Glue line rip blade vs. combination blade

[dennis thompson]

I have always used Forrest full kerf combination blades and am pretty satisfied with the results.
However I have been thinking for a long time about giving the Freud thin kerf glue line rip blade a try. (It's in my shopping cart at Amazon $54, right now). I don't have a jointer. I have Deputrens contracture so my pinkie fingers are pretty curled over making blade changes difficult, I can't straighten them out so they get in the way when changing blades. What would happen if I used the Freud thin kerf glue line rip for all my cuts, both rip and crosscuts? My table saw is a Ridgid 4512.
Thanks

[Alex Snyder]

I used to use the Freud glue line rip blade on all plywood cuts before switching to a sliding table saw. It worked quite well. On the few hardwood rips I tried it burned the wood. Ripping blades are what you want on hardwood rips.

[Lee Schierer]

I used to use a Freud thin kerf ripping blade on my Craftsman saw. When it wore out after several sharpenings, I purchased a full kerf Freud glue line rip blade. I did an alignment check on my saw and started using the new rip blade. I've noticed no difference in speed when ripping hard wood (Red Oak, Maple and Cherry) however, the cut quality was noticeably improved. I have to look extremely close to see which edge was jointed and which was cut by the saw.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I purchased a full kerf Freud glue line rip blade

+1 to that.
I got two full kerf Freud glue line rip blades when they went on some super sale at Amazon. I forget how much they were - - but - - it was low enough that I bought two.
The full kerf works just fine in my Ridgid TS3660 contractors saw.

I know conventional wisdom calls for a thin kerf, but, I took a chance that the full kerf, with it's extra mass, would both wobble less & have greater inertia to keep moving instead of bogging down.
So far, my gamble has been paying off.

[glenn bradley]

First off, There are a number of common methods with hand planes that my shoulder or elbow just won't take so I work around it. Kudos on working around your finger troubles.

Secondly, and this is coming from a guy who normally preaches dedicated blade use, a good combo blade is probably your best bet on stock up to 1" - 1-1/2" depending on the material. After that the lower tooth count makes things easier on yourself, your blade and your machine.

I do run a Carbide Processors 30 tooth GLR for rips but, still keep a thin kerf 24 tooth rip blade handy for thicker stock. With the saw well aligned, either will give glue-ready edges with a little technique. A very steady, slow feed rate will give results like this off the TK 24 tooth (this is actually off an old hybrid saw I had):

beech (3).jpg

As to being a jointer replacement, that only really works if the face of your material is already jointed flat to act as a valid reference surface so it is a sort of catch 22. For generally decent panel glue-ups in a production environment, less that perfect reference faces can be used and indeed are in pro shops I've visited. PUR glue and massive clamping pressure being the order of the day for some but, I wander . . .

I have been amazed at the crosscut quality of CP's cermet II low tooth count blades but, cermet II is supposed to grind to a finer edge than carbide. I don't know that extended use for this task would continue to provide the same result since I have only done it as an oddity. For $54 I would give the Freud a try. At the worst you would have a nice rip blade no matter what.

[Nick Lazz]

+1 to that.
I know conventional wisdom calls for a thin kerf, but, I took a chance that the full kerf, with it's extra mass, would both wobble less & have greater inertia to keep moving instead of bogging down.
So far, my gamble has been paying off.

I used to use thin kerf blades but went to full kerf. I think a quality blade outweighs any perceived advantage of thin kerf blades. I think the thin kerf is more prone to warping and possibly even deflecting in a cut. High quality blades last me a long time and reduce my frustration in the shop. They are expensive but you get what you pay for...expecially with blades.

[jack duren]

I just use Amana euro rip blades...http://www.etoolsrus.com/amana-10-to...-kickback.html

[scott spencer]

No blade will replace a jointer, and you don't need a blade that says "Gline Line Rip" to get glue ready results. The Freud 30T GLRs use a triple chip grind that's not particularly good for crosscuts, especially in a 30T configuration. It has extremely tight side clearance geometry to help create a highly polished edge, which can also increase burning when ripping thicker materials, so isn't recommend in materials more than 1", and it's still advisable to get a 24T bulk ripper for heavier ripping.

Your 40T WWII is very capable of glue line cuts, and is much more versatile, as are several other general purpose/crosscut blades. They will crosscut well, and will actually handle thicker ripping at least as well as a Freud LM74/LM75 30T GLR blade, if not better in 6/4" or slightly thicker rips. If you dont' like changing blades, there's little incentive to use that particular 30T GLR unless you're only ripping materials to 1", and don't care about tear out on fine crosscuts and ply.

If you really want a blade that will rip cleanly and efficiently and thicker materials, and still give acceptable crosscuts, I'd look to the 30T Forrest WWII TK. It uses the same geometries as the 40T, but in a lower tooth count. It also doubles the budget, but is far more versatile than a 30T GLR IMHO. Thin kerf should not be a problem if you stick with a high quality blade, especially if the material is flat and straight, and the saw is set up well. A 1/8" full kerf is 33% wider than a 3/32" TK, and your 13 amp motor should have a much easier time in tougher ripping with the TK.

[Prashun Patel]

I use that glue line rip blade for everything from cross cuts to rips. The lower tooth count vs combo blades makes it easier to cut thicker stock.

If you use primarily stock under 1.5" or plywood I recommend the combo.But if you use a variety of woods and thicknesses I prefer a ripping blade. There are ways to protect the bottom face on cross cuts but I frankly don't find it much of an issue.

[gary rogers]

I bought a Freud Fusion last fall to use while my other blades were out for sharpening. It is still on the saw and the rips can go right to glue up. Crosscuts are pretty clean too even in plywood with the vapor thin face veneers. Seems to be a pretty versatile blade at a reasonable cost.

[David Eisenhauer]

I will second what Prashun said about using a rip blade for other cuts. I tend to leave my 80's vintage 24t FTG Freud, full kerf blade on, after specifically putting it on for an amount of ripping work, for following work until I am positive I am totally completed with any ripping work for that project. I found that using it for following crosscutting and even utility plywood cutting work (after ripping work) leaves a fairly decent cut line and certainly not worth the time/effort to change back to a cutoff-specific or combo blade for a cut or two as encountered along the course of events. Years ago, I swapped blades out fairly often, but gradually slowed down on that after seeing the results of a crosscut with the rip blade. Try it. Eventually, I do swap back to a combo blade for general use, but I am not in any hurry to do so and not forced to due to the quality of the cut.

[Robert Engel]

Score the crosscuts prior to cutting. I've gotten fairly clean cuts in xgrain plywood that way (all my other blades were being sharpened at the time).

When cutting ply in lengthwise direction not needed.

[Justin Ludwig]

My GLR blades cause major tearout on plywood cross cuts - I've done it in rare instances when the material wasn't going to show and I was in a hurry. IMO, stick with what's been working for you.

[Paul McGaha]

I keep a full kerf Freud Glue Line Rip blade on my Unisaw pretty much all the time. It's a very good ripping blade. It has some limits to the thickness of the stock you're supposed to use it on. I think it's 5/4. I highly recommend it.

I've read and heard great things about Forrest Blades. I hope to try them one day but I'm kind of set up with Freud blades for now.

PHM

[Roy Turbett]

I use both the Freud 50 tooth full kerf combo and the Freud full kerf glue line rip on my 5 hp SawStop. I use a thin kerf Freud combo blade on my radial arm saw because of the smaller 1 1/2 hp motor. The combo blade is the better all round blade and is adequate for plywood and also does a nice job with crosscuts on the RAS. It stays in the table saw most of the time. I save the glue line for ripping dimensional and hardwood lumber as it does produce a slightly better edge. But I still use my router table for edge jointing before glue-ups.