Miter Saw Blade

[Ceric ME]

Hello Forums,

I've got a 12" Miter Saw and I like being able to cut straight with it but the blade it came with leads the edge with bits I have to sand of.  As I primarily use it to cut wood for scroll sawing and blades are $40+ I like to get everyone's opinion.

 

What is a good blade for a Miter saw that gives a nice cut on 1/8th to 3/4 inch material that needs minimal cleanup?

 

If blades where cheaper I just try a bunch but not at that price.

[FrankEV]

For the cleanest cuts a thin kerf 80 tooth, or more, carbide tipped blade.   However this assumes your use is limited to the type of wood  typically used for scrolling.  For general construction and regular finish carpentry (like home trim) a more general purpose blade would be recommended ( 60 tooth carbide or similar)

I would make this same recommendation for your table saw.   A Thin kerf high number of teeth blades are sometimes refered to a panel or plywood cutting blade.  It will make clean cross and rip cuts and is primarily intended for fine finish carpentry leaving very little tear out.     

When it comes to brands there is good and then there is better.  Get the highest rated blade you can afford.  When they get dull the can be sharpened (professionally) saving money in the long run.

In my opinion the Dewalt blades are somewhere  in the middle of the good and better range.   I find them to do well for the type of work I do in the shop.    

Edited May 13, 2021 by FrankEV

[new2woodwrk]

You'll probably get a lot of opinions so here's mine.

First are you mostly cross cutting or ripping? I can do both on my sliding/compound miter saw but I use my table saw way more than my miter for both. I primarily use my miter saw for cutting 1x, 2x, 3x etc. and pvc but never for sheets, even small ones

I use Freud/diablo blades almost exclusively these days - I have tried many different brands and these I prefer - they stay sharp the longest, less prone to breakage (cutting tips) and are reasonably priced.

I agree with a thin kerf blade when you can find one. I currently have a thin kerf 50t industrial blade on my miter and a thin kerf 60t combo blade on my table saw.

For me, I find using these 2 blades I seldom have to change table or miter saw blades to cross or rip cut - both cut with no to minimal tear out - I have a zero clearance throat  plate on both saws as well

I usually only change blades if I have to load a dado (again freud/diablo) but even that is minimal as I usually just dado and rabbet with a single blade on my table saw

Also I have a 40t combo blade on my circular for ripping down large sheets that I can't load on my table saw

Thanks for reading

Edited May 13, 2021 by new2woodwrk

[Ceric ME]

Don't have a Tablesaw.
 

Cross Cutting I believe.

[Bill WIlson]

Definitely get a decent blade first, but I would like to know what brand miter saw you have.  Could there be some play in it that contributes to the poor cuts.

BTW, I like Freud blades as well.  I have them on my Table saw, Radial Arm saw and Compound saw.  Reasonably priced and good quality blades that are readily available.

[kmmcrafts]

Make sure you get a blade made for Miter saws.. Just because it's a 12" blade doesn't mean its for a miter saw. They are different than a table saw blade. I use Freud thin kerf  blades as well.. I use my miter saw way more than the table saw.. but mainly because my table saw is worn out piece of junk.. and slightly on the dangerous to use side.

[Ceric ME]

6 hours ago, Bill WIlson said:

Definitely get a decent blade first, but I would like to know what brand miter saw you have.  Could there be some play in it that contributes to the poor cuts.

BTW, I like Freud blades as well.  I have them on my Table saw, Radial Arm saw and Compound saw.  Reasonably priced and good quality blades that are readily available.

Its the 12 inch simple DeWalt.

[Bill WIlson]

OK, that's probably the same saw I have.  Good saw, so it shouldn't be a mechanical problem with the saw itself.  Try a good blade and you should get much better results.  I have several blades, but I think there's a Freud 96 tooth cross cut blade in mine right now.  I like it a lot.  It leaves a very clean, smooth cut edge.

[Davevand]

I use an 80 tooth CMT blade on my miter saw.  You will want a good crosscut blade since all the cuts will be cross grain.  Also I would recommend a full kerf blade if you do any bevel cutting, thin kerf blades will flex and not give you a clean straight cut. Also you can make or buy a zero clearance insert for your saw if you want really clean cuts

[tomsteve]

something that helps to have clean cuts is a zero clearance insert on the table. i used to make them out of hard maple. they helped prevent chipout.

i switched to making aux fence and table from 3/4" ply. when it wears out, i replace it

 

 

 

the freud blades are very good. for your saw id recommend the LU73R12.

if you want super high quality, look at forrest chopmasters.

 

[Ceric ME]

Yesterday I threw together a zero clearance insert made out of a poplar scrap and a Zero clearance fence made out of some half inch ply.
That looked to help.  I'm going to have to do something about the fence though as now all the chips kick back at me.

Edited May 19, 2021 by Ceric ME

[Jim Erickson]

FYI, I have two 12" DeWalt miter saws.  A conventional one, and a slider.  I thought the blades that came with the saw, and another one I bought early on (15 or more years ago) were OK 'til I bought some replacements.  I have a 100 tooth Makita on the conventional, and I think a 96 tooth blade that I can no longer read the label because I cut PVC a lot with it.  Now I think the DeWalt blades are kind of crumby.

I don't use my miter saws for anything other than rough cutting.  Any precision work I do on my Delta Unisaw table saw.  I have a Freud diablo combination blade on the Unisaw, and just love it.  For $35 bucks you can't do better.  Back to the miter saw blade.  Be sure and do what Kevin recommends, buy a blade made specifically for a miter saw.  The tooth hook angle is especially important because of the way the saw cuts.  I think there's even differences between conventional and sliding miter saw because they cut in different fashions.  I think the sliders use the same type blade as the radial saws use.  If you're looking for smooth cross cuts, lots of teeth help.  The cuts with the Makita 100 tooth I have are very smooth.  If you plan to do more than cross cut, I don't really have any advise because I use other tools for that kind of work.  Good luck.  Jim

[WolfmoonCT]

You didn't say what type of miter saw you have.. straight cut or sliding.  If you have a sliding, one way to get cleaner cuts and reduce tearout, is don't cut all the way through on one pass.  Just cut in about an 1/8th of an inch on the top of the board on one pass, then finish the cut with a second pass..  You will only end up with tear out on the back edge facing the fence.  Also, get a high tooth carbide blade.

[Karl S]

I have a Dewalt Miter saw and I replaced the blade with a Mikita blade from Amazon that does a fantastic job. The cut edges look polished almost they are so smooth, with NO Tearout