What makes a good tablesaw ripping blade

I would like to get a good rip blade for my table saw but I'm not sure what to look for. I know what makes a good crosscut blade but I don't know the details of how rip blades work with wood grain.

Can someone more versed in the wood lore than I give me some pointers? How many teeth? Hook? Kerf? etc.

Thanks in advance, Dave.

Reply to
Dave Rathnow
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Many things factor in and it is not always the same thing that makes a blade a good rip blade. I have a 30 tooth glue line rip blade. My Forrest WWII 40 tooth blade regular kerf blade does a superior job of ripping over the rip blade. I use it all the time unless I am cutting questionable material.

Reply to
Leon

Reply to
Robert Galloway

I have the WWII, but when I have some heavy ripping to do, I pit a very nice Amana blade that cost $50 on the saw. It requires much less horsepower. If it's just an occasional rip cut being made< I leave the Forrest on. It is a 20 tooth industrial quality blade. The model number is RB1020.

Reply to
Lowell Holmes

Hi,

I use a Forrest Woodworker II blade, which is a 40 tooth combination blade. It does a great job of ripping and crosscutting, and may be the only blade you'll need for most hardwoods. Likely others here will echo this comment, since it's a popular blade on this NG.

For a rip-specific blade, I've heard good things about Freud's 10" x

30 rip blade but have never tried one.

Cheers, Nate

Reply to
Nate Perkins

You absolutely want to use the WWI for the RAS. Apparently this blade has the right configuration for a TS.

Reply to
Leon

Depends. On what "good" means to you- likely in terms of speed and surface-finish, in how much of what wood. IMHO, the fewer teeth, the better. I've a Freud 10" 24t thin-kerf that breezes through 3" of fir/spruce with ready-to-glue face. Really aggressive tooth angles, alternate top-bevel.

Be prepared to spend a few bucks for a primo rip-blade, likely $40 or more.

HTH, John

Reply to
John Barry

I've got the same two blades. While I love my Forrest WWII for most cuts, when it comes time to rip thicker material (2"+), the Amana is the one I choose. The feed rate is much faster and the feed pressure is about half that of the WWII.

Cheers,

-- Ian

Reply to
Ian MacDonald

it rips

***************************************************** I have decided that I should not be offended by anybody's behaviour but my own......the theory's good, anyway.
Reply to
Old Nick

Well, there's lots of good information but one question: do you want lots of teeth or few teeth for ripping? Most people use either a 24 tooth or 40 tooth blade. I'm looking for a good smooth finish where little sanding or planing would be required.

Thanks, Dave.

Reply to
Dave Rathnow

I've had good results using a Freud Diablo crosscut blade for that. Hey, it was the only blade I had and it did a much better job than the one that came with the saw. That was with 2 1/2" oak too!

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

You are looking more for the quality of the blade than the particular tooth count. A good 40 tooth general blade may cut better than a ho hum 24 tooth blade rip blade. A good 24 tooth rip blade may cut better than a ho hum 40 tooth general blade.

That said, comparing strictly rip blades to rip blades, 24 teeth for ripping typical stock will work fine. If ripping thicker stock, 2" and thicker a blade with fewer teeth may do a better job.

Reply to
Leon

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