[sreilly]

So as I use my shop more and more I find myself using the Dewalt DWS779 sliding compound miter saw more and more for cutting my wood down to finished sizes. A prime example is while building the workshop stands and needing to cut the maple boards to finished length. What is questionable is the quality of cut the blade is giving. What is a good blade to use that's reasonable in price and quality to use on this 12" saw? I've been looking at a zero clearance plate for this saw as well to help. Suggestions?

 

[Herb Stoops]

So as I use my shop more and more I find myself using the Dewalt DWS779 sliding compound miter saw more and more for cutting my wood down to finished sizes. A prime example is while building the workshop stands and needing to cut the maple boards to finished length. What is questionable is the quality of cut the blade is giving. What is a good blade to use that's reasonable in price and quality to use on this 12" saw? I've been looking at a zero clearance plate for this saw as well to help. Suggestions?

https://www.protoolreviews.com/tools/best-miter-saw-blades/4535/

https://www.fastcap.com/product/zero-clearance-tape

These might help.
Herb

 

[Gene Howe]

Good blade review. Thanks, Herb.
I use the Tenryu Miter Pro in a Bosch SCMS. The review was accurate. It's a great blade. Well worth the bucks.
And, Herb's FastCap link to the ZC tape is another gem, too. The tape is good stuff.

 

[sreilly]

Thanks Herb. I'll read over the reviews. As for the zc tape I had seen that before and thought building the plates might prove a good lesson. Also I know that Infinity Tools has a plate for this saw which may well be a good choice. I have the plate for the SawStop.

 

[DaninVan]

Almost all blades (the decent ones anyways) have a lot of info printed on the blades now. Specifically whether they're appropriate for SCMS and radial arm saws.

 

[Herb Stoops]

Almost all blades (the decent ones anyways) have a lot of info printed on the blades now. Specifically whether they're appropriate for SCMS and radial arm saws.

I have one of those in 10" for the RA saw and a 12" for the TS they are great blades, give almost glass smooth finish .
Steve, the tape is not just a thin flimsy tape, it is stiff and ridged, I use it on my Bosch table saw. good stuff.

Herb

 

[Bob Adams]

I have a mom & pop blade sharpening service close by that I use to sharpen all of my blades. About 2 yrs ago I needed to replace the 12" blade on my slider and went to them for the purchase. The owner had a freshly sharpened used blade (one of several) on the shelf that was marked $25.00. Told me it had could be sharpened at 3 more times, and then sold it to me for $12.00, this is a 12" blade. I have cut a lot of wood with the blade and it is still going strong. The brand name has worn off, so I have no clue who made the blade.
If you have a sharpening service near by talk to them, they know their stuff. And who knows, you might get a great deal too.

 

[Cherryville Chuck]

There are a few blades that have a slightly positive rake angle and I think the stock DW blade might be one of them. I feel safer with one that has a negative rake angle. The negative angle is supposed to help keep the board down on the saw table plus negative hook blades tend to splinter less. TS rip blades are the exact opposite with a lot of positive hook.

A couple of other points to consider. I had a chance to ask a Freud rep one day last year just what the differences were between the Diablo and Industrial lines. He said when all the other factors were equal (number of teeth, type of grind, full or thin kerf , etc) the only real difference was carbide thickness. So if you don't plan on sending them out for sharpening then the Diablo line is probably your best bet. The type of grind will make a big difference too. As Herb's article pointed out the Freud blade with Hi-ATB grind gave the best cut. But the Hi-ATB grind is also the most fragile too since the points are long and skinny. So you have to decide whether you may want to invest in blades that cut sharper or last longer or whether you may want more than one type and keep the Hi-ATB for really critical cuts.

 

[Stick486]

a little more information...

I'm partial to Freud...

 

[DesertRatTom]

Had that 12 inch model and had a lot of blade deflection. Switched to full kerf blades and it helped some. Got rid of the saw and went with a 10 inch bosch instead. Currently keep a full kerf glue line blade on it. Baby behind smooth cuts. Also learned to pull the blade toward me to make a shallow first cut, then push it back for the full cutoff. This gives the sawdust a channel to fly out of so sawdust doesn't just go flying every which way. I have also used in the past an 80 tooth full kerf on the saw and got excellent results. The Glue line blade is really a rip blade at heart, but man, does it do a nice clean, smooth cut!

If you can manage it, a stiffener also helps keep the blade from deflecting. The problem showed up when trying to make angled cuts, eg: 45 degree miters for picture frames. Showed up on the 12 inch blade, no problem with the 10 inch. I tend to use Freud blades, the industrial models. Last forever and many sharpenings because the tips are thicker than the cheap models. Lots of good advice here.

 

[sreilly]

Lots of material to digest. With the TS I've gotten a number of the Forrest blades and one Freud Glue Line which is dead nuts straight and smooth, all of which I've been extremely happy with. I had also seen Ridge Carbide blades at the Woodworking Show this spring but wasn't ready to buy any more blades yet. I just hadn't paid a lot of attention the the SCMS because I wasn't using as much at that point. As far as how I'm making the cuts I always do a shallow top cut and then the full cut down front to back.

 

[Cherryville Chuck]

Had that 12 inch model and had a lot of blade deflection. Switched to full kerf blades and it helped some. Got rid of the saw and went with a 10 inch bosch instead. Currently keep a full kerf glue line blade on it. Baby behind smooth cuts. Also learned to pull the blade toward me to make a shallow first cut, then push it back for the full cutoff. This gives the sawdust a channel to fly out of so sawdust doesn't just go flying every which way. I have also used in the past an 80 tooth full kerf on the saw and got excellent results. The Glue line blade is really a rip blade at heart, but man, does it do a nice clean, smooth cut!

If you can manage it, a stiffener also helps keep the blade from deflecting. The problem showed up when trying to make angled cuts, eg: 45 degree miters for picture frames. Showed up on the 12 inch blade, no problem with the 10 inch. I tend to use Freud blades, the industrial models. Last forever and many sharpenings because the tips are thicker than the cheap models. Lots of good advice here.

Tom if you are using a rip blade on a miter saw then you need to be exceptionally careful because the high positive hook angle wants to grab and lift the work piece when the teeth make contact. If you read the blade brochures like Freud puts out you'll see that any blade with lots of positive hook are not recommended for use of miter saws.

 

[DesertRatTom]

Tom if you are using a rip blade on a miter saw then you need to be exceptionally careful because the high positive hook angle wants to grab and lift the work piece when the teeth make contact. If you read the blade brochures like Freud puts out you'll see that any blade with lots of positive hook are not recommended for use of miter saws.

Thanks. I am very careful on hold down with that saw. I think the habit of making that first pass toward me helps this. I just did several days of cutting to exact length for the platform frames using that method without a hitch.