as if you hand touched the blade.
Somebody with a touch lamp see if you can turn it on/off with a metal wrench in your bare hand.
Dave
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