Table Saw Blade choices

Another vote for the Forrest WoodWorker II. I have a couple of them and have never found anything better.
 
The Freud Fusion blades are also very good & are about 1/2 the cost of Forrest Woodworker II
 
Never cared for a forrest blade, any of them.

I stumbled on a brand called Everlast.  I like them.  Like popular tools, skarpaz, and fs tool as well.
 
For many years I have heard all the hype about Forrest blades and how they provide the best cut.  For a while, the Forrest blade was my only quality blade and because of that, I actually believed the hype myself.  About 10 years ago, I expanded my selection and now use Forrest, Tenyru, Leuco, and Leitz blades and all perform very well.  Cost wise, the Forrest is hands down the most expensive of the bunch and it doesn't cut any better or last any longer than the other brands.  When I purchase blades now, I look to Leuco and Tenyru first as they usually provide a much better price point than the others and have equal or better performance.

As far as type goes, it depends on what you want to cut. 
 
I'm also a fan of the Freud Fusion blades.  I tried a Forrest Woodworker blade and didn't think it cut as cleanly as the Freud.  I also have found that the 1/8" kerf Freud blade provides cleaner cuts than the narrow kerf blade.
 
I'll agree with Warner on Forrest blades.  The cuts when sharp are quality but the edge doesn't hold up.

Most of my blades are FS Tool.  I run them in all of my miter saws, shop and field table saws, and a Skil saw. They make industrial blades for the cabinet and millwork industries.  Most companies that make industrial tooling don't advertise outside of the industry and they don't submit they products to magazines for testing because they don't need to.  Their quality is already a known and relied upon quantity in the industries they service. Their price point to purchase is comparable to Forrest but frequently they are less expensive and they represent a better value because they hold an edge for longer between sharpenings.  Production cabinet shops, millwork shops, and FDM 300 companies with huge yearly tooling budgets run them for this reason.  I was turned onto them by my sharpener and a couple of the millwork shops I have installed for.

In my table saw I have and SM 3250 40t ATB general purpose with very large C4 carbide teeth most of the time.  It costs right around $120 with shipping.  Their rip, glue line rip, TCG and H-ATB cross cut blades are also excellent.  I have run the GP and H-ATB blades head with the Forrest WWII and Duraline blades and the FS Tool held their edge better under the same and heavy use with regular cleaning.

I have a couple of 12" 80 tooth Everlast blades Warner mentioned in rotation on mitersaws and a 60t cross cut blade. All are outstanding at the price point. The cut quality is on a par with the Chopmaster blade I own and the edges hold up well.  The cuts are clean but the end grain is not burnished shiny as it is with a Forrest.  If you consider this "mill glaze" to be a sign of quality then Forrest is probably the one you should buy.

I have never understood the Freud Fusion blade. The H-ATB grind that Freud uses is designed for cross cutting and ripping two sided laminates, melamine, and prefinished plywood or ply with  tricky, tear out prone veneers with out a scoring saw.  That grind is much to fragile to use for general purpose use.
 
I use only Ridge Carbide in my table saw, and have been absolutely pleased.  Bill
 
justinh said:
I'll agree with Warner on Forrest blades.  The cuts when sharp are quality but the edge doesn't hold up.

Most of my blades are FS Tool.  I run them in all of my miter saws, shop and field table saws, and a Skil saw. They make industrial blades for the cabinet and millwork industries.  Most companies that make industrial tooling don't advertise outside of the industry and they don't submit they products to magazines for testing because they don't need to.  Their quality is already a known and relied upon quantity in the industries they service. Their price point to purchase is comparable to Forrest but frequently they are less expensive and they represent a better value because they hold an edge for longer between sharpenings.  Production cabinet shops, millwork shops, and FDM 300 companies with huge yearly tooling budgets run them for this reason.  I was turned onto them by my sharpener and a couple of the millwork shops I have installed for.

In my table saw I have and SM 3250 40t ATB general purpose with very large C4 carbide teeth most of the time.  It costs right around $120 with shipping.  Their rip, glue line rip, TCG and H-ATB cross cut blades are also excellent.  I have run the GP and H-ATB blades head with the Forrest WWII and Duraline blades and the FS Tool held their edge better under the same and heavy use with regular cleaning.

I have a couple of 12" 80 tooth Everlast blades Warner mentioned in rotation on mitersaws and a 60t cross cut blade. All are outstanding at the price point. The cut quality is on a par with the Chopmaster blade I own and the edges hold up well.  The cuts are clean but the end grain is not burnished shiny as it is with a Forrest.  If you consider this "mill glaze" to be a sign of quality then Forrest is probably the one you should buy.

I have never understood the Freud Fusion blade. The H-ATB grind that Freud uses is designed for cross cutting and ripping two sided laminates, melamine, and prefinished plywood or ply with  tricky, tear out prone veneers with out a scoring saw.  That grind is much to fragile to use for general purpose use.
Click to expand...

I think the last time I bought a blade was ~20 years ago, so my information may not reflect the current state of blade technology. I'd hate to mislead anyone if things have changed. And I agree that the Forrest blades seem to need frequent resharpening - in fact, I don't own a Forrest blade that HASN'R been resharpened!. I just assumed that was the nature of the beast?

I haven't heard of the FS Tool blades until this post. Where is a good place to buy them? I may have to pick one up to try the next time I need a blade.
 
wow said:
justinh said:
I'll agree with Warner on Forrest blades.  The cuts when sharp are quality but the edge doesn't hold up.

Most of my blades are FS Tool.  I run them in all of my miter saws, shop and field table saws, and a Skil saw. They make industrial blades for the cabinet and millwork industries.  Most companies that make industrial tooling don't advertise outside of the industry and they don't submit they products to magazines for testing because they don't need to.  Their quality is already a known and relied upon quantity in the industries they service. Their price point to purchase is comparable to Forrest but frequently they are less expensive and they represent a better value because they hold an edge for longer between sharpenings.  Production cabinet shops, millwork shops, and FDM 300 companies with huge yearly tooling budgets run them for this reason.  I was turned onto them by my sharpener and a couple of the millwork shops I have installed for.

In my table saw I have and SM 3250 40t ATB general purpose with very large C4 carbide teeth most of the time.  It costs right around $120 with shipping.  Their rip, glue line rip, TCG and H-ATB cross cut blades are also excellent.  I have run the GP and H-ATB blades head with the Forrest WWII and Duraline blades and the FS Tool held their edge better under the same and heavy use with regular cleaning.

I have a couple of 12" 80 tooth Everlast blades Warner mentioned in rotation on mitersaws and a 60t cross cut blade. All are outstanding at the price point. The cut quality is on a par with the Chopmaster blade I own and the edges hold up well.  The cuts are clean but the end grain is not burnished shiny as it is with a Forrest.  If you consider this "mill glaze" to be a sign of quality then Forrest is probably the one you should buy.

I have never understood the Freud Fusion blade. The H-ATB grind that Freud uses is designed for cross cutting and ripping two sided laminates, melamine, and prefinished plywood or ply with  tricky, tear out prone veneers with out a scoring saw.  That grind is much to fragile to use for general purpose use.
Click to expand...

I think the last time I bought a blade was ~20 years ago, so my information may not reflect the current state of blade technology. I'd hate to mislead anyone if things have changed. And I agree that the Forrest blades seem to need frequent resharpening - in fact, I don't own a Forrest blade that HASN'R been resharpened!. I just assumed that was the nature of the beast?

I haven't heard of the FS Tool blades until this post. Where is a good place to buy them? I may have to pick one up to try the next time I need a blade.
Click to expand...

In this area you can order them from tool & knife shops. My local guy pushes FS Tool and CMT
 
I use Amana, Freud, and AGE industrial blades and have not had blade sharpened in ten years.  I use them in three table saws and four chop saws cutting wood, plastics, brass, and aluminum..
 
I use Forrest blades and they seem to last for me but, I'm not a production shop.

Jack
 
I have 2 Bosch portable, 1 large 1 small both with the same motor. I put a 60t blade on them for a fine cut... Learned that was a mistake for maple,oak, popular 1x fillers. Ended up slaving the motor, tripping the breaker and burning the wood. I switched to a 24 tooth red blade (Freud?) on both saws and it cuts like butter with out slowing down the motor. I still use the 60t (believe it is also a Freud blade) for veneer and 1/2" finish grade ply. As far as sharpness they hold up great for me and fairly cheep. So I learned tooth count and what it is going through means a lot.

My 12" mitre has either Marples 90T or Freud 94T?

My Kapex needs a new blade... Searching and thing about a festool or after market blade.

I used a Felder table saw with 8' panel rail table slide system, 12" blade and had the 4" under blade for melamine. Saw was a beast. 240v 3 phase shop, 35k for a table saw with the works. Built in shaper head, auto feed system, you name it. I made some great stuff on that saw but since I left in 2005 he hasn't really used it. Has become a cluttered storage table. I rib him because I make high quality built ins on some portable saws that cost less than a grand lol

The blades on that saw are a lot like the festool blades, color coded and pricey. But I would luv to have that saw and a place to use it.
 
Hi.  I just ordered a Dewalt DW7480 with stand.  It comes with a 24 tooth blade of mediocre quality and I need something better.   

I've had very good luck with Tenryu blades and Matt recommends the Tenryu Gold Metal 40 Tooth for a table saw.  Anyone else have experience with this blade? 

For JLB Builders, my preference for the Kapex is the Tenryu blade.  I did a test (with pics) here: http://www.talkfestool.com/vb/festool-reviews/2836-kapex-saw-blade-review.html comparing the Festool 60T and 80T blades with the Tenryu MiterPro plus 80T and Forrest ChopMaster 80T (both rebored to fit the Kapex).    The end result was that the Festool 60T became my general purpose blade and the Tenryu was tops for finish work. 

If I had to replace my current Kapex blade, I'd immediately jump on the Tenryu Miter Pro Plus 260mm X 80T.  Festool may have made changes to the Festool 80T since my test was done.  Pending that, I would NOT recommend the Festool 80T.  It came in dead last in my testing.

Regards,

Dan.

p.s. I've been using Festool since 2006 (and a member here since 2007).  Every time I thought I needed a table saw, I found a way to solve the problem without a table saw.  Finally, after more than 8 years, I hit the wall.  So I bought the DW7480 to solve my current woodworking issue and have it available for other projects.    Since there is virtually NO space available in my garage workshop, the DW7480 seemed like the best choice.
 
Bang for buck, freud or CMT 50t combo blades are my go to for most lumber.

Usually have them in the scms and when the edge starts to go for mitering trim they still work well in the tablesaw for a month or two. Then off to the sharpener.

I find CMT has a better carbide/longer lasting blade.

I'm impressed with the freud glue-line rip blade. chewed through 2" walnut like nothing.
 
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