What's the best all-around beginner's saw blade?

[chrispitude]

Hi all,

When I first bought my 500 used many years ago, I picked up a 10" Vermont American carbide-tipped general purpose blade at a big box store. It's been working fine to cross-cut the occasional 2x4. But now with the 520 upgrade coming, I am wondering if I should step up to something better.

What's the best all-around blade that would best serve a novice woodworker? I hear lots of good things about the Forrest WWII thin-kerf blades. They seem to come in multiple kerf thicknesses and tooth styles - which exact blade would I want? Are there other manufacturers that provide similar capability at a better price point? I've seen the name Tenryu mentioned, and the prices seem reasonable.

Share your thoughts! If you were marooned on a deserted island with your Shopsmith and lots of lumber, which blade would you choose?

(Okay, so you were marooned with a generator and loads of fuel for it too...)

- Chris

[Len]

Chris, is it a religious war you are after, or simply an opinion?
That thin kerf blade you mentioned, Forrest, is a mighty good blade for very specific uses, and you initially adked what is a good general use blade. Well, strangely enough, I like my SS blade, the original. I do use some other blades for fine cutting of really expensive wood (what isn't anymore?), but for about 99% of my cutting it is with the SS.
I can only wonder how come many other manufactures don't make it to THIS standard.

[Gampa]

I purchased the Freud P410 (General Purpose Blade) and have been very pleased with it so far. The cross cuts have been very clean, sharp, and easy. However, it does get bogged down when ripping. It came highly recommended by Woodsmith magazine. As they have no advertisers, no special interests to support.

[8iowa]

The Shopsmith 50 tooth carbide combination blade will do a very good job in almost every cutting situation. If you also obtain the 24 tooth rip, and the 60 tooth crosscut blades, you have covered just about everything in the ball park. These are thin kerf blades that will cut with less HP. Blade manufacturers recommend thin kerf blades for saws 2HP and under.

That being said, I have just ordered the Freud LU79R thin kerf blade. It has a 2 degree hook which will do a better job on laminates and fine plywood (if in fact you can get fine plywood anymore). It of course requires Shopsmith's 5/8 arbor, but you need to have one of those anyway.

[timster68]

I spent this last weekend ripping some 1.5 inch thick hardwood. First I had used the SS blade. Granted the blade can probably use some sharpening, but it was a struggle getting it through. The shopsmith's motor would struggle with it at times. Then I switched over to a brand new Forest WWII think kerf blade and it was like pushing a hot knife through butter. I barely had to put any pressure on the wood through the blade and when it was done, the cut was so smooth, it felt like I had been sanding it for 5 minutes. Yes the blade is very expensive, but in my opinion worth it. I'm finding that with blades that you pretty much get what you pay for.

[charlese]

Timster - have you tried a Shopsmith thin kerf ripping blade? I have found they work the same as your description of the Forest.

[chrispitude]

Hi Len,

I'm not out to start a war, but that may be what I get. Mostly I am just looking for shared experiences and knowledge.

Hi 8iowa,

Please let us know how that Freud blade does!

timster68's experiences with the WWII are what I've seen echoed elsewhere. timster, which kerf width and tooth count blade did you get, and did you get a dampener/stiffener? I see a bunch of blade part numbers on this page. I see a Shopsmith-specific blade on there with a 3/32" kerf that doesn't seem to recommend a dampener. I wonder why that is?

- Chris

[dusty]

timster,

Your Forrest blade is undoubtedly one of the better performers especially when it is brand new but it is also one of the more expensive. A Shopsmith combination carbide thin kerf will cut the same way as the Forrest when it is sharp. Furthermore, when the Forrest gets dull, it will perform the same as you described the SS blade to have performed.

Prove this to yourself. Send your Shopsmith to Forrest to get sharpened.

http://www.forrestblades.com/

I recently got three Shopsmith blades sharpened. I believe they are performing as you would expect.

[chrispitude]

Wow, the Freud blades are still on sale for 25% off at Amazon.com! (I placed an order a few weeks ago for an SD508 dado set, but it hasn't shipped yet.) Here are a couple interesting blades:

Freud TK306 Avanti 10-Inch 40 Tooth ATB Thin Kerf Finishing Saw Blade with 5/8-Inch Arbor for $14.87

Freud LU86R010 10-Inch 40 Tooth ATB Thin Kerf General Purpose Saw Blade with 5/8-Inch Arbor and PermaShield Coating for $31.50

Freud LU87R010 10-Inch 24 Tooth FTG Thin Kerf Ripping Saw Blade with 5/8-Inch Arbor and PermaShield Coating for $27.55

with free shipping on orders over $25. The LU series is higher end than the Avanti series. I am very, very tempted to grab the 40-tooth LU86 and the 24-tooth ripping blade equivalent. It would be $59 shipped for both of them...

- Chris

[paulmcohen]

I see a Shopsmith-specific blade on there with a 3/32" kerf that doesn't seem to recommend a dampener. I wonder why that is?
- Chris

The Shopsmith blade has a 1 1/4" hole and the Shopsmith arbor acts like a stabilizer.

The 5/8" holes use the stabilizer to expand the grip over a wider surface. I have been very happy with my 1 1/4" hole Shopsmith blades. Some people recommend rotating the blade in relation to the arbor to minimize run-out. For dado blades I have spent the money on a very expensive non-Shopsmith blade and been extremely happy with it but that is another topic.