New blade advice needed.

[Prometheus]

Hello all,

I spent about 3 hours tonight looking at all the usual haunts (Menards, Farm and Fleet and Sears around here) for a replacement blade for my 10" Delta table saw. I'd like to upgrade as much as possible, I'd prefer American made (I'm in manufacturing, so buying Chinese is like kicking myself in the nuts) and I'd like to get the smoothest cut I can for under $100. While the best way to do this is more than likely to use a different blade for ripping and crosscuts, I still just kind of prefer combination blades since most of my projects are fairly small, and changing the blade every day seems like too much hassle.

I found blades from DeWalt, Freud and Oldham, along with your usual assortment of crap. I've heard a lot of good things about the Freud blades, and that may be the route I'll take, but the Oldham signature series looked pretty nice as well, and they have the advantage of being a US company. Has anyone used the Oldham "signature" series- if so, how well do they work, and how do they compare to DeWalt and Freud? I'd like one that can withstand moderate (3-6 hours a week) use in dense hardwoods (mostly maple and walnut) and only require occasional sharpening and/or tooth replacement. The Delta blades that came with my saw aren't really up to snuff- a few teeth are now chipped, and the cuts were never really very smooth to begin with. I've got another one of the same that came with the saw, but I'm planning on just keeping that as a backup when I send the nice one for sharpening.

Any thoughts? Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

[WD]

I bought two 10" Oldham Signature Series blades in Ebay for about $15 each including shipping last year. I believe these 10" 40T blades were discontinued, the seller acquired 400 plus pcs and selling it cheap in Ebay. I have forgotten his email. You may want to contact a seller below (NO relation to me) in Ebay's current listing 10" 80T Oldham Sing nature Series blade and he might be the same seller, ask him if he have any Oldham 10" 40T Signature Series carbide blades.

suggest you check very carefully with the seller, satisfied yourself before you part with your money.

[Mike]

I have two of these blades. One is the 40 tooth, $40 model, the other one is the $80 model with the laser cuts (obtained free by participating in this NG). I am quite happy with both of them. They seem to be the same blade except for the laser cuts. I have cut a lot of oak and maple (some ply and MDF too), and have only needed to touch the teeth up a little here and there with diamond stones.

I have only used these, and a total crap 24 tooth Crapsman blade, so I can't compare them to the likes of a Forrest, Freud or DeWalt. They do leave a nice smooth cut though.

[max]

I have use a lot of blades in my time but will only use Forrest blades now. They are the best made, best cutting and longest lasting blades I have seen. The cut is a s smooth as a jointer, no tear out crosscutting ply and pretty much the only blade you need. I am starting up a little shop again and the first and only blade for wood is the WW11 thin kerf. I had a nice cutting Freud, (it was red and had lots of teeth) but when we had it sharpened, I was told there might be enough carbide for one more sharpening. We ran a Forrest blade all day long and went somewhere between 6 months to a year between sharpening. Highly recommended. max

[Tom]

Aren't the Freuds made in Italy, and the DeWalts in pretty good Britain? Go Forrest, mon. Tom Work at your leisure!

[Charlie Self]

Tom notes:

No longer know where DeWalt blades are made: used to be US. Freud and CMT in Italy, Amana in Israel, Bosch, Delta, Forrest, Infinity (most), Porter-Cable made in US. Vermont-American made in the US.

Charlie Self "Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing." Redd Foxx

[Leon]

Forrest WWII 40 tooth if you are mainly working with 2" thick and thinner,

1/8" kerf. You will not need anything else for wood.

[AAvK]

I recently bought a set of Oldham's "Hickory woodworking" forstner bits, I thought as I read: "hmmm, old U.S. company, HSS, guaranteed forever, and only 39.95 for the set... SOLD!". And when I got them, yep, "made in China". Couldn't tell 'til then.

Alex

[Rumpty]

Assume everything being sold today including your next meal is being made in China. FWIW the next big export product from Chine is going to be US style vegetables.

[Frank J. Vitale]

Take a look at Ridge Carbide

. They only sell at woodworking shows or form their New Jersey factory. 1-800-4443-0992. It is a heavy blade and does not need stabilizers as some of the Forrest Blades recommend.

[Ba r r y]

Ridge makes nice stuff. Our local Woodcraft carries them as well.

Since Woodcraft is a franchise, some store owners carry items in addition to the franchise catalog. Our local store carries Shapton stones, Ridge blades, a very large H. Behlen's selection, CMT cutters, etc...

Barry

[Doug Miller]

The Forrest WoodWorker II is right around $100, made in the USA, and cuts

*beautifully*. You won't need anything else.

Check out the blades from Ridge Carbide, too. If their regular blades are as good as their dado sets, you can't go wrong. Also made in the USA, and less expensive than Forrest.

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

Get a copy of my NEW AND IMPROVED TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter by sending email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com You must use your REAL email address to get a response.

[patriarch]

Prometheus wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Find a good, local professional sharpening service. Since they cater to production shops, they will have blades that can stand abuse. Since they are local, they are available to listen to customer feedback.

Buy what they sell and repair. They can also probably make your Delta branded blade healthy again.

Mine sells FS Tools blades. I've been very pleased with the product. And the service.

Patriarch

[David Hall]

I have several como or general purpose blades. The best ones I have are a Forrest WWII, a Frued, a Shopsmith and an Oldham Signature series. For the money, the Frued is best. It is almost indistinquishable from the WWII for me. The Oldham does a decent job, but it is soooo loud. I actually like my Shopsmith one too, but with a 1.25" arbor hole I doubt that it is something for you to consider ;) Seriously, go for a good Frued. Mine is the TK906 I think.

Dave Hall

[Prometheus]

Oh, no I can buy them new- I was just wondering if they're worth it, or if I should just get the Freud Blades. It's only about $50 to get one that still in the package, and I don't have to worry about whether or not is has been mistreated in the past that way.

Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

[Prometheus]

Boy, you can't trust any of them these days, I guess. I just saw the "made in USA" tag on the package.

Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

[Prometheus]

First off, thanks everyone who responded- a few good bits there to chew on. Looks like the Forrest is the way to go? I'm gonna have to special order it, but it's not the first time I've had to do that. I'll get the Deltas repaired too, and that should be enough... I think...

Yeah, my cousin owns one- I was planning on getting the Delta redone, but I'm still looking for something with a few more teeth. The big problem is that *since* he's my cousin I'd get a good deal- but I'm probably looking at a bit of a wait for them to get to it.

Not a bad idea- I just thought a better blade would work better when resharpened. Can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, after all.

Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

[patriarch]

Prometheus wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Your blades aren't necessarily sows' ears. Every blade I've taken to Bay Area Carbide comes back working as good as, but usually better than, new. CNC sharpening and 30 years of experience can do that for you. Oldham Signature, 40T and 80T crosscut are good blades. Mine are thin kerf, purchased when I used the Shopsmith as my primary tablesaw. I use the FS Tools 50T and 60T much of the time now. These are .125" and .13x kerf, and very stiff. Miter cutting is far less prone to burning with these blades.

The Forrest are decent blades. $89 show price, last I noticed, not that I'm in the market. When I've used them, just back from resharpening, on other folks' saws, I still wasn't convinced the extra cash was worth it. YMMV.

Patriarch

[Leon]

"patriarch [e-mail]"

I have 2 Forrest blades. One replaces the other when one goes to Forrest for resharpening. FWIW, I sent the Forrest to my local sharpener. He uses several computerized sharpening machines that do all of the work. The machines will even recognize your blade if it has been in for resharpening before. Anyway I thought that he offered a good service and had been satisfied for year and years with his work. Until I got my Forrest back. While the blade was truly sharp, it needed more. Back to Forrest it went 1 week later with instructions to bring back to factory spec. When it came back, it was like new. The problem with many local sharpening services is that they only sharpen or replace teeth.