Blade for miter saw

[john davey]

Hi, I have a Makita miter saw that I grabbed off craigslist a while back. Cant go wrong for $20 but I need a blade for it. For some reason the guy had a worn rip blade on it. But it runs and is pretty darned accurate. I am about to do some crown moulding and need a good blade for this. I am not looking to break the bank here (hey I go 20 in the saw so you know Im kinda cheap) but I am looking for something that will do a good job. Once I am done with the crown I will just keep this in the shed and it will be mostly used for 2x4 cutting as I usually hand cut all crosscuts in the shop. Here is a pic of what the saw looks like. Not mine just one on google....makita.jpg. For the record the rooms are small and I will be using 2 5/8" ~ 3" crown so it will work in this saw fine. Small rooms. I do believe I will build a little fence jig at the correct measurement to put the crown in upside down at the correct angel as there isn't much to hold it to on this saw. Thanks, John.

[Erik Loza]

No complaints with the Freud Diablos on my contractor-type saws.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Paul McGaha]

Hi John,

Great find for $20. Dang. This is the blade I use in my miter saw:

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/202...Tooth-ATB.aspx

PHM

[Tom Ewell]

Might look into Oshlun as well.

[Alan Schwabacher]

Cripe Distributing has an ebay store that frequently has very good deals on blades, I think bought up as closeouts. You need to browse their offerings, as they change and not everything is desirable.

Some examples available now:
Freud LU95R012 $70 (84 tooth, 12" TCG industrial series blade, meaning enough carbide for several sharpenings.)
Bosch CBCL1060 $18 (60 tooth, 10" diameter, "ultra thin kerf")
Steel City 35717 $28 (80 tooth, 10", ATB)

[Joe Hollis]

I'm partial to F.S. Tool saw blades- I use them for both my table saw and mitre saw. I would recommend only thin kerf, since they're much easier on the electric brakes and on the saw overall. If you are cutting MDF trim, then a TCG tooth profile is preferable; ATB's for finger joint.

Good luck with your choice.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

You want cheap? I got cheap. After reading this thread, on my way home I stopped at the local HD. They have 2 Avanti blades for 20 bucks. Well, 19.97, so it's less than your saw. I tested the 40 tooth in my cabinet saw. It works well enough. I ripped 10/4 oak, no problem. But I have a 5 hp saw. Thin kerf, cuts pretty straight for a 10 buck blade. The other blade is a 60T.

[Matthew Hills]

I like the stock Makita blades:


http://www.amazon.com/Makita--93669-...s=makita+blade


Suppose you can always consider a high-toothcount, hi-ATB blade instead… but those start to get more expensive.

Matt

[Rich Engelhardt]

I keep a Freud D1040X - a 40 tooth ATB blade - on my DeWalt 10" non-slider that I use on all my stuff around the shop.

I've tried a couple of the high tooth count (60 and 80) blades and don't care for them. Nothing specific other than they don't cut as easily and as fast - plus I don't feel they offered any smoother cut to offset the higher cost.

The other thing I'm not a big fan of is a thin kerf blade.
Too much deflection.

[Art Mann]

I just bought a new Bosch 12" sliding miter saw. The blade that came with it certainly cuts fast but the quality is not acceptable for my molding work. I bought a 100 tooth Freud Diablo thin kerf trim blade and the results are waaaay superior to the Bosch blade. It cost a little less than $70 delivered from Amazon. Home Depot sells the same blade for the same price but you have to pay sales tax. That price is not particularly expensive for a quality trim blade.

[Vince Shriver]

I believe blades designed for RAS or chop saws (especially the sliding version) should have a negative hook. They cut slower but inhibit blade "climbing".

[Rick Potter]

Sounds like you need two blades. I would buy a decent high tooth count blade like a Freud to use on the trim work, then put it on the table saw when needed. For the construction lumber any cheap blade with low tooth count will do. You can probably find both on CL.

[john davey]

Yes, I believe I will need 2 blades as well. I will be getting a 60 tooth blade for it for the crown job. then a blade suited for its life in construction work. Since I do not want to blow the bank account on this I am thinking of getting this: http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW3106P...iter+saw+blade.. Any thoughts???? Thanks,John...

[Chris Padilla]

Yes, I believe I will need 2 blades as well. I will be getting a 60 tooth blade for it for the crown job. then a blade suited for its life in construction work. Since I do not want to blow the bank account on this I am thinking of getting this: http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW3106P...iter+saw+blade.. Any thoughts???? Thanks,John...

Looks good! $35 for two blades! I still have the factory one that came with my DeWalt 12" CMS and I toss it on there for exactly that: general construction cutting of various 2x material and anything else. I have a Forrest Chopmaster and some fancy Freud high-tooth blades for the finer hardwoods.

[Garth Almgren]

I inherited that same two pack with my table saw. I use the 60 tooth on my RAS, and it makes for pretty clean cuts in MDF and softwoods. Haven't tried it with any hardwood yet. I also haven't used the 32 tooth except for one test rip of a 2x4 on the table saw. Not as good as a Forrest WWII of course, but it does cut wood. I'll probably throw it on the miter saw when the current blade wears out.