Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Accessories). This thread is read-only.
I have some crown painted maple trim made to match my kitchen cabinets. They charge a small fortune for these pieces so I want to do do the best I can with them. I just got a Fuel sliding miter and ordered a 60t Diablo blade, thinking the saw came with a 40t but it came with a decent if not amazing 60t. I was thinking of returning the 60t and going with a 80t Diablo.
Is that overkill and should I stick with a 60t? Just keep the superior 60t Diablo? Will the 80t bog down a cordless miter? Freud seems to have some different options for 10″ and even an upmarket series of blades like:
LU74R010 Thin Kerf Ultimate Cut-Off Saw Blade 80t blade
LU91R010 Thin Kerf Sliding Compound Miter Saw Blade 60t professional model
Freud 10 In. 80 Tooth Ultimate Plywood and Melamine Cutting Saw Blade with 5/8 In. Arbor (LU80R010) (Maybe a good choice for cutting pre-painted wood?)
So many options. Also any tips on cutting pre-painted maple trim? I don’t want to buy more of this stuff and make super expensive fire wood 😛
I have the Freud LU74R010 10-inch 80-tooth which is probably overkill for most of my projects, but it sure is leaving some beautiful edges on the cedar decking I’m working on.
Oh, as for tips. Measure once, cut twice! HA!
You know they make a 90t blade too.
The 80t and 90t are really meant for cuts where the cut face is visible so you don’t need sanding. For trim where you’re only worried about chipout on the edge of the cut 60t will be fine if you don’t push the saw through the cuts.
use a sacrificial fence set depth like in picture……
We install A LOT of welborne prefinished kitchen cabinets. I just use a Diablo 96t 12″ blade. I do put quality painters tape over the cut are so I can mark it so it’s easily visible. I don’t recall ever chipping the finish on a pre-finished trim piece.
comp56 wrote:
On 10/24/2016 at 2:06 PM, comp56 said:use a sacrificial fence set depth like in picture……
Nice thanks, totally forgot I could make one of those.
jeffmcmillan wrote:
On 10/24/2016 at 1:45 PM, jeffmcmillan said:You know they make a 90t blade too.
The 80t and 90t are really meant for cuts where the cut face is visible so you don’t need sanding. For trim where you’re only worried about chipout on the edge of the cut 60t will be fine if you don’t push the saw through the cuts.
Yeah good point. I’m most worried about chips and the edge just needs to be smooth so 60t is prob fine. This isn’t for any exposed edges. The stock blade actually makes a nice smooth cut so I think a Freud 60t blade made for sliding miters prob should be great.
I came across one of these industrial Freud’s designed for sliding miners with a -5° hook on Amazon and decided to give it a shot. The industrial models supposedly use better materials to higher specifications than the Diablo line:
First impression was that it’s MUCH heavier and thicker. I had to put the two blades on a scale to compare but it’s only about 1.8 oz. heavier but for some reason it just FEELS way more heavy than that would indicate.
I think it might have to do with the plate actually being a tiny bit thicker but while the OEM milwaukee feels like you could bend it easily with just your hands the Freud feels like it would give you much more trouble bending it. For some odd reason the Freud is maybe about 1/8th an inch smaller diameter, not huge but might be a metric ballpark thing.
I was wondering if it actually is a thin kerf because it feels and looks much thicker than the Milwaukee blade but on further inspection it really isn’t. The carbide teeth are almost flush on the Freud while the Milwaukee’s teeth are much wider than the actual blade so it’s prob a few hundredth thicker at most.
not to mention the teeth are about 3-4x’s more massive on the Freud and notice the difference in angles and bigger gullets for material removal:
As to cutting: the Milwaukee blade does a pretty nice job but despite being heavier and a tiny bit thicker the Freud cuts easier and smoother through everything I tried. The kicker is I tried some cutting some dado’s in the end of some prefinished birch and the gap the Milwaukee made was actually a bit wider than the Freud. Also the walls of the slot on the Freud were perfectly square while the Milwaukee left slots that a little off (maybe the thinner blade wobbles widening the cut a bit? – could be why some people complained the saw deflects a little at extreme miter angles too?) 
Notice too above how the finish at the edges of the Milwaukee blade cut are a bit chipped while the Freud leaves a perfect edge.
Notice above how the Milwaukee Blade leaves a slightly scalloped edge in the groove on the bottom while the walls cut by the Freud on top is smooth and even.
Above notice how on full cuts the Freud leaves a nearly glass smooth endgrain while the OEM blade is a little rougher, not bad at all but noticibly rougher.
Some other general thoughts:
The blade is quieter in my opinion than the OEM and cuts so smooth you can’t nt even feel when it contacts the wood. It just sinks in and starts making dust but you don’t actually feel it contact softer wood like pine, maybe because the -5 hook angle and being so sharp? The wood doesn’t even seem to vibrate or give any force feedback with your off hand on the fence. All in all it seems like a nice blade for not all that much more than cheaper ones and it seems really well designed for a sliding miter. They have them on Amazon for $63.
Good observations, i think it’s always been a general consensus that Freud are top notch blades. The proper blade can definitely make a good saw great.
I have freud industrial in my miter and table saws. extremely good blades and really not much more expensive than the diablos.
Hello JerryNY,
Consider CMT blades. German Steel, made in Italy.
[External image (www.slingshottools.com), not copied]
FYI…CMT used to be the contract manufacturer for Freud until they went to Asia for manufacturing. CMT’s new line of blades is designed to give the best performance in the Industrial applications.
CMT Industrial ITK 10″ x 80T x 5/8″ Fine Finish Blade, ****4 Star-Best Quality 255.080.10.
INDUSTRIAL ITK™ FINE FINISH BLADES. BEST QUALITY 4 STAR. APPLICATION: For Crosscuts, Fine Finishing on Two-Sided Laminated Panels Without the Scoring Blade. MATERIALS: Solid Wood, Moldings, Melamine, Laminates, Veneered Plywood, Chipboard. MACHINE USE: Radial Arm Saws, Miter Saws, and Table Saws. USER: Professional & Contractor. USAGE: Heavy Daily Use. COATED: Hard Lacquer. KERF: Thin. INDUSTRIAL ITK™ Designed for the professional woodworker and construction craftsman CMT’s thin-kerf industrial quality blade line delivers an outstanding cut, minimal stock removal and the least possible stress to your saw!
Good luck. Let us know what you decide works best!
Remember that many of the Diablo blades are made in same factory as Freud, in udine, Italy.
Here in Scandinavia we can by such blades in both Bosch and Freud labels. Different dimensions from you guys though [emoji106]
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