Cheap Freud saw blade

[altoonaPillarRock]

I was at Home Depot the other day and I saw this red Freud Diablo saw blade that said "thin line rip" for $27. I thought, gee that's cheaper than what I see on the internet and I could use a blade like that. The number on the blade is D1024X.

The blade on the internet is a different model number and more expensive. Freud has a confusing line of saw blades. What does Diablo stand for?

I have a Powermatic 66 table saw. I buy my oak and cherry planed to thickness because I don't have a planer or jointer. I use my table saw mostly for ripping. I want a saw blade that will give me a good glue line.

I use a radial arm saw and miter saw for other operations.

Should I take this blade back and buy something else?

Regards

[Bannerstone]

A good quality yet inexpensive dedicated rip blade is a good thing to have but the combo blade is probably going to spend the most time in the TS so spend the serious dough on the combo. Diablos are good enough blades and serve the purpose but the rip won't be of much use on the RAS or miter saw.

I use Diablos and have no problems with them. The advantage of a thin kerf blade is to extend the motor life of an under powered saw, which is not an issue with a 66.

David

[U-CDK_CHARLES\Charles]

Try it. I might work on your setup. It's a cheap mistake. At worse, you have a decent blade for rough work.

Diablo blades are "Thin-kerf Contractor" grade. Carbide is a good bit thinner than on their Freud labeled blades. Thinner carbide means fewer resharpenings, but it's often cheaper to replace cheap blades than to resharpen them.

Thin kerf blades are nice on lower-powered saws, but they aren't as stable as standard kerf blades, so they USUALLY cut rougher.

Your PM saw will probably spin a full-kerf blade. IIRC, Forrest WWI is a dedicated rip blade. Freud also sells full-kerf "Glue line Rip" in their more expensive line.

I have a Diablo blade in my CMS most of the time, as it's mostly used for construction-grade work on green or PT wood.

[Hitch]

Besides imposing less strain on the saw motor, thin-kerf blades waste less wood. If you are cutting big pieces of inexpensive material, thick kerfs are not a problem. However, if you are ripping 1/2"-wide strips (which I do sometimes), a 1/8" kerf is wasting 20% of your wood! At $4/bf +/- for hard maple, that makes me pay attention!

I don't know about the Diablo blade, but you noticed that the model numbers were different between Home Despot and the web. It's not uncommon for manufacturers to make a "special" model for clients who buy a lot of their product, thus you might find an item at Home Despot which is apparently identical to one at Lowe's, but they different model numbers. I believe this is to reduce price-guarantee claims. You might go to Home Despot and say "I saw the same one at Lowe's for less!", but HD would say, "Diff'rent model numbers, different items. No Deal".

[Leon]

So umm, for every 16 rips you gain another piece providing you end up with a full 1/2" piece that is usable.

And assuming you are talking about the waste between 1/2" strips with a regular kerf blade, a thin kerf will waste 15% of your wood. The difference is 5%. I'll take the extre 5% extra waste any time to not have to deal with a thin kerf blade. Saving 1/32" on every cut does add up but normally it it does not factor in.

[Leon]

Sell the RAS, buy a Forrest WWII and you will get the great glue line rips, great compound miters and gain a lot of room in the shop. ;~)

[B a r r y]

Is this a troll?

I was going to post the same "feature" as a joke!

Barry

[altoonaPillarRock]

OK, the Freud is going back to HD. The Forrest sounds like a good idea. I guess I knew there was something wrong with $2000 for the table saw and $27 for the blade.

Thanks everyone!

[bridger]

there's nothing wrong with putting a $27 blade on a $2000 saw.

Don't expect it to cut like a $100 blade. OTOH, if you're cuting some questionable material (hey, we all do it from time to time...) risking a $27 blade is better than risking a $100 blade....

[Lawrence Wasserman]

And a 3/32" thin kerf blade, using the same math, would be wasting

18.75%.

[J. Clarke]

I get 15.78 for the 3/32. You have to add the kerf-width to the dimension of the piece. 16 cents a board foot difference at $4.

[Jay]

I use the TK306 in my saw. Great blade for a great price. Buy a couple, when they go dull, have Forrest resharpen them. Or, they are cheap enough to use as throwaways.

[Hitch]

"Leon" wrote in news:VX_Ec.5229$ [e-mail]:

Maybe it doesn't matter toooo much, but sometimes when I'm resawing I waste a lot of wood (thin sections, but tall cuts). Maybe I'm just cheap.