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I like it better for ripping than cross cutting. The Ridgid blade left a lot of saw marks in the wood. The Freud blade produced no visible saw marks, and the cut was square.When I used an inexpensive carbide tipped blade from Harbor Freight, the saw marks were quite pronounced, and the cut wasn't even close to being square. I bought this blade from the orange store for about $27. I think the HF blade was OK for stuff like cutting laminate flooring, especially considering how hard laminate flooring is on saw blades. I evaluated the Ridgid finishing blade (50 tooth, I think), this PC blade, and the Freud blade. You don't feel too bad about chucking a $10 blade when it only lasts a couple jobs.The PC blade seems like an excellent value, to me.
I kept the Porter Cable blade for my backup cross cut blade. It also produced nice square cuts. The PC blade produced a much smoother cut, and the saw marks were very subtle. For ripping, I liked the PC blade the best. The cut was quite square, though.
It provides a very nice cut for ripping and cross cutting. You could see and feel them. I made rip cuts and cross cuts. In my test, the Freud 50 tooth combination blade provided a slightly better quality cuts. It seems to rip with less effort than the Freud blade, although it does leave some subtle saw marks, whereas the Freud leaves virtually no saw marks.I cut the same wood sample using 3 blades on the same table saw on the same evening.
But, since I knew I needed a different blade anyway (and it was on sale), I thought I'd take a chance and buy it. It would be fine for cutting 2X4s for framing and other "rough" work, but it wouldn't work too well for the "finished" types of projects that I was doing. If you're asking my opinion, I say "Go ahead and buy it". It seems that this combination of course and fine teeth DOES do an excellent job. This blade combines fine and course teeth in its design. Let's face it: When a blade comes along with a saw, chances are, it's probably not a very good and/or versatile blade. Every time, the blade performed like a champ. I looked at it with great scrutiny, as I've never encountered a "hybrid" design like this before.
To be honest, I had my doubts. I purchased this blade to go along with a tabletop saw that I had also purchased. Once I got in the ballpark, I needed to sweeten the edge up to the exact width for the project I was working on. As I fed the board through (and pushing it against the rip fence with my left thumb, as we've done countless times), I ended up putting a little half-inch cut on my thumb, resulting from the ultra-fine edge that this blade produces. In both experimental cuts, the board came out beautifully.
I took a couple pieces of scrap pine and ran them through, both crosscut and rip. Since I've put it in my saw, I've cut varying thicknesses of oak, pine, maple, plywood and even some bloodwood. I wasn't the least bit disappointed, and I don't think you will be, either. In short, I'm very glad I made this purchase. I also did some research on this blade beforehand. I hadn't tried making panels with this blade yet, but the edge MIGHT rival that of a joiner in smoothness.THAT'S saying a lot. The saw blade which came with my saw was very course.
In fact, I had later ripped a board to the thickness I required for a project, and then flipped it 90 degrees to get the width that I needed. When I received the blade, I cleaned off the packing oil and put it right into my saw. The philosophy being that the course teeth will do most of the material removal, while the finer teeth produce a smooth, finished cut. It received very high marks on its performance from the websites and woodworking forums I had visited.
It's made very clean cuts, rapidly chews through 4 x 4's, and it's actually quieter than the old blade (which rang like a bell).I've only had it for a month, but I'm very satisfied so far. I bought this blade to replace a dulling Oldham 60-tooth that kicked back so badly that it deflected the blade far enough out that the teeth caught and jammed on the blade guard. But I'm more of a "Harry Homeowner" than an "Al Borland", so I can afford to just toss it and get a new one when it wears out in a few years. With the carbide teeth, I expect to get about the same life out of it as I've gotten with other carbide blades.The only downside of this blade is that it cannot easily be re-sharpened (because of the variable spacing/angles). Thankfully, I can still count to 10 with my hands.I was skeptical of the variable tooth design and the miraculous claims, but it was reasonably priced and the salesman recommended it so I gave it a shot. I expected it to be a compromise blade: not cut as smoothly as an 80-tooth, or be able to chew through lumber like a 24-tooth.Now I'll concede that it is much sharper than the old blade, but I have to say that I think the claims are accurate.
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