Shopsmith Forums

I love my combo blade and very seldom mount either the rip or crosscuts blades.

Back when I was heavy into building that wasn't the case but back then it was more like commercial shop work. Now it is all hobby like. II no longer have stacks of lumber to rip (or cross cut).

Whatever you chose to use - keep it sharp, keep it clean. A dull gummy blade not only cuts poorly - it is an accident in waiting.

Thanks guys.

I went ahead and ordered two 5/8 inch arbors. They were 15% off and I think having two pre-loaded saws makes a lot of sense.

Saying that, what is a good choice for a ripping and cross cut blade?

~Karl

ps: I have heard the danger of letting the teeth get dirty or covered with sap, particularly pine sap. I will keep them clean. I like my fingers.

JPG wrote: ↑Fri May 30, 2025 11:55 am If ripping is thy goal, a general purpose(aka combination) blade is not a good choice. Ripping requires very large(deep) gullets to carry away the swarf.

Definitely this. With some wood boards will bind without a wide enough kerf. A good rip saw blade will look like a circle of chisels that cut nearly perpendicular to the wood grain.

kas20amc02 wrote: ↑Fri May 30, 2025 3:08 pm
Saying that, what is a good choice for a ripping and cross cut blade?

~Karl

Again, a lot of it is down to personal preference. There is one online woodworker whom I respect who likes Forrest blades ($$$). Another online woodworker I respect prefers the on-sale 2-packs of blades you get at the big box store around Christmas. Kind of opposite ends of the spectrum.

For the type of blade, I'd recommend the following:

Crosscut: 80 tooth, ATB (alternate tooth bevel)
Example: https://www.woodworkingshop.com/product/ka10800/

Rip: 24 tooth, ATB
Example: https://www.woodworkingshop.com/product/ka10240/

(Disclaimer: I work for Klingspor)

HopefulSSer wrote: ↑Fri May 30, 2025 12:23 pm MyGrowthRings is an excellent source of info. You generally can't go wrong following Scott's advice. That said, I'm going to contradict him a little bit. A combo blade would probably be fine if you have a few 1x4 that you want to rip down to, say, 1x2. But as JPG says, if you're doing a lot of ripping -- especially resawing -- get a dedicated rip blade...

I appreciate your kind words, and you get no argument from me. Scott

thedovetailjoint wrote: ↑Fri May 30, 2025 8:50 pm

HopefulSSer wrote: ↑Fri May 30, 2025 12:23 pm MyGrowthRings is an excellent source of info. You generally can't go wrong following Scott's advice. That said, I'm going to contradict him a little bit. A combo blade would probably be fine if you have a few 1x4 that you want to rip down to, say, 1x2. But as JPG says, if you're doing a lot of ripping -- especially resawing -- get a dedicated rip blade...

I appreciate your kind words, and you get no argument from me. Scott

Oh no -- he saw my comment!

Cheers, Scott!

Thanks for the Klingspor blade recommendations.

Scott, do you have any recommendations for a rip and crosscut blade?


I must tell you that when my Dad gave me his SS I became quickly frustrated because it needed maintenance, which I didn’t know how to do and I had also watched the video about how dangerous they are. I almost gave it away. After watching some of your videos and working a few days on repairing it, I got it up and running and was comfortable using some of the features. Many thanks for that!

Another question… I noticed the blades you recommended are regular kerf. I had read if your table saw is less than 3 HP you should get thin kerf. Is that not true?

HopefulSSer wrote: ↑Fri May 30, 2025 4:06 pm

kas20amc02 wrote: ↑Fri May 30, 2025 3:08 pm
Saying that, what is a good choice for a ripping and cross cut blade?

~Karl

Again, a lot of it is down to personal preference. There is one online woodworker whom I respect who likes Forrest blades ($$$). Another online woodworker I respect prefers the on-sale 2-packs of blades you get at the big box store around Christmas. Kind of opposite ends of the spectrum.

For the type of blade, I'd recommend the following:

Crosscut: 80 tooth, ATB (alternate tooth bevel)
Example: https://www.woodworkingshop.com/product/ka10800/

Rip: 24 tooth, ATB
Example: https://www.woodworkingshop.com/product/ka10240/

(Disclaimer: I work for Klingspor)

See the comments up-thread re:thin kerf

Yes, I saw people recommending regular thickness. I guess my question is, does the SS motor handle the standard width without problems?

HopefulSSer wrote: ↑Sat May 31, 2025 10:27 am See the comments up-thread re:thin kerf

For at least the past 60 years.\

3 hp is overkill(IMHO)

Now if thee considers ripping 4" oak in a single pass a normal task, then perhaps the SS is a bit "under powered".