Thread: New blade for new table saw- Recommendations?

Google flai blades best I've used for the price.

Freud (Major Woodworking)
Flai (Carroll's Woodworking Supplies)
CMT (Carbatec)

All three are good reliable brands. I use mostly Freud for blades and a dado stack, but also have a Flai combo and a CMT glue line RIP.

Regards,

RoyG

Thanks guys!

So is there much difference between the two blades I have shown? Both are combination blades but look completely different. Is one superior to the other?
Oh and thin kerf blades seem to be popular- less stock removal, and less power to drive it--Any disadvantage to thin kerf?

Would you recommend a 6inch or 8 inch Dado stack?

Cheers

Andrew

Originally Posted by hellofellow

Thanks guys!

So is there much difference between the two blades I have shown? Both are combination blades but look completely different. Is one superior to the other?
Oh and thin kerf blades seem to be popular- less stock removal, and less power to drive it--Any disadvantage to thin kerf?

Would you recommend a 6inch or 8 inch Dado stack?

Cheers

Andrew

Andrew,

I might be wrong, but I think that you'll find both of the Combo blades that you've linked to are excellent blades. I've got three blades that are marketed as "Combo" blades (two Freud and 1 Flai), and all three have widely varying teeth styles. Some combo blades are focused more on Rip cuts (e.g. the Glue Line RIP blades), whilst other Combo blades have teeth optimised for cutting melamine and veneered sheet goods. They all cut equally well in my opinion. Possibly the Freud LU83MR010 might be positioned at the RIP end of the range of COMBO blades. But, I think the myriad variety of combo blades available are more the product of marketing people than saw blade designers.

As far as Dado Stacks go, I use an 8 inch Freud Dado Stack on my Laguna Fusion. The Fusion has quite enough HP to run the 8 inch dado stack. The Freud Dado Stack can cut a maximum dado width of 21 mm, but on the Laguna Fusion you can only safely use the dado stack up to a maximum width of 19mm. If you try to use the full 21 mm stack, there will be insufficient arbour thread to safely seat the blade nut and washer.

Before buying the dado stack, I borrowed a friend's "Wobble Plate" style dado blade - there was lots of vibration, and the quality of cut was poor - avoid at all costs.

I've also used an 8 inch CMT Dado Stack at a woodworking club, and the CMT stack works equally well, and is also available with the 5/8 inch arbour hole. So, price is probably the decisive factor when choosing between those two items.

RoyG

Hi Roy

Thanks for that reply it was very helpful.
I have been having a look at dado stacks. The two that strike me are the freud ones. How do you find your stack? I have read link number two (below) has cleaner cuts and less tear out, so am curious how you find link number 1.

1.
http://www.rockler.com/freud-professional-dado-sets

2.
http://www.rockler.com/sd508-freud-dado-set

There is a CMT stack for $270 at carbatec but I am a big fan of Freud blades.

Both come in 6inch and 8inch versions. Do you think the 1.75HP jet could handle a 8inch dado set?
the 6inch stacks are only $20-30 less, so if I am to spend this much I really want to get the biggest one my saw will be able to handle.

Regards,

Andrew

I'd intensely recommend the Freud P410T and P412 for literally all cutting. The P410T is for thin kerfs and the other for everyday thumb removal.

I've have 2 of each so I'm never without one when they go to the sharpener.

I have the Freud SD208 dado. It is very good. Highly configurable and I'm very happy with it. BUT, Ive recently acquired a Forrest Box Blade http://www.forrestblades.com/saw-bla...and-dovetails/ wooooohooooo this thing is a dream. Silky smooth finish, razor lines and a super flat bottom cut. I use it for all box joints and dados now.

It look like I'm a Freud fanboy, but I'm not. I've many other blades, probably about 6, all of them good blades (I don't hold back on anything due to price or a whim!) and while they are good, I find myself going to the P412 for literally everything.

The quality of the cut is absolutely outstanding.

To contrast, I have even bought some cheaper blades thinking to give them a go. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. has left a black pit of sorrow in my guts. Every one of them is a dud and not worth the time, effort or money I spent on them. I wouldn't even give them away. Cheap blades are shameful and the manufacturers will go to a special form of hell (the one reserved for parking inspectors and people who talk in theaters)

Thanks Evanism.

I believe it was you who originally recommended the freud blades to me over a year ago now !

When do you use the thin kerf blade over the regular blade? At this stage I think ill stick to full kerf as I don't want to have to buy a new riving knife!

I was thinking of buying a full kerf P410 40 tooth in comparison to the 412 (48)...
ie>
http://www.majorwoodworking.com.au/t...usion-blade-1/
Advice?

Do you find use for your dado set now you have the box joint set?

Also still curious if you guys think the 1.75HP Jet could run an 8inch dado?

Regards,

Andrew

Hi Roy

Thanks for that reply it was very helpful.
I have been having a look at dado stacks. The two that strike me are the freud ones. How do you find your stack? I have read link number two (below) has cleaner cuts and less tear out, so am curious how you find link number 1.

The Freud SD208 stack that I use is quite good - typical high quality Freud. However, I did have an issue with the first SD208 that was shipped to me by the supplier, as the bottoms and sides of the dados were rather rough. I wasn't happy, and other people on this forum stated that their dado stacks cut dados that were nice and clean. So, I had a talk to the supplier, and they replaced the original dado stack, and the replacement cuts very well. I suspect that the grind on the first dado stack that I received was maybe a last thing on Friday afternoon job. That easy exchange is probably a good reason for buying from an Australian supplier. I've also had a CMT rip blade that howled like a banshee, and vibrated badly. That too was replaced by the supplier. So, it seems like occasionally, these manufacturers have the occasional Quality Checking slip-up on their production lines.

1.
http://www.rockler.com/freud-professional-dado-sets

2.
http://www.rockler.com/sd508-freud-dado-set

The Freud SD508 doesn't seem to be sold in Australia (at least not on the Major Woodworking web site, which is where I've been buying my Freud Blades), but from the photographs on the link that you've provided, the SD508 looks like it has a greater number of teeth, and different style of teeth, on the two outer cutters. I don't know which of the two Dado stacks that you've linked to would be better, or indeed whether one or the other are better suited to different materials. I've used my SD208 to cut dados in softwoods, hardwoods, ply, and MDF, and I'm happy with the quality of cut in most cases. The only exception was a barely acceptable level of tearout along some dados cut in Qld Maple Veneered MDF.

There is a CMT stack for $270 at carbatec but I am a big fan of Freud blades.

Both come in 6inch and 8inch versions. Do you think the 1.75HP jet could handle a 8inch dado set?
the 6inch stacks are only $20-30 less, so if I am to spend this much I really want to get the biggest one my saw will be able to handle.

My Laguna Fusion's motor is rated at 2 HP, and it has no trouble cutting dados up to 3/4" x 3/8" in hardwood, softwood, mdf and ply. The only time when the 2HP motor has objected to the workload was when I stupidly tried to cut some 3/4" x 3/4" rebates in Forest Red Gum - in a single pass. I finished the rest of the job by cutting each rebate in two passes, without any problem.

I think that your 1.75 HP saw should be able to handle an 8 inch dado stack, and the Jet USA web site confirms this.

I haven't personally tried to use a 6 inch dado stack, but I've read in a magazine review that on some saws, when using a 6 inch dado stack, parts of the arbour sometimes contact the underside of the zero clearance insert, meaning that you are limited in the depth of dado/rebate that you can cut.

I hope that information helps.

Regards,

RoyG

. I do love the Freud blades. I've tried a few others and they aren't as good. I don't know why, but they aren't.

Just now, I cut up 75 internal strips for a few more dolls houses. It's a loooootttt of work. About 40 metres of timber that needs everything cut quickly and accurately. The incra TSLS is truly amazing for positioning and save a ton of time, but post-processing (sanding, rectification, etc) due to the quality of the cut makes a huge time difference. When using the Freud, it's so smooth I can feel completely comfortable skipping straight to the 180 paper grit on the RO125 (now the ETS150/3 thanks to FenceFurniture!) and still paint. There is very little post-work to do.

This also means I can use my table saw as a jointer too, which saves me a ton of time.

I'm unsure why you'd by the P410 and then a P412... If you can use 12, do it. Buy two 12's. The extra size makes a huge difference. Being a bit bigger you do notice the linear velocity is higher.... Which feels like a good thing. It is a LOT more frightening seeing so much blade pop out of the TS though! If you were to buy two, get one as the P410T which is thin kerf. It is better on some woods...like when I'm cutting my ever precious lace SheOak . I also find the thin kerf best for boxes, which I make a lot of too.

For the Freud dado, I'm struggling to think when I used it last. This isn't because it's bad! If I needed an exact width dado I'd whip it out (I made a spreadsheet showing all 9.6 million permutations!)....but since I use a sacrificial backing piece in the mire gauge (an incra 5000) I can make very very accurate marks for the left and right side of the dado and it matches perfectly every time. I've used the Forrest extensively...box joints, lap joints, sliding mortises and for dado work too (such as the dolls houses today). It may involve two passes, but it's not a real problem.

If I were to do dados for cabinets or shelves, the Freud would come out for certain. But since everything I'm doing is "small" work at the moment, the Forrest is perfect.

What would I buy if I had a limited budget? Very hard to say. The Forrest can do in 2, or 3, passes what the Freud can. The Forrest leaves a perfectly flat and smooth bottom, whereas the Freud leaves it a little fuzzy and both the outer sides are knicked a wee bit at the bottom of the trench..... But that a good thing! The fuzz and knicking make for perfect glue joints, whereas the Forrest leaves perfect cuts for box joints and lap joints.

I did end up buying the Freud dado first, some time back. The Forrest was bought as part of a local Incra group-buy and I jammed it in on a whim.... Which I'm very glad I did! (it is a seriously good set). The Freud used as only the outer blade to do box finger joints was unsatisfactory, it was OK, but it wasn't Lego-awesome.... I think the geometry is wrong for very clean cuts (unsurprising considering it's designed function) where if you tried to use the Forrest for lots of bulk shelf work it would probably wear far too fast (I'm only speculating though).

The Freud is only 6". I've never felt the need to cut a dado too deep anyway. The idea of hogging out more than 1/2" in one go seems a bit nuts to me. That much wood at once is a fearsome amount to cut. Most of my dados have been 10mm or less. Ahhhh! There was one exception....I used to cut deep dados when I was making coat rack stands, but this was far too scary....I now use the bandsaw and a Japanese chisel.....

I think in the end you will probably buy a few anyway! One now, one in 6 months, another 6 after that. It's not too painful that way.

BTW, my TS is only a rebadged Tradetools Mao Shan generic with a 2hp motor. I've never come close to bogging it down, except when I was being an idiot.

Thanks evanism,

Bit of an oversight I realised shortly after the typing my question the P410 and 412 referred to blade diameter, whereas all I saw was the number of teeth.

I think at this stage I will get a P410 combination blade and freud dado stack.
Although my saw can likely cope with an 8 inch stack with many smaller passes, it is 1.75HP and 4000RPM ( less torque) I think I will get the D506 6 inch stack. As you said there is no need to hog out that depth of timber. For large tendons on thick stock shore- but I can use a bandsaw for that.

Besides from my calculation (correct me if I am wrong) my saw can cut 80mm at 90 degrees with 10inch blade. I figure an 8 inch stack only decreases the diameter on the top of the blade by 1inch and a 6 inch stack by 2 inches ( i.e. 2 top and 2 bottom figuratively)
2 inches is approx 50mm. So a 6 inch stack should still be able to take out 80-50mm~ Approx 3cm depth which is more than I can see myself needing in the near future.

Unless anyone has any input as to any uses of an rich stack they have come across?

cheers

Andrew