Table saw - combination blade or separate rip/xcut?

[Karl]

Hi all

Just trying to canvass some opinion - who uses separate blades for ripping and crosscutting timber? Or are combination blades really a compromise?

I think it's a bit of a faff changing blades over, and have been thinking of just buying a combi blade.

Cheers

Karl

 

[wizer]

I must admit that I have chucked a 40T Freud in my Jet and I hadn't really intended on changing it much. However, I have noticed that this plan probably won't work for everything. Crosscuts could do with a finer cut and certainly any veneer or melamine board would need more teeth.

I don't think a specific rip blade is necessary unless you are doing lots and lots of long rips. The 40T handles short rips just fine as long as you keep the feed constant and moderate.

 

[Philly]

Karl - agree with Wizer. I have a Freud combo blade in mine and rarely swap it out for a rip or crosscut blade. It works real nice - just need a slower feed rate on rips.
Hope this helps
Philly

 

[Waka]

I like to use individual blades, I find that the finished cut is better, bit of a pain contiually changing blades but you get used to it.

 

[ProShop]

Hi all

Just trying to canvass some opinion - who uses separate blades for ripping and crosscutting timber? Or are combination blades really a compromise?

I think it's a bit of a faff changing blades over, and have been thinking of just buying a combi blade.

Cheers

Karl

Hi karl

IMHO combi blades are a compromise, but it really depends on what and how much timber your cutting, good quality separate blades give a better finish and make life easier for the machines motor & bearings.

I suppose if you've got a saw that's time consuming to change the blades then I can see why users just stick to the usual combi 40 /48 toothed blades, but I'll stick to seperate blades every time.



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[maltrout512]

Hi Karl, I have at the moment three saw blades for the table saw,
Fast cut combination 315mm, 40t which came with the saw and I have not tried that one yet. CMT 300mm melamine and fine cut off 96t 5* hook and 40* ATB which has cut all double side board, and Axminster 315mm 60t which I have used cutting oak facing strips etc, and a Bosch 305mm 80t in the Ryobi compound mitre saw. All work great and yes it can be a pain having to change the blade on the table saw but you get very good results.

 

[Karl]

Cheers folks.

I use a triple chip 96t blade for man made boards, so the question was more directed at solid wood really.

I think i'll go for a combi blade and see how I get on.

Cheers

Karl

 

[ike]

I use a 48T 315mm as a combi in the table. However, I've slowly set in to the habit of crosscutting 95% of stuff on the SCMS with an 80T 250mm high angle blade for melamine. A 28T rip lives almost permanently in the table.

A combi blade is crap when you want to do a long rip session, and never that good for crosscuts unless it's a rough cut for shooting.

Ike

 

[Karl]

A combi blade is crap when you want to do a long rip session, and never that good for crosscuts unless it's a rough cut for shooting.

Ike

Good point - I should have pointed out that all of my cut edges get hand planed.

Cheers

Karl

 

[Richard Findley]

I use a triple chip 96t blade for man made boards, so the question was more directed at solid wood really

Hi Karl,

If you've already got a 97t for MDF etc this will be fine for cross cuts and should leave a nice shinney finish. The only other task is ripping surely?? If so then a rip blade is the answer.

Richard

 

[woodbloke]

I use a combination blade for rip and cross cutting...I think it's a 34T on the K419, seems to work well - Rob

 

[Losos]

I started out with a combi blade, have now fitted a rip blade 'cos I had some big and long stuff to rip.

It's amazing how much better the rip blade is and I try to use the SCMS for all the cross cut stuff, but when I switch back to working on sheets I may put the combi back on.

FWIW I would fit a combi to start with and keep a rip for when you really have no choice but to use one.

 

[Mr Ed]

Hi Karl

I use a 34T Trend Waveform combination blade in my Kity 419 and have found it to be good. I get the occasional burn marks on a long rip, but as I hand plane all surfaces to final dimension anyway its not really an issue. Crosscuts seem fine, but again if it was something critical I'd probably refine it on the shooting board anyway.

If (as you say) you plan to handplane most cuts anyway the compromise of a combination blade is a non-issue in my view.

Cheers, Ed

 

[Ironballs]

Separate rip and cross cut for me and that's all in hardwoods

 

[ByronBlack]

To continue, and I don't mean to hijack this thread, but assuming seperate blades for cross and rip cut are to be the order of the day, what are the best choices about? And what about sheet goods? I'm going to assume, the Freud blades represent the best performance/price?

 

[gardenshed]

To continue, and I don't mean to hijack this thread, but assuming seperate blades for cross and rip cut are to be the order of the day, what are the best choices about? And what about sheet goods? I'm going to assume, the Freud blades represent the best performance/price?

IMHO Freud make OK blades & tooling, they aren't the best by a long way.
They just market themselves better than some of the other makers & they seem to be more readily available.
I know some members on here like them, let's face it anything is better than the blades usually supplied with quite a lot of new saw tables etc.




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[Digit]

Two points here. If I had been asked this a few months ago I would have said definitely a blade for each op.
Now that I have changed to Freud blades I find myself changing much less frequently.
Second point, Gardenshed, who makes better blades? Are they significantly better? How much do they cost please?

Roy.

 

[motownmartin]

To continue, and I don't mean to hijack this thread, but assuming seperate blades for cross and rip cut are to be the order of the day, what are the best choices about? And what about sheet goods? I'm going to assume, the Freud blades represent the best performance/price?

IMHO Freud make OK blades & tooling, they aren't the best by a long way.
They just market themselves better than some of the other makers & they seem to be more readily available.
I know some members on here like them, let's face it anything is better than the blades usually supplied with quite a lot of new saw tables etc.




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In your opinion garden shed, what are the best or which and how many are better than Freud.