I compared two budget table saw blades

[dwasifar]

Typically I keep a 40T blade on the table saw for general purpose cutting. For some time now it's been a Freud Fusion blade. It's served me well, but on the latest project I found it was burning its way through the cuts; might be time to replace it. I cut a lot of jatoba, which is hard on blades. The Fusion blade is about $70 now, so out of curiosity I decided to see what I could find for less, and find out how it stacked up.

Amazon is flooded with weird brands, and who knows, some of them might be decent, but I avoided them because I want a brand I can buy again someday if I like it.

I bought two blades. A Dewalt DWA11040, which most places claim is MSRP of mid-$30s but easy to find for under $20:



And a Makita A-93669, $25 at Amazon:



I figured whichever one I liked better would stay on the workshop saw, and the other would go on the garage saw.

Interestingly, country of origin information I obtained pre-purchase was wrong for both these blades. As far as I could ascertain, I was going to receive two made-in-China blades, but the DeWalt turned out to be made in Vietnam and the Makita in Thailand.

I set each one up to do about a 36" rip on 3/4" jatoba, which is a big challenge for a 40T blade. The Makita was clearly better. It cut faster, easier, and smoother. The kerf is the same size as the DeWalt but the blade itself is thicker and heavier.

So the Makita stays on the workshop saw and the Dewalt goes to the garage, to replace the poor unfortunate Diablo on that saw; it hit several nails a while back when I was processing some reclaimed deck joists.

I don't know if the Makita is as good as the Freud Fusion was when new, or if it will last as long, but it looks to be good enough for general purpose cutting.

 

[johnre]

I've noted differences on the amount of material used on the carbide chippers, with typically higher priced, higher quality blades using more carbide. There might be three resharpenings total out of a good quality blade, and only one out of a mediocre blade. Take a look at the two you illustrated; the difference is quite apparent.

Is there better carbide compositions used for the better blades? That I don't know; I just count on having to do regular resharpening (I too cut a lot of Jatoba), and figure only on the bulk in the carbide chippers and how many resharpenings that will allow.

And - the "weird brand" that I can't find anymore is SystiMatic, made in the Czech Republic. I wish I could find a US retailer still selling them.

 

[dwasifar]

And - the "weird brand" that I can't find anymore is SystiMatic, made in the Czech Republic. I wish I could find a US retailer still selling them.

Some of the brands on Amazon:

• FoxBC
• Puxyblue
• Novorik
• Janchi
• KHCraft
• Luckyway
• Kendo
• Mazing
• Tomax
• Nuttuto
• Keentech
• OA-Bres
• Vortex Diamond
• Smithology
• Norske
• Mastec
• Craly

And that's just on the first two pages of results.

 

[johnre]

And that's just on the first two pages of results.

I think the manufacturing plant is still in operation making product; they just don't sell by that name any more in the USA.

Probably Forrest and the better quality Freud Industrial line would be more known brands in this quality echelon, but they were considerably higher price. The long list of names you got through Amazon are likewise mostly unknowns to me.

 

[Davefr]

The last blade I bought was a FoxBC 10" thin kerf ripping blade from Amazon. It was about half the cost of name brand. It makes great cuts and has good reviews. It's probably cheaper than having it resharpened.

I see no reason to pay double for a name brand blade as long as the reviews are good.

 

[Steve_P]

I've noted differences on the amount of material used on the carbide chippers, with typically higher priced, higher quality blades using more carbide. There might be three resharpenings total out of a good quality blade, and only one out of a mediocre blade. Take a look at the two you illustrated; the difference is quite apparent.

Is there better carbide compositions used for the better blades? That I don't know; I just count on having to do regular resharpening (I too cut a lot of Jatoba), and figure only on the bulk in the carbide chippers and how many resharpenings that will allow.

And - the "weird brand" that I can't find anymore is SystiMatic, made in the Czech Republic. I wish I could find a US retailer still selling them.

It's $20 to resharpen a 40T blade where I live, plus the driving time and gasoline. It's not worth it for me, and probably most of us, to resharpen a $20-30 blade. YMMV.

 

[dnschmidt]

Cheap and good blades normally = Diablo (Freud)

 

[seber]

I resharpen my own blades on the table saw. A very simple jig with and abrasive blade in the saw makes for a quick simple job.

 

[dwasifar]

Here's the cut quality of the two blades. It's DeWalt on the top, Makita on the bottom.

 

[Max]

Here's the cut quality of the two blades. It's DeWalt on the top, Makita on the bottom.

Thank you for the picture - it makes it very clear.

 

[dwasifar]

Thank you for the picture - it makes it very clear.

Yeah. It's not that the Makita is baby smooth; you can still see saw marks if you look close. But it's miles better than the DeWalt.

 

[Max]

It looks like the DeWalt would need at least one lower grade of sandpaper to start. I’ve been thinking of finally getting a Forrest (I use Freud now) but I think I’m going to try the Makita as well.

 

[dnschmidt]

Usually, Makita has Tenryu make their sawblades for them. Tenryu makes very good saw blades.

 

[johnre]

It's $20 to resharpen a 40T blade where I live, plus the driving time and gasoline. It's not worth it for me, and probably most of us, to resharpen a $20-30 blade. YMMV.

My bottom tier "junk cut" blade is $40 range, and I resharpen once then discard.

My better quality hardwood crosscut blade is $90 range (Freud Industrial), and I count on getting 2-3 resharpenings.

I'd agree that if you come across something for $20-30 that is reasonable quality, you discard it when it's done.

 

[egdede]

Was that grain looking and oriented the same before you cut?

 

[RTM]

Usually, Makita has Tenryu make their sawblades for them. Tenryu makes very good saw blades.

15 or so years ago, they were considered the best rip blade out there, at a bargain price.

 

[egdede]

I ask above because it looks maybe like one was ripped with the grain and one across? Other wise the De Walt really smeared the grain up.

 

[RTM]

ask above because it looks maybe like one was ripped with the grain and one across

From here they both look like rip cuts, tho the top on is a really poorly sharpened saw at work. When I had my nice blade resharpened, it came back cutting like that. Took it to a local guy, the tips were out several ?thousandths?. He reground the tips correctly, and it was back to the bottom cut, one plane stroke away from glue ready.

To the OP, if you have a dial indicator, you can measure the "kerf" being created at the tips, suspect you will find outliers. Measure it against your miter slot, blade mounted and rotated. Tip height might be interesting to know also.

 

[dwasifar]

From here they both look like rip cuts, tho the top on is a really poorly sharpened saw at work. When I had my nice blade resharpened, it came back cutting like that. Took it to a local guy, the tips were out several ?thousandths?. He reground the tips correctly, and it was back to the bottom cut, one plane stroke away from glue ready.

To the OP, if you have a dial indicator, you can measure the "kerf" being created at the tips, suspect you will find outliers. Measure it against your miter slot, blade mounted and rotated. Tip height might be interesting to know also.

They were both rip cuts on jatoba pieces of equal length and thickness. I would not be surprised to find outliers on the Dewalt. The blade plate is far thinner and flexier than the Makita.

I kept the Makita on my workshop saw, and put the Dewalt on my garage saw, which is used mainly for utility cutting.

In related news, I decided to put a new blade on my 12" miter saw and thought I'd give Norske a try. 60T combination, same as the Diablo I took off. Three test cuts and I pulled it off, sent it back to Amazon, and bought another Diablo instead.

 

[ohhimark]

I bought the Makita blade you mentioned, since I've been using a CMT 80t blade and could use a more normal blade for general purpose cuts.

 

[johnre]

To the OP, if you have a dial indicator, you can measure the "kerf" being created at the tips, suspect you will find outliers. Measure it against your miter slot, blade mounted and rotated. Tip height might be interesting to know also.

The telltale arcs on the Dewalt-cut piece indicate that this probably indeed is the case. But I think I also see the arc spacing change as the cut progresses (direction of feed was to the left as we view this image, going by these arcs), so it might have been that the sawblade core was distorting and suddenly more than one chipper got out of place and marked the piece.

 

[dwasifar]

Follow up: I took the Freud blade to a sharpening shop. They told me it may be ruined by heat. Apparently burning through jatoba can get it hot enough to de-temper the teeth. They're going to take a closer look at it, but if that turns out to be the case, then I'll probably stick with disposable blades in the future.

 

[rancherbill]

I would check the runout on the blade.

I have 5 to 10 (my son keeps borrowing them). They got bent for a bunch of reasons. Put a dial indicator on the them and see if they are bent. I've had 50/50 luck straightening them and get a lot more use out of them

With the power off, affix a dial indicator to the table and rotate the blad by hand. Put some marks where it is bent. Give a gentle whack, recheck repeat. Also, check to see that all the teeth are still there. I had lost a couple of teeth on a couple of blades.

I took several for sharpening that were dull and ran straight. I asked about the others that had missing teeth. He wanted $3 per tooth to replace, he gets them off really bad scrap blades and brazes them like the factory.

 

[dwasifar]

In related news, I decided to put a new blade on my 12" miter saw and thought I'd give Norske a try. 60T combination, same as the Diablo I took off. Three test cuts and I pulled it off, sent it back to Amazon, and bought another Diablo instead.

Well. Amazon cancelled the Diablo order, due to no stock. So I ordered this instead, from an eBay seller:



It was a risk ordering from eBay rather than Amazon, but I saved $9.

I am pleased to report that it cuts very nicely. Smooth crosscuts in jatoba. Made in Thailand.

 

[dwasifar]

From the package:



"Do not use blade if dull." Excellent advice. Stupid people shouldn't use power tools.

 

[dwasifar]

Follow up: I took the Freud blade to a sharpening shop. They told me it may be ruined by heat. Apparently burning through jatoba can get it hot enough to de-temper the teeth. They're going to take a closer look at it, but if that turns out to be the case, then I'll probably stick with disposable blades in the future.

It is, in fact, ruined. Not only by heat, but several teeth are badly chipped, which I didn't notice. Must have hit a fastener.

 

[woody 73]

While I agree that lots of things you can cheap out on, I tend to pay for top notch saw blades, I don't know about some of you, but I don't own any equipment in my shop that can sharpen carbide teeth.

Now before anyone starts to get upset, some of the better companies out there will let you send the blade back to them and they will set the teeth if needed, sharpen them and or replace them if needed. (think of them as top-notch snap-on quality).

Oh, sure you can buy the cheaper blades by the truck load, but having to replace them when the wood starts showing burn marks is not my idea of fun.

Your money your call.

 

[BroncoAZ]

I need a new blade for my 25 year old Craftsman 10” miter saw. My saw station is too shallow for the Dewalt DWS779 saw I have, so I’m going to end up with one of the Bosch 12” glider saws eventually. Until then I need to make the old saw work. I’m going to order one of the Makita blades.

 

[tak1313]

So the Makita stays on the workshop saw and the Dewalt goes to the garage, to replace the poor unfortunate Diablo on that saw; it hit several nails a while back when I was processing some reclaimed deck joists.

I don't know if the Makita is as good as the Freud Fusion was when new, or if it will last as long, but it looks to be good enough for general purpose cutting.

I don't know if this would help the next time you do reclaimed wood, but I use the Zircon Metalliscanner m40 for checking for nails (or other metal) in such wood. I do have a "regular" metal detector, but it's too bulky and awkward for something like that. The m40 is handheld and you can use it in two positions. With the broadside against the material, it scans a wider swath, and with the tip, it is able to pinpoint the metal object. You can't see it in the pic, but there is also a series of little led lights in the handle that progressively lights up as you get closer to the metal.



EDIT - I forgot to mention. Before I got mine, I saw a few complaints about it being too sensitive, which made it hard to pinpoint the exact location of the metal. If you read the directions (yes, I know this is GJ, so it might be a rare skill - I know it's a skill I rarely utilize in my brain arsenal), it does tell you how to change the calibration on the fly to make it less sensitive and easier to pinpoint once metal is detected..

 

[Old tool guy]

(my son keeps borrowing them). They got bent for a bunch of reasons.

I think i see a correlation.

 

[dwasifar]

I need a new blade for my 25 year old Craftsman 10” miter saw. My saw station is too shallow for the Dewalt DWS779 saw I have, so I’m going to end up with one of the Bosch 12” glider saws eventually. Until then I need to make the old saw work. I’m going to order one of the Makita blades.

I have a Delta 12-2312 saw of similar design: hinged arms instead of rails. I like it a lot. HD used to have a Ridgid branded version of it, the R4251, at a very attractive price, but I'm not sure it will ever be available again.

 

[MushCreek]

I had a bunch of finish work to do (building a bathroom vanity), so I picked up a cheap 80T Bauer at HF. $20, and it cuts beautifully. Time will tell how long it lasts.

 

[jbltwin1]

I bought a couple of saw blades that were WEN brand. Got one for the saw and one for a spare. Pretty nice blades and cheap. Cut true and very thin kerf. I actually think they shipped from Home depot. At least they came in home depot boxes. Two different purchases and from two different places but BOTH came in HD boxes.

 

[Notgrownup]

I’m experimenting with different blades as well, I put a Bauer 40t thin Kerf on my Kobalt folding saw and it seems to be doing very well. I can’t make myself pay outrageous amounts for a saw blade. I get decent cuts with Diablo, Bauer and other blades I have on hand. On my compound miter saw I do use a 80t Diablo and it does really good. I guess since I’m just a beginner I will stick to those blades for now. I do want a better table saw.

 

[zendriver]

It is, in fact, ruined. Not only by heat, but several teeth are badly chipped, which I didn't notice. Must have hit a fastener.

Even though none of us have ever done it, making a cut with a dull blade is stupid, but making a blind cut through wood that may have contain metal is…..,..

 

[dwasifar]

Even though none of us have ever done it, making a cut with a dull blade is stupid, but making a blind cut through wood that may have contain metal is…..,..

Gee, thanks, friend.

I'll have you know I always examine reclaimed wood for fasteners and metal. It's not like I just thoughtlessly threw it on the saw. The law of averages caught up with me finally, is all.