This Friday ( I can't wait) I will be the proud father of a brand new Powermatic PM2000 table saw. I need to buy a blade for the machine. At
1st, I was leaning towards the Freud P410 Premier Fusion blade, which sells for about $99. But after reading a couple adverse comments on the saw on Amazon.com (not sure how much salt to ingest with these, but anyway) I am now considering the Forrest WW10407100 Woodworker II. I plan to use the saw for general use, with some furniture making when my skills increase. I'd be interested in any feedback on these 2 blades, or other contenders for a general purpose table saw blade.
Also, what are the pro's & con's of the thinner kerf blades?
Just replaced my 34-410 with a new Unisaw myself. I've been using the Oldham "signature" blade, and will probably continue to do so. It's nice to have a real cutoff/plywood blade of 80 or so teeth and maybe a melamine/laminate blade as well. Ripping isn't quite as particular, but benefits from a good hook and FTB pattern if you have the bucks.
Thin kerf blades present a bit less to the cut, and are nice for saws with less power than yours. They also aren't as stiff, so a bit of heat and a side load can give you a burn or a squirm.
The package Lew mentions would cover you. I am still amazed that a saw with a right-hand arbor thread can exist in this universe. I start in the wrong direction every time....
The Forrest WW II is one of the best, I highly recommend it.
A thinner blade: Pros Great for ripping Wastes less material Cuts a narrow groove Cons Less accurate Less power especially with hardwoods May get hot May require a stabilizer Not good for crosscutting
If I only could get ONE blade it would a standard kerf. You may want to get two blades for the time you send one out for sharpening.
"George" wrote in news:kkuFi.38497$ snipped-for-privacy@newsreading01.news.tds.net:
I bought the Oldham set 6 or 7 years ago at a wood show, and got a thin
40T combo blade, and a thin 80T finishing blade. They worked as well as the Shopsmith would allow, pretty well actually, and really did much better when I bought a real saw a couple of years later. But I don't think Oldham made the jump when Delta was sold again a couple of years ago. Too bad, really.
I buy pretty nice blades now, when I need them, at the saw shop locally that sharpens mine. FS Tools is the logo. Regular and thick kerf, no thin ones anymore. ANd I have more than I'll likely need for some time on the shelf, but there's always something appropriate sharp, even if it takes me two weeks to go pick up the ones at the shop.
What I'm trying to say, I guess, is that a local sharpening shop is a good find, if they're good. Even if you pay more, and you might not, you get good advice from someone who does this way more than you do. And saving a $70 mistake covers a lot of savings elsewhere. Why take a chance? You just dropped $2k on a new saw, right?
The difference in a $50 blade and a $90 blade is likely at least as large as the difference between a $1k saw and a $2k saw. At least in my limited experience. YMMV, etc.
Wish I had a SoCal saw shop reference for you. I'm in the SF Bay Area, and use Bay Area Carbide, in Concord, CA happily.
Thanks all for the replies. I used to have a Unisaw, which I sold along with a 6" Delta jointer before we moved from central Ohio to Seattle. Didn't get too much chance to use the setup before relocating, I frankly don't even recall what kind of blade it had, I think it was a Delta brand. I'm thinking at least initially I'll go with the Forrest. I got the saw at the local Woodcraft store, pretty good price, $2299, plus 10% off that on sale for a show. I agree, no point skimping on a blade after such an investment. Another saw I have is a Bosch 5412 slide miter saw, which came with a Bosch blade. I recently checked the arbor & saw blade runout with a dial indicator, the arbor is less than .001", but the saw blade just inside the teeth is ~ .012". Forrest claims they "hand straighten" their blades to a maximum .002" runout.
When I bought my replacement saw, a cabinet saw, 7 or 8 years ago I bought a Forrest WWII 40 tooth regular tooth blade. About 4 years ago I bought another of the same blade so that I would always have one on the saw when the other was out being sharpened by "Forrest".
I recommend the same blade for all of your normal ripping, cross cutting, and compound angle cutting. Thin kerf "will not" be necessary and would probably cause more problems that solve.
If you will "predominately" be cutting boards that are thicker than 2" go with the 30 tooth blade.
If you start with this brand blade and properly set up your saw I seriously doubt that you ever have a reason to consider or look at another blade. Not having to change blades for different cuts is a serious advantage.
Don't economize on blades for that nice new Powermatic.
All blades dull faster on one side. This makes them lead, pulling to the sharp side. Long glue joints cut with a thin plate blade may have to touched up, something you shouldn't have to do with that machine.
Put a nice standard kerf blade on your saw, and it'll double as your jointer.
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