[Mike]

For years I used a Freud Diablo 10" 50 tooth combination in my Craftsman table saw. I cut everything from pine to Plexiglas with it and got a decent cut. This blade is a tough to beat bargain.

I have tried many different blades over the years from Craftsman, DeWalt, Bosch, PC, Irwin, Vermont American, even the Guhdo-GMAXX with its special proprietary coating. Only the variable tooth PC was a dud. The best cuts I have achieved comes from one of my thin kerf Forrest Woodworker II blades with the stabilizer. This was on some glued up maple that was a true 4x4". One pass, flip the board and made a second pass and the end result was a finish like it had been fine sanded with nothing to indicate it wasn't a single pass cut. That impressed me!

The bottom line on this is the 50 tooth Diablo will handle most work you throw at it for a low cost. If you are working on something special with expensive wood put on a Forrest blade. Most important is to store your blades in some type of protective holder when they are off the saw. Protecting the carbide from chipping is the same for saw blades as it is for router bits.

PS: Replacing the saws standard V belt with a link belt will almost always give you a smoother cut.

 

[Mike]

Jim, if your saw is 1 hp it is most likely a direct drive? All the 1 hp Craftsman saws that look like mine that I have run across are. My saw is marked as a 2 hp but I think that the motor is actually a 1-1/2 hp and it is belt drive. I am thinking about swapping some parts with this older version. Somebody had changed out the factory motor for a 1/2 hp.