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.
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.
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 Hate to be thought a shill for Forrest but I love the WWII and as time
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
You absolutely want to use the WWI for the RAS. Apparently this blade has the right configuration for a TS.
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
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
it rips
***************************************************** I have decided that I should not be offended by anybody's behaviour but my own......the theory's good, anyway.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.
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!
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.
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