Robert, I am pretty much the same as Rodney @Dak0ta52, I like the smallest sharpest blades as well. And Ron @Ron Johnson is so right on about the wood....Nice wood is soooo much more fun to work with. On blade speed, I would say my blade speed is medium-slow, and I feed it slow because that works best for me. I used to do things so fast, work, eat, run , whatever.... and now that I am retired, I say to myself, "Self, what is the hurry?" when I feel I am rushing.... and these days I do so much better. Hope to meet you someday soon.... From one Eastern Washingtonian to another