I would some recommendations or suggestions about purchasing a 10″ blade for my tablesaw. I would like to do some work with hardwood veener plywoods. Perhaps one or two furniture or cabinet projects each year.
What do people recommend for a blade? I have a 50 tooth combination blade which usually, but not always chips out the veener.
Should I just buy an inexpensive $14 steel 200 tooth blade and throw it away after five or six projects? Should I spring for a $60+ blade and if so WHOs and WHAT?
Has anyone used Freud’s 80 tooth “Ultra Fine Crosscut” TK806 ($50)?
Replies
Personally....I wouldnt use Plywood for a tablesaw blade..would get kinda wobbly I think...lmao....ok ok...j/k...I use CMT's blade for plywood...cant think of the Model off the top of My head..I'll check when I get in the shop tomorrow again...
JC
Thank you!
Are you a professional? Do alot of veener work?
I work at a cabinetshop and pretty much all we use is MDF core Oak/Maple/Birch Veneer....The CMT blade works great..no chipping or tearout...I use the same blade in My personal shop as well...its a great blade...I looked up the blade on CMT';s site...its the 10' Compound Miter & radial saw blade..I use it in the tablesaw..works excellent..hope this helps you...
JC
shake n stir ,
I use and would recommend an 80 tooth blade with a negative rake . You can also cut melamine products with little or no chipping. They cut veneer sweet. There are so many brands to choose from , for crosscutting and veneers I use a F.S brand blade , I believe they are made in Canada.I use Freud 50 tooth combo blades for ripping hardwoods and most all other uses on the TS .
good luck dusty
I've have a Freud Ultimate cutoff and a Forrest WWII. Both are excellent blades and both tear out the veneer sometimes. The first thing is to make sure that the saw is well tuned. Then get or make a zero tolerance throat plate, this is the most importaint thing. If that isn't better then score the cut with a knife. If you score it corectly there will be no tear out.
Something mentioned on another post that I have found true as well is that some ply is worse than others, even from the same batch. There is a speciality plywood supplier in my area and they carry the higher grades of ply that are better laminated.
Have fun,
Mike
I use the Woodworker II blade. Its expensive but it will stay sharp longer. You get out of life what you put into it......minus taxes.
Marv
All of the blade manufacturers make a blade specifically for plywood and laminates, they're more or less alike. Forrest and Freud almost always get excellent reviews, but some of the less well known blades are also good.
John W.
Shake_n_stir,
I took notice of the blade that my favorite plywood supplier used on their 5 hp Unisaw. It was/is a Forrest 80 tooth...kept very sharp. They do cut plywood and some hardwood all day long...which may be way beyond your needs. Why don't you give them a call and ask a few questions.
http://www.boulterplywood.com/
Personally I have found the Freud in my hand skill saw (7 1/2") to do a beautiful job on plywood...
Speaking of skill saws. I have a ancient 6" saw and with a cheap steal plywood blade it is amazing what it can do with veeners. I have used it to cut sheets down into managable sizes. Even with a bad runout it does a good job. Can't use it for finish cuts, but not bad for a cheap blade.
That is one reason I asked about a $14 steal blade with 200 teeth. For cutting up three or four sheets each year would that do the trick. Actaully, I don't mind springing for 60 buck or so to just have a good trusty blade for teh next twenty years, so was looking for suggestions.
Everyone has been great here, but I must admit to still being frozen in indecision.
As I said in another post I called Freud and they recommended the LU96, but their web site recommended a different blade after I answered several questions.
??? EE-NE-MINEY-MO
Based on advice given to me by a local Northwest Woodworker who does a great deal of (beautiful) work in veneered ply, I'd go with the Freud F80, not the LU85. (Their catalog info backs this choice up). He uses the F80 regularly, and had overwhelmingly positive results. I have the LU85, but would still buy an F80 if I was going to do alot of ply work.
Wish I had his web site link on this computer, but don't, alas.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Interesting.
I called Freud yesterday and the guy was recommending the LU96. Perhaps that is a new version of your LU85. Do you think?
As for your suggestion of the F80, is that the complete model number? Is it a cross-cut blade?
Hi shake...
I've been using the Freud TK806, 80 tooth Ultra Fine Crosscut and have good results with it. Here's a link:
http://www.freudtools.com/woodworkers/rep/sawblades/Professional_Series/Crosscut/html/Crosscut_2.html
The 806 is at the bottom of the page.Bill Arnold - Custom Woodcrafting
Food for Thought: The Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
Hmmmmmm, makes me realize how old my catalogs are! Will have to get new ones at the WWing show this year.
The easiest thing to do is to compare tooth and blade body configurations with the new models. Well, really, the easiest thing to do is to get Charles-from-Freud over here, I'll drop him a line, so watch for his post.
OK, here we go
F80 80-tooth HiATB with 2* hook angleLU85 80-tooth ATB with 10* hook angle (is charted as "Good" for plywood rather than the "Excellent" listed for the F80)
Hmmmm (again), I went to the Freud web site and could not find an LU96, so don't know how it compares to the above. Yes, the F80 is labelled as a crosscut blade. OK, off to alert Charles to this thread.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
shake_n_stir,
The LU96 will do a great job on plywood but is better for laminates and melamine. The F80 that Forest Girl recommended is the best one to get. It is 80 tooth HiATB and the actual item number to look for is F810 (this denotes the 10" version).
Sorry for the confusion when you called. You likely talked to one of our account reps and they get excited about new products like the LU96 and tend to over recommend them. As Mike noted earlier you need to have the saw well tuned/aligned. You will also need to have the blade height set so that about 1/2 of a tooth is above the material. If you do have some chipping you can adjust the height slightly to alleviate it.
Charles M
Freud America, Inc.
Edited 9/15/2004 2:05 pm ET by CHARLES_MC
Thanks BArnold, Forrest Girl, Charles, and everyone else!
This has been a great discussion. I know there are so many great blades out there. One we did not talk about was Systimatic which my brother-in-law swears by. But, in the end if you don't have experience with a dozen or so manufactures, a person is pretty much in the dark. I have a similar problem buy downhill skis. Unless you demo five or six pairs who can say you are buying the right ski. You just have to trust someone's advice.
It looks like I am likely to go get a F810. Got a couple of recommendaitons and then a bit of confirmation from "the man". Thanks for all the input!
Hi Charles, thanks for the input! Any insights on why I couldn't find the LU96 using "Search" on the Freud web site? Can you provide a link to it? (As mentioned up above, I have to update my Freud catalogs, they're way outdated!)forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Jamie,
Sorry, but the LU96R010 is brand new and is not in any of our literature or on the website yet. It is a thin kerf 80 tooth TCG blade intended for chip-free cuts in double-sided laminate and melamine.Charles M
Freud America, Inc.
Charles,
When I looked at a plywood blade, I went with the TK806 and have been satisfied with it so far. Are you recommending the F80 series because of the hook angle?
Regards,Bill Arnold - Custom Woodcrafting
Food for Thought: The Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
Bill,
The hook angle is a big factor since the TK806 can be a little too aggressive and might cause splintering. The other factor is the HiATB means the bevel angles are very steep (38° on the F80 vs. 15° on the TK806). This helps the teeth shear the fibers more cleanly.Charles M
Freud America, Inc.
Charles,
Thank you for taking time to explain the differences. To aid in my decision to purchase the TK806 about a year ago, I used the Freud chart giving it an 'Excellent' classification for plywood and it does a fine job. Sounds like the F80 will be the next blade to add to my arsenal to go to the next level.
Regards,Bill Arnold - Custom Woodcrafting
Food for Thought: The Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
I have the Forrest WWII in my Unisaw these days and it looks like it's going to stay there, except for periodic switches with a dado set. Even with the standard insert, I do not get tearout with plywood or any other woods, including curly maple. In fact, I use the WWI to make the final rip cuts in curly maple since the jointer only tears the wood.
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