What's the single best table saw blade? 

🎵 Flat bottom blades, you make the sawing world go round 😆👍

The flat tooth on the combo makes it the winner in my mind because you can make grooves and dadoes and have them be smooth inside.

Finally, complete blades explanation, simple and efficient. Thanks again Steve.

F.Y.I. - For those of you wanting to get into woodworking I just wanted to say I am very pleased with Steve's woodworking program and helpful staff. Just before the pandemic I signed up for his Weekend Workshop to setup my own workshop. His plans are excellent and extremely practical. Also Steve's large collection of free instructional video's, like this one, are excellent.

My wife and I watch your videos everynight. just started woodworking a few weeks ago, your videos have helped A lot. We thanks you.

Just when you thought Friday couldn't get better, another great video from Steve

20 years of woodworking. This man speaks the truth.

Your timing with this video is perfect. I’ve been wondering what blade would work best for me, and your description of FTB and ATB was something I didn’t know about. Thanks!

It's true, there are so many different types of blades to choose from. For me, the choice is simple, though: I use ONLY the round ones with teeth. 🤣🤣🤣

Awesome, simplistic view of blade types. Really enjoyed the blade pitch definitions. But maybe another thing that should have been noted is how they are used and maintained. Most people buy new blades when their perfectly good blade only needs cleaning. Usually due to pushing too hard or cutting too much pitchwood (pine, etc.). A well maintained blade will last much longer than a dirty and abused blade, saving even more.

Videos like this one is why I keep coming back to your channel. Thanks Steve.

It's the first practical explanation about blade design I've heard, and one that hasn't left me more undecided than I was before I heard it.

I agree with your general assessment, but I have found one personal exception to the rule. For me, something like a Freud glue line rip blade is really good when you're going to be doing some edge glue ups that you don't want to spend a lot of time making sure are tight. Just rip and go. Obviously, there's a trade off in terms of time spent changing the blade (and cost of blade), but when edge gluing long (say, >4') boards, it's worth it for me.....especially if you don't have a floor mounted jointer.

Just love your clean easy to digest info. I have been using tools and a table saw my whole life, very very infrequently, and never knew what blade differences meant.

Time to renew my table saw blade. Thanks Steve. Great advice from the maestro!

Thank you for this common sense approach! Especially the "lab tested" differences. It's like "the best jigsaw"; it just depends so much more on the individual ability than the lab-tested quality of the tool.

Wonderful explanation of table saw blades! One of my favourite videos from you this year.

One Blade to rule them all, One Blade to find them; One Blade to bring them all and in the woodshop bind them.

Thanks Steve, very useful information for me. I am in the market for a new blade for my table saw and this helped me a lot.

Great video Steve. Explained this confusing subject extremely well!

I really like your common sense approach. Most folks in woodworking are doing it as a sort of hobby and don’t want to spend a ton of money of equipment. Thanks for your great videos.

Fantastic breakdown of different blade types. One of the best I’ve seen. Very straightforward but still full of good detail. Thank you Steve for always sharing your practical approach. I love other channels too but it’s nice to have this to counter some of the more bourgeois guys out there.

Hola! 🖐 Thanks for the excellent and detailed explanation. You are right that one can easily get saturated and overwhelmed with data and information. Your videos and this one included, help simplify the subject you discuss. Even though blades are not the biggest investment in the shop, it's probably one of the most used and most relied upon for a good finished product. Thanks for the video, hope to see many more in the future. Take care and have a good one, Adios! 👊

Awesome tips, Steve! Thanks a bunch! 😊 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

I have a rip blade and a combo blade. Its more work in changing out blades often, but it minimizes wear and tear on each blade. I also primarily purchase my wood in a rough cut format, and tend to make several rip cuts in the process of preparing my lumber for use.

I've been watching you for a decade. Yet another informative video.

I'm a pretty intermediate woodworker and know all about the different cuts and types of blade and what you should use for cross cutting or ripping etc, but I still learned something from this video and enjoyed watching it. I learned the angle of the teeth for the blades that I use most, had no idea a Diablo GP 40 tooth has a higher 30° angle or the 15° combo angle. Personally I keep the higher count teeth in my miter saw and use a 24 tooth ripping for thick 12/4 exotic hardwoods,but everything else I use a 40t, and if I need a flat bottom I just use a dado stack.

Interesting to watch a woodworker dive deep into blade science and get it mostly right. Well done

Thank you. New DIY'er here. I appreciate the insight. Going with the GP blade for my circular and a 80t Diablo for my MITRE

Great video - clear, concise explanation of valuable information!

Thank you for this info and your personal experience

Excellent video....finally on this topic. For the uninitiated, this topic is bewildering. Thank you.

Steve I know shorts are taking off, but I need long from videos from you. You are my zen. Thank you for all of your content!

Frankly I use an 80T crosscut blade for everything and have never had a problem. I'll trade going a little slower for a sanded like finish on the cut surface and less tear out.

For years I've used rip cut (24t) blades in my circular saw because I use them to break down sheet good to rough dimensions, so speed is best. I use the combo blade (40t) blade in my table saw, and a crosscut (60 or 80t) in my mitre saw. Have gotten the best results doing it this way. Also Diablo make the the best blades I have used and remember to clean you blades at least once a year, more if you use your saw more.

Hi, Steve. I didn't imagine such science on this subject. Even some professional woodworkers I know can tell the difference between saw blades with this detail level. That's a very important information to make nice and safety cuts. Thank you for sharing and have a nice day.

It's worth mentioning that rip blades have another feature that can be beneficial. They are thinner, and if you are re-sawing with a table saw, your material savings might be important.

Very well spoken Steve. Wonderful explanation.

Hi Steve from New Zealand.. This video is very timely… I have just a couple a month ago purchased a bright and shiny table saw and I decided that it would be good to replace the blade that came with the saw with a “more superior” / good brand 80 tooth blade.. But as you mentioned when using it I experienced burn marks and very hard to feed wood through!! I then watched your video and got the correct info and replaced the blade with a 40 tooth general purpose one, (actually the exact same make as the one in your video), boy I instantly noticed the difference… like a hot knife through butter!! Thanks for your help!

Dear Steve, The reason this kind of video is more succesfull in a "short" version is beacuse pepole are less likely to spend theor time on a "boring", techincal, video unless they absolutely needs that information. I'm sure that good old fashion "wood working for mere mortals" videos will do great. I truly misses those.

Thank you Steve for the information. You made my decision easy watching this video.

Thanks for a clear, concise explanation of these two blade types. I do find a rip blade advantageous for ripping "two by" construction lumber or hardwoods, but your description and case for a default general purpose blade is very compelling, and it is the blade most commonly installed in my table saw. While your intended audience might be "mere mortals", there is nothing "mere" about your content or style. Your approachability, clarity, and focus are outstanding and have given me a lot of inspiration for the kinds of things I would like to build and the ways I might build them.

I agree with the brand and the 40 tooth blade. I've tried many different brands and Diablo has been best hands down.

Very good comparison. Thanks for posting, and thumbs up.

Great information Steve. I use a general-purpose blade and feel no reason to but or use anything else.

Thanks for always bringing new school insights! Usually helps us mere mortals save some money! 🤓👍

Short & sweet - thanks, Steve.

Another informative video I'm about to buy some new blades for a couple of my saws so well timed

One thing that I learned was picking up a can of brake cleaner or laquer thinners and wash your saw blade around the teeth area to clean out the glues and saps that collect on the teeth of the blade you won't get wood burning or heating the saw blade as well as not needing to sharpen it as often since the glues and saps will gum up and slow down the blade and put a stress on your saw expressly if your cutting laminate flooring or plastics...

You've really done your homework. Thanks for a good job.

Thanks Steve for the info. I am about to order a new table saw for myself and wanted to know which saw blade is best for me. I think I’ll go with the Combo one!

Good comprehensive talk.

Great video Steve, even by your standards this is a particularly well scripted and chosen topic hitting on an area that hasn't been done to death of great use to the hobby woodworker.

Very informative! Thank you, Steve!

Thank you for the lesson. This is great info.

This is useful, I didn't much about table saw blades until i saw this.

Great video!! Lots of info.

Thank you for your explanation.

I used one of those on a colleague's saw, it was amazing. It's like hot knife thru butter. I need to make flat bottom occasionally, so my choice was dictated. So combo is best for weekend woodworker like me. Just in case I need to rip a lot of stuff, I can always put back on the 24-tooth blade that comes with the saw. It has 0 miles on it. Changing out saw blade on my saw was not as bad as the old ones. Since it uses ACME thread, it comes off pretty easily and both blade alignments were near perfect (Diablo has better flatness).

I've been woodworking for well over 50 years. I find that the best saw blades are the round ones.

The is excellent, so helpful. Thank you for posting.

Love your videos! Great info.

Great discussion. As a hobbyist I can make most of my cuts with a general purpose blade, including rips up to about 1.5 - 2 inches. In seems the general purpose does much better on crosscuts and sheet goods as compared to a combination blade. But when ripping thicker stock the general purpose struggles and the combination blade shines. However the combination blades does just a little worse on sheet goods and cross cuts. All this assumes the table saw fence and miter slots are properly aligned, if not no blade will perform well. The choice may come down to whether or not you own a band saw. Bandsaws are fantastic for ripping even thick stock and in my opinion safer. I now rip on the band saw and clean up on the jointer to table saw. So for me, the general purpose blade is ideal and I only pull out the combination blade is rare cases.

Really helpful, Steve. Thank you!

Steve, great video, learned something, thank you, thumbs up!

Great info! Awesome video

I have a combo blade and a flat-bottom-groove blade and I find myself reaching for any other with less and less frequency. but my father also convinced me that 'it isn't going in the [redacted] smithsonian" is a good general rule and as such having the exact right blade probably isn't all that crucial.

After watching this video I bought a new 50 tooth combo blade. That and Taylor tools is have a sale of 30-50% of CMT saw blades. I’ve been wanting one for a while and your video helped me decide which one to get yesterday.

very well put!!!!

Thank you, great information 👍. All the best. Peace and good fortune and good health to you and your family. ❤️ 😀

FINALLY! Thank you for explaining.

Thanks Steve!

I love Diablo blades. Great job 👍

I learned something, thank you. And know I am wondering how to know when to get a new blade?

Thanks very much for the info Steve. 👍 I'm hoping to begin woodworking this summer as I have a big(ish) birthday coming up and my wife has seen me watching your RU-vid videos. She doesn't miss much! I have expressed my concerns about not having enough space for a Mitre saw and a Table saw in our 12 x 8 shed (which we share), but we'll see how we get on. Any tips on setting up in a small space would be most welcome. All the best, Andy in North Yorkshire 👍

thanks for the info....good job

Best courses ever!

I'd go with the combination blade because of the included flat top raker for dados.

"that slight edge they need" - har har har. I see what you did there. Nice video. I bought a glue line Freud rip blade for a very fancy project a while back (I don't have a jointer) and was very pleased with it.

Awesome. I suspect for most of us we’d rather get a cut done than spend time switching blades 😅 (even if it just takes a few seconds). I’ve been making jigs with oak plywood because that’s all the big box stores had when I bought it and my rip cut blade tears out horribly! Will pick up a GP for my lazy self to set and forget 👍

Great video. I still prefer cross cut and ripping blades when I need a perfect cut though. "Near perfect" is usually okay most of the time. Edit: Actually I've been using general purpose blades for a few projects and I noticed I get way smoother rip cuts. And cross cuts aren't that bad. I'm really liking general purpose blades now.

Great video - thanks so much.

Did see you for e few years now. But so happy you are still in great shape 😍😍

You break this down so much I believe you're talking to the people that should never be around a saw blade

Thank you for sharing this with us, so many choices. Blades cost a lot of money. From Henrico County Virginia

Great information thanks for sharing ✌️💪💪

A very clear explanation on blade types and differences. If you want to show comparisons (like you attempt at the end of the video), make sure to take your time showing the cuts, display the cuts in a comparable manner and show any differences longer and clearer than in this video. Keep up the great work Steve

I would love to hear what the main difference is between these types of blades (which you can buy at the local home center) and the more expensive ones around $100+ dollars, for instance amana, forrest, frued industrial. Do these high end blades really cut better than the more affordable options to justify the cost.

While I don't feel the need to have an 80t crosscut blade in the table saw, I certainly think the rip blade is worth using for any long or deep rips. If you've spent big bucks on hardwood, it's worth making a blade switch to cut it more cleanly. With a good table saw it won't take long to switch the blade once you're used to it. I find changing the blade to be trivial on my SawStop. It was a bigger hurdle to realize it wasn't a big deal to change the blade. Even switching to and from a Dado set isn't so tough except for lining up the other brake.

Can you please also give some checklist on when the blade needs to be sharpenned/replaced?

I remember back in the 90s, my dad used to have a combo blade on his table saw, but if he was working on melamine shelve projects, he would switch to a melamine blade because it produced easier cuts, and he said that he could feel it when cutting. Fast-forward to now, I now use the same system, a combo blade and a quality blade for sheet goods.

If I want to know something I go to you! Thank you for explaining things so well

Hey Steve. Love your channel! Wonder if you have any input on this topic as it applies to miter saw blades. Thanks!

Ah! I consider myself a student much more than a teacher, but feel like I have something relevant to say here. First, I have found from helping other people that many less experienced woodworkers who are frustrated with the performance of their tablesaw often don't have it set up right. They get a contractor style used or from a big box store, and they never check to make sure that their miter slots are parallel to their blade. Stumpy nubs has some great info on this, so before you throw out the blade, check your alignment. Second, cleaning your blades DOES help more often than not. Simple green and a bucket lid, doesn't have to be crazy. Third, a big thick boi like Forrest or Ridge Carbide can produce a pretty amazing finish on a well aligned saw. When I first saw it I was amazed. I went in with high expectations and they blew my mind out of the water. Fourth, unfortunately, if you have a smaller, more available tablesaw, putting a .125in thick blade on there probably isn't the best use of your limited horsepower. Many inexperienced woodworkers love the idea of thin kerf, but mostly to preserve material, which is typically a hilariously small benefit compared to that it doesn't require nearly as much power. And fifth, the configuration I personally liked, and that I recommend to all inexperienced woodworkers, is a decent thin kerf blade and some 4in blade stabilizers. You go down to ~2 5/8in depth of cut, but you can take them off when you need more, and honestly were you really using more than that? In return you get a nice thin easy-to-cut kerf, maximum material preservation, and comparable performance to the blades that cost as much as your saw does. Those stabilizers will also be usable far and away into your hobby, they aren't suddenly moot if you get a bigger saw. For cheap, high quality blades I buy diablo if I'm in a hurry, but if I've got time I would buy ITC orange blades from Taylor toolworks. Very good, modestly priced.

Perfect 👌🏻 thank you 😉

Thank you 🙏

Hello Steve. I gotta say that i find your videos very informing. I think I watched all of your videos to date. But having said that....I really miss your project videos. Now you have focused this channel only on shorts and tutorials with no build content. I miss your builds. Are those kind of videos coming back or have you switched to your paying sites all together to share your knowledge and wits? Hope you read this and hello all the way from Slovenia - Europe.

Those angled teeth reminded me of something important: The opening shots of Twin Peaks :) I was thinking about the was these blades might be manufactured, cut from a thick sheet or steel and then the teeth sharpened to the desired form, then I remembered that Twin Peaks shows a lumber mill or something and there's a circular grinder thingy sharpening some blades, and it turn plus-minus some degrees between the teeth. Look it up if you know what I'm talking about :) (I'm talking the original opening for season 1 and 2, I haven't seen season 3 yet).

Not a short video, nice.

I enjoyed this video and have enjoyed all your videos for quite some time. I downloaded your tool list but didn't see the handy crosscut miter fence. Do you have a link to that? I make my own crosscut sleds but they can take up a lot of room. Thank you and keep the videos coming.