Don't Buy This Blade

[Puckdropper]

DerbyDad03 wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Epoxy, thickened with microballoons. (RIP Lew Hodgett.)

Puckdropper

[-MIKE-]

You don't even need aZCI with a sled, but you can do what I do. I use a sacrificial top on my sled. It's thin MDF (3/16"?) screwed down to the sled that I just move over to cover the slot. The first pass through the blade give you your ZC line. When you switch to a larger blade/stack, it cuts through the sacrificial top to make a wider ZC line. When you switch to a narrower blade, you just unscrew the MDF, move it over to close the gap, screw it down, and start over. Very fast and effective.

[DerbyDad03]

I agree, since the sled acts as a ZCI.

Sure, but now I have to raise the blade another 3/16". Jeez, more work. ;-)

[DerbyDad03]

I just tried out the irwin-marples-10-saw-blade-80t-hi-atb that I got on eBay for $38.

First, it's the same thickness as the $30 40-tooth Diablo that had won the earlier quality-of-cut trials. 3/32". No need for a new ZCI or sacrificial top on the sled.

As far as quality-of-cut, I'll give it a slightly higher rating than the $30 Diablo. $38 vs. $30 better? Barely. Full price at $50-$60 vs. $30 better? Definitely not.

I can't speak to longevity since I don't cut a lot of plywood, but my bookcase project should give me some indication. I'll run the Irwin for the plywood until it either gives out or completes the job. We'll see how it does.

[-MIKE-]

Good info, thanks. If you don't mind, I'd love to hear the results of a test between those two blades on hardwood crosscuts.

[DerbyDad03]

If you have any particular species in mind, just send me a couple of hundred BF so we make sure I test a large enough sample size. ;-)

[-MIKE-]

Every respectable woodworker has some poplar, oak, or maple scraps sitting in a bin somewhere.

Are you respectable? :-p

[DerbyDad03]

Respectable enough to even have some padauk. ;-)

Maybe tomorrow. I've already de-dusted myself for the day.

[Puckdropper]

DerbyDad03 wrote in news: [e-mail]:

That sounds delicious. Does it make a good mix with turkey gravy? :-)

Puckdropper

[DerbyDad03]

I've never tried sawdust infused gravy, but I did mkae stuffing waffles on Friday day morning.

A couple of us had them with eggs on top, others just used maple syrup. Both ways were delicious. A tradition has been born!

I need to work on the presentation, but stuffing doesn't tend to pour as well as waffle batter. It's more of a spread and sqush process.

[Markem]

Do not know but a bread baker (large corp) did use saw dust cause it is added fiber.

[Colin Campbell]

I've heard of a sausage maker using sawdust, because in these troubled economic times, it's hard to make both ends meat.

Cheers, Colin

[DerbyDad03]

I tested 3 blades today.

1 - A Bosch 60 tooth blade that came with my miter saw. It's on my miter saw right now for some crap cuts, so I figured I might as well try it for comparison. 2 - A Diablo 40 tooth general purpose blade on the table saw. This is my "standard" blade. The one on the table saw is basically new. I have another one that I plan to get sharpened. 3 - An Irwin-Marples 80 tooth Hi-ATB blade on the table saw.

I cross-cut 3 species using a sled: Poplar, Maple and Padauk

I made my choice of the smoothest cut and then had SWMBO give me her opinion. She was totally unbiased because she had no idea which blade made which cut. Her test was 100% tactile.

Without hesitation, the Bosch cut on the miter saw was deemed the worst in all three cases. No surprise. Single finger swipe, decision made.

The comparison between the Diablo blade and the Irwin blade was much more difficult. For both of us, it took multiple swipes before a decision was made. For the Paduak and the Poplar, we both felt that the Irwin was slightly smoother than the Diablo. For the Maple, we both chose the Diablo.

After SWMBO made her choices, I told her the price of the blades. She agreed that in the cases where the Irwin was smoother, an $8 higher price (eBay) was reasonable. When I told her that the Irwin typically sold for $50-$60, she agreed that a $20-$30 price difference was not reflected in the difference in the quality of cut.

Comparing longevity will be tougher. Maybe I'll leave that to someone else.

For now, I'll leave the Irwin on the table saw and put the Diablo on the miter saw. That will get me through my bookcase project with 2 blades that perform close enough to "equally well" for my purposes.

[-MIKE-]

Thanks for the informative comparison review. Were all the blades thin kerf?

[DerbyDad03]

They all mic at 3/32?

[tetianashpek]

Well I'm new to dado blades. I'm in the market to find a good one and was lucky to find this info -

. To me it's worth spending a few extra dollars on a real set for peace of mind and more options.

[Leon]

I bought the Forrest Dado King set in 2005. I build a lot of furniture and 99% of it has lots of dado's and groves.

For the first time ever I had this set resharpened by Forrest a couple of months ago.

Very pricey but IMHO worth every penny if you are going to use the set a lot. With most tools you will use them more if the work well. If they don't give you good results you will tend to avoid them.

[krw]

I have both the Freud and Forrest sets. The Forrest is worth the price, IMO. You'll only cry once.