Freud Blades

Makhaira

Makhaira

Makhaira

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Joined
23 Nov 2007
Posts
5,064
Location
Lancashire, UK
Right, I know these are extremely well thought of, and since I've got a few bits of proper woodwork coming up (rather than trashing cheap blades on laminate and offcuts), I thought I'd treat myself to some nice blades...

The Freud range is utterly baffling, so I'm really not sure what to pick as it goes way beyond my knowledge/experience to date in terms of selecting judged on tooth count.

Max blade diameter is 250mm, my RAS won't take larger.

I've got a cheapy 24T for ripping at the moment, nothing else (just trashed my 48T laying a lounge laminate floor).

I'm thinking a ripping blade, and a crosscut blade, for materials split across MDF, softwood, hardwood. That said, I see they have combination blades - do they work or is it a gimmick?

Suggestions?
 
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I only use jigsaw blades for laminate now,blunted too many circular blades too quickly to be cost effective .
As for combination blades ,personally i would saw get a blade to suit each application,but that might be a tad expensive for you
 
Depends on what jobs you have coming up. I have a 24t and a 60t on my table saw, the frued blades are very good indeed. I wouldn't bother with a combination blade.

I use method tools for blades and router cutters as the are good value for money tho they may be trade only.

Can you not send your blade to a saw doctor for sharpening?
 
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I've been doing various naff jobs on the house, so I've been using cheap blades - cutting laminate (knackers any blade quickly), cutting wood with the odd nail in, etc.

Now that I'm more onto decent projects, I was going to get some blades. The Freuds seem very well thought of, although I know some of the Bosch and Dewalt offerings are also viewed well.

If a single decent 60T is the way to go then I'm more than happy to go down that route. What's the sweet spot for kerf size? Thin as possible to make cuts easy, or broader to give a more robust blade?
 
Don't really know about the Bosch or makita ones, you could take a look at axminsters more premium range as the laser cuts make a difference in noise and vibration levels. Also take a look at method tools website, I'd be happy to send them on. Is your radial arm a 30mm bore or do you use reducing bushes? If using reducer bushes or the shaft is stepped up at the blade then you need to consider that thickness. I buy 3.2 or 3.8 and run a 2.8 on my mitre saw
 
I have a couple of different blades for wood that I use with my numatic vacuum as a dust collector:

JCB Circular saw - I have 24 tooth (raw ripping) and an after purchase bosch 48 tooth that leaves the cut lovely and smooth.

Bosch Jigsaw - I have a bosch rough cut set (including longer length blades) for rough cutting of wood - these are good but they face DOWN so require quite a bit of weight to be put on the top of saw to keep it from rising (these aren't reprocating blades but I assume this is to help prevent blade sticking in rough wood), I also have bosch smooth wood cuts that face upwards - these give a nice smooth cut and the saw is lovely and stable during the cut. You want to make sure the cut is once and at a continuous speed to prevent any saw edging on the cut.
I also have metal blades (used a lot for aluminium projects and these cut like a hot knife through butter). I also have ceramic blades - these work nicely on wall tiles but not on floor tiles (the blades glow red then blunt as they don't have the cooling required - a wet diamond tile cutter is far better.

Bandsaw - you want decent cuts that are constant angles - these are great for this. My father in law gave me his old one.. I have several blades including a thin one for tight radius curve cutting. Awesome when cutting wood but you will need a dust collection system (henry vacuum).

So if you're really going to cut loads of wood for projects - consider getting yourself a cheapy henry vacuum for basic dust collection and cleaning the garage/workshop after.
 
darreny said:
Do you rip on the radial?
Click to expand...

Probably not meant to but at 1500W.. the saw with that blade goes through anything - including 2x4, fence posts, etc.

A 60 tooth would give a nicer finish but as my circular saw is hand held only (not attached to a table) it's probably not used as you would a large table to rip through big pieces of timber.
 
Aye, got a 24T cheapy at the moment for ripping, but I try to avoid ripping where possible, horrible to do when not on a table saw!
 
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