Saw blade recommendation for newbee?

oldcary · Post by **oldcary** » Sat May 12, 2012 10:47 am

For many years I used the SS blades and was quite pleased but I needed to replace them after many resharpenings and after some research I went with the Freud saw blades. I had first used a Freud blade on my miter saw and was obtaining glue ready crosscuts. I now have the 40T-Premier Fusion Thin Kerf General Purpose(P410T), 24T-Thin Kerf Rip (LU87R010), and the 80T-Ultimate Thin Kerf Ultimate Plywood & Melamine (LU79R010). The Rip blade has a flat tooth geometry making it great for narrow dados. All are 10 in. dia. w/ 5/8 in. arbor and these 3 blades plus a dado set meet all of my table saw requirements. I have found the thin kerf (~3/32") blades to work better on the SS Mark V like slicing butter with precision rips (+ dados) and crosscuts. For the money and quality I have been quite pleased.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sat May 12, 2012 2:00 pm

oldcary wrote:For many years I used the SS blades and was quite pleased but I needed to replace them after many resharpenings and after some research I went with the Freud saw blades. I had first used a Freud blade on my miter saw and was obtaining glue ready crosscuts. I now have the 40T-Premier Fusion Thin Kerf General Purpose(P410T), 24T-Thin Kerf Rip (LU87R010), and the 80T-Ultimate Thin Kerf Ultimate Plywood & Melamine (LU79R010). The Rip blade has a flat tooth geometry making it great for narrow dados. All are 10 in. dia. w/ 5/8 in. arbor and these 3 blades plus a dado set meet all of my table saw requirements. I have found the thin kerf (~3/32") blades to work better on the SS Mark V like slicing butter with precision rips (+ dados) and crosscuts. For the money and quality I have been quite pleased.

If your Shopsmith blades were several years old, you were probably using Freud blades with a Shopsmith logo. It is my understanding that Freud produced the Shopsmith blades for many years.

woodburner · Post by **woodburner** » Mon May 14, 2012 8:26 pm

When I purchased my current carbide blades, I ordered them through Shopsmith at a Traveling Academy. Rick (the instructor) told me the blades were being made for Shopsmith by Freud during that time (about five yrs. ago). I don't know if Shopsmith still has Freud make their blades, but the SS ones I have are great.

There is a nearby local large woodworking supply house that also does commercial sharpening and they help me keep my blades in like-new condition. I have had to have them sharpened two or three times, and they still have a ways to go before I need to replace them. They tell me that the SS blades are equal to about the $100-$125 blades you can find elsewhere.

When I do finally need to replace them, I will check to see if the SS brand blades are still the same quality. If they are, I'll be buying mine from them again.

I have both the thin kerf blades and a set of SS 1/8-inch carbide blades. Sometimes, when measuring is more of a concern than saving that little bit of kerf wood, using the 1/8's makes getting the cut in the correct place much easier. I don't think SS sells the 1/8 blades anymore. I got my set just before they switched to the thinner kerf.

fjimp · Post by **fjimp** » Mon May 14, 2012 8:45 pm

I have two Mark V's one was purchased used and came with a blade mounted on a 5/8" arbor. I admit to being picky but used that blade and arbor only a few times before replacing it with one of my 1 1/8" harbor and blades. As to manufacturer of blades, I have a forrest blade that is excellent quality but frankly see little difference from the higher end Amana blades carrying the Shopsmith name. If my feeble memory is correct that change was made about three years ago and is still in effect. As I write this I have never bought a Shopsmith blade I didn't like. I am very clear there is less flex with the bigger harbor. Jim

lightnin · Post by **lightnin** » Mon May 21, 2012 3:15 am

First a little back ground on myself...
My dad was a machinist for 42 years I learned a ton from him and have all his tools and know how to use them pretty well.
He was a good carpenter when he need to be but he was no cabinet maker or fine wood worker though.
I never picked up any wood working skills other than basic framing carpentry.
I've always wanted work with wood in ways that are beyond my current skills and I an gearing up to do so.
I'll be able to retire in a little over two years I'm trying hard to get a shop set up before then But not sure on some things.

One thing is saw blades that what led me to this thread but it really didn't find the info I wanted.
Speaking about circular blades here ... Without getting to complicated now... I don't want my brain to explode.

1) What blades are best for what jobs? teeth per inch... width... tooth patterns.. Wood type and thickness... etc.

2) What would I need to have a good enough selection to do what ever I need to do?

newportcycle · Post by **newportcycle** » Mon May 21, 2012 5:21 am

lightnin wrote:
I've always wanted work with wood in ways that are beyond my current skills and I an gearing up to do so.
1) What blades are best for what jobs? teeth per inch... width... tooth patterns.. Wood type and thickness... etc.

2) What would I need to have a good enough selection to do what ever I need to do?

Lightnin,
Im in the same boat skill wise, my desire is way beyond my skills. The used Mark 5 I picked up was missing blades so I looked around here, some on the net and settled with the 3 blade combo pack with arbors from shopsmith. Their site explains cutting types etc. Good luck.

saminmn · Post by **saminmn** » Mon May 21, 2012 9:17 am

Hi, I like the way you asked your question better than my original post. One thing I want to find out is will I want a separate blade for MDF/hardboard or would I just use plywood (or other) blade?

beeg · Post by **beeg** » Mon May 21, 2012 10:34 am

You can start by looking here.
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/cata ... ackage.htm

pennview · Post by **pennview** » Mon May 21, 2012 10:40 am

For me, the Forrest Woodworker II blade and the Ridge TS2000 are the best blades out there. They're expensive as blades go, but they do an outstanding job. Rockler sells the Woodworker II for about $120, but they sometimes offer a 20 percent off coupon; they currently have a 15 percent off coupon. You can get the TS2000 at Woodpeckers for $90.

These two blades were the number one and two blades in a comparison test of a number of blades by Fine Woodworking Magazine some 10 years back, so you can't go wrong with either one. If you spring for one of these blades, have the manufacturer resharpen them when the time comes.

I also have a Freud LU85 80 tooth blade that does a good job crosscutting wood and cutting plywood.

All of this said, I use a table saw for cutting wood rather than the Shopsmith. Were I using the Shopsmith, I'd get the thin kerf blades because the thinner blades require less power than the 1/8" kerf size of the regular blades. The Forrest and Ridge blades come with 5/8 arbor hole, but they can be bored to Shopsmith's 1 1/4" size by the manufacturers.

You can use a combination blade or a plywood blade for cutting MDF. The stuff is a bit abrasive so your blades will dull faster than they would if you were simply cutting wood.

beeg · Post by **beeg** » Mon May 21, 2012 10:53 am

pennview wrote:The Forrest and Ridge blades come with 5/8 arbor hole, but they can be bored to Shopsmith's 1 1/4" size by the manufacturers.

Just get the 5/8's arbors here.
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/cata ... arbors.htm

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Saw blade recommendation for newbee?

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