Who makes accurate circular saw blades?
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tdellenburg
Well-known member
Forrest makes awesome blades. Not sure if they make a 7-1/4 or not.
https://www.forrestblades.com/#/home
https://www.forrestblades.com/#/home
Major Ramifications
Well-known member
Accurate? It's the user's job to put the cut where he wants it. I guess I don't quite understand what you mean by accurate.
rlitman
Well-known member
For the most part, I'd agree with you, but...
Last year, I needed an extra fine miter saw blade to do some trim work, and looked at the stock at HD. EVERY SINGLE fine all steel blade looked like it was hand filed by 3rd world child labor using files made in the neighboring village and quality control handled by their blind great-grandfather. I couldn't believe how awful they looked. Both the tooth set and rake were visibly inconsistent, and some of the teeth came to a point while others had rectangular flat tops, others had triangular flat tops, and many had grinding burrs left on in all sorts of directions. MAYBE one in ten teeth was sharp enough to sever wood fibers, rather than burn or tear its way through what you're trying to cut.
I went home with a Diablo blade that was clearly made by a robot. Less teeth overall, but it leaves a beautiful cut nevertheless because the teeth are actually sharp, and properly aligned.
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I've been happy with any DeWalt or Diablo blade that I've used. With that said, Diablo blades are the cheaper line for Freud made for the home centers. For a circular saw, it probably won't matter, but when you get into things like Dado stacks and nice table saw blades, the Freud brand blade sets are noticeably better than Diablo.
rlitman
Well-known member
Well yeah, for a cabinet saw a Diablo isn't my choice. Not because it's cheaper per-se, but because Diablo blades are narrow kerf. I really like my Freud Industrial blade in my tablesaw, though I currently have an Avanti in there that I use for rough work (that reminds me, I need to switch them out).
But I keep a Diablo in my circular saw and am quite happy with that.
Not 100% sure about this but believe Diablo are Chinese made while other Freud blades are made in Italy. The Italian blades (and router bits, etc) are very good. I prefer Forrest blades though for table saw and miter saw.
I just checked a few of my Freud blades the industrial and dado say made in Italy right on the blade itself. Diablo is not marked but package says made in Italy on back under the Freud logo. So I suppose they are italian as well. I know I read somewhere that some Freud products are now being made in China lol...
I just checked a few of my Freud blades the industrial and dado say made in Italy right on the blade itself. Diablo is not marked but package says made in Italy on back under the Freud logo. So I suppose they are italian as well. I know I read somewhere that some Freud products are now being made in China lol...
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4Kings
Well-known member
I have very good luck with the orange CMT blades. Everyone I've bought has been made in Italy.
kwoswalt99
Well-known member
FWIW, Forrest blades are the only I've used that will still be perfectly use able after a Saw Stop goes off.
BreeStephany
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Forrest and Freud industrial are two really nice blades. Freud Diablo are nice, but they are very thin kerf and I have warped a few on my miter saw and table saw before.
Another option if you have more money than you know what to do with is have a saw shop make you custom blades. Most saw shops will probably give you a weird look if you ask them to make you anything under a 14" blade, but will probably do it for you.
Another option if you have more money than you know what to do with is have a saw shop make you custom blades. Most saw shops will probably give you a weird look if you ask them to make you anything under a 14" blade, but will probably do it for you.
Forrest has a good selection of blades in 7 1/4.
https://www.forrestblades.com/?sear...ariants[]=57&dispatch[products.search]=Search
how exactly do you warp a sawblade on a table or miter saw?
I've been using a diablo thin kerf on my Unisaw for a decade now. can't say it's ever gotten very hot that I could tell...haven't bought a new blade in a very long time so no idea if it is Italy or china...still have a bunch of usa craftsman in packages I haven't gotten around to using...that diablo just won't wear out.
kickback from a piece of wood in between the fence and blade
Freud makes Diablo blades - they are intended for purposes like framing, siding, decking and general purpose and are sold at the home improvement stores.
Freud's better quality blades (LU/LM series) are usually full kerf and their tips are thicker so they can be resharpened several times
As others have mentioned, probably the most popular table saw blade is the Forrest Woodworker II. Another manufacturer that hasn't been mentioned is Tenryu. A lot of people us these blades on their Festool saws and I run a 12" 'Gold Medal' on my table saw and have been very happy with it
http://tenryusawblades.com/product.php?productid=17822&cat=365&page=1
http://www.carbideprocessors.com/pl...t-0-087-kerf-20mm-arbor-tenryu-psw-16012cbd2/
I am also a fan of Forrest but I don't understand what you mean by being able to survive a SawStop trip. Aren't blades virtually always damaged and often unrepareable from slamming into the aluminum block? Forrest blades are tough but is any blade designed to take that kind of abuse?
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rlitman
Well-known member
Well, Forrest uses a "tensioned" saw plate that I suppose might be more likely to exit that event unscathed compared to something just stamped out of a sheet of steel, but I don't have the money for a Saw Stop, or a bunch of Forrest blades to test out this supposition, so I'll leave the crash testing to someone who does.
Key words in your post: virtually always
Yes, most of the time a sawstop trip is going to wreck the blade. I highly doubt Forrest or any other blade company even tries to make a blade that will survive that. The prevailing logic is that junking a $200 blade is better than losing a hand, and I agree with that 100%.
Personally, I'd never re-use a blade after a sawstop trip even if it looked fine. The carbide tips are brazed on and very strong, but a piece of carbide coming off of one of those blades when is going to literally travel about as fast as a bullet. No thanks.
kwoswalt99
Well-known member
They aren't designed to, but they do. They aren't even noticeably dulled. IIRC, the blade we've got on now has been through the SawStop twice.
kwoswalt99
Well-known member
That's why they have a guard.
derosa
Well-known member
I'll second CMT, have two of their dado sets, a fine tooth in the tablesaw and a lower count in the miter saw. No issues or complaints
If you think the guard on your table saw is bulletproof, saw on.
Roberts210
Well-known member
Ditto on Diablo.
Pretty sure my Diablo blades say made in Italy as well.
...the piece of plastic?
heat from pushing too hard too fast. Most modern blades have cuts to allow thermal expansion (many are designed to reduce noise & vibration also).
Currently in my shop I have Dewalt, CMT, Diablo, Hitachi, Bosch, Ridgid, & Craftsman. I plan to keep the Dewalt, CMT, & Diablo. Possibly one of the Bosch. Mostly because of tooth count but the other blades don't last as long between sharpenings as the Dewalts. They have nice thick carbide, regardless of COO they are probably the best in terms of longevity I've had in the past decade. 12" 10" & 7-1/4" all of them. I prefer ATB, others that prefer flat ground may not get the same results as I do. I'm not cutting kerf-wide slots that need to be flat bottomed so if you do better stick to Forrest.
I have diablo blades stamped USA, Italy, & China in different sizes. A lot of the furniture industry has a giant unproven conspiracy that a large amount of furniture, clothing, and tooling that's made in Italy is really made in china and sat in warehouses long enough to legally be stamped Italy then sent to the US. I don't notice any better or worse performance out of them based on COO.
RivennHewn
Well-known member
I've used them all, and for me the price/quality balance = Matsushita.
http://www.matsushitaamerica.com
COO Japan
http://www.matsushitaamerica.com
COO Japan
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Finky198
Well-known member
I've used a bunch, but mostly dewalt and Diablo/Freud blades I haven't needed to buy one in a while now. They are not the best by any means, but they will more than get the job done if you keep your accuracy and measurements on point...
I have whats on the racks plus the 3 Diablo that I run for general purpose. 7 1/4" - 16". I will add I am a nail nut and go over all our reclaimed wood. I'd much rather spend the time than break a tooth or blade.
I have whats on the racks plus the 3 Diablo that I run for general purpose. 7 1/4" - 16". I will add I am a nail nut and go over all our reclaimed wood. I'd much rather spend the time than break a tooth or blade.
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Marctrees
Well-known member
Brands aside, I have read that often "thin kerf" blades tend to wander and drift more.
Makes logic. Marc
Makes logic. Marc
rlitman
Well-known member
60 tooth ATB blades have their teeth cut LRLRLR, with every gullet identical.
These do not make a flat bottomed cut, regardless of the brand. This pattern is a great cross cutting blade.
50 tooth ATB blades have LRLR followed by a followed by a flat bottomed ripping tooth with a wide gullet. There should be 10 of these large gullets around the circumference. These should (if sharpened correctly) form a flat bottomed cut, again, regardless of the manufacturer.
High ATB (HATB, etc), have a higher bevel angle, inappropriate for ripping, but that makes a cleaner cross cut.
All of these top bevel blades are damaged by cutting laminates. The hard mica wears down the sharp carbide corners. TCG blades have corners that are more resistant to damage. They crosscut real wood like **** though, and also don't leave a flat bottom. TCG is a good choice on MDF, chip board, melamine coated board, etc.
Perhaps. I think it has a lot to do with how much power you have in the cut. I wouldn't like a thin kerf blade in my cabinet saw, and I'd be wary of one in a worm gear saw. But I prefer them in most everything else. Note that a thinner kerf not only removes less wood and makes less dust, but it also creates less heat.
EOC_Jason
Well-known member
Most Diablo blades are made in Italy, but there are a few made in China so it's worth taking a second to look on the blade and see. But Freud/Diablo is my usual first choice.
I would love a WWII but that's a lot of money if you aren't using the saw much.
Irwin Marples (Lowes) are made in Italy.
I would love a WWII but that's a lot of money if you aren't using the saw much.
Irwin Marples (Lowes) are made in Italy.
They aren't designed to, but they do. They aren't even noticeably dulled. IIRC, the blade we've got on now has been through the SawStop twice.
twice?
glad you have a saw stop
me, I would find something else to do besides using a table saw
Indexmill
Well-known member
Just curious; but, how do you just forget about $500 worth of new stuff?
Matsushita? Isn't that Panasonic? I didn't think they kept the old name for anything after renaming the parent corp.
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kwoswalt99
Well-known member
I've never set it off, it's usually when someone runs the miter gauge into the blade, or the wood is too wet. I don't think it's ever been set off from anyone touching the blade.
Bought them as spares 10 years ago, put them on the shelf and just forgot about them. Getting old *****, lol...
pennsylvaniaboy
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 28, 2014
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diablo, freud, and for price the irwin ones dont look bad for a beater blade...