# Best Miter Saw Blade for Cabinets / Trim



## 47_47 (Sep 11, 2007)

IHMO, the Forrest Chopmaster is a much better blade than the Freud Ultimate Crosscut. BTW, the Freud blade sku you listed is for a 12" saw.


----------



## mako1 (Jan 7, 2014)

The Forest is a top quality blade.The DeWalts suck imho.The diablo are middle of the road.You don't need a 96 tooth blade for good cross cuts.I have used several Freud blades and have had good luck with them for the price.Anything between 60-80 will work well.You may want to check out Amana blades.


----------



## ront02769 (Nov 28, 2008)

I'm a fan of the Diablo blades for everything from my 12" miter down to my 6 1/2" battery saw. Good results for a reasonable price. Ron


----------



## Mort (Nov 26, 2008)

I've heard good things about Craftsman's blade. It's a rebadged German something-or-other. About $70 and it's supposed to cut pretty nice. 

I've got their cheaper ones (50T on my table saw, 24T on my miter saw), and they work pretty good for the price.


----------



## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

the forest blades are top of the line, typically used by high end fine finish guys that need laser true cuts.. the diablo blades work very well without too much issue its what i use, i prefer the full kerf blades as they deflect less and they can be resharpened. 

dewalt blades are throw away blades, and are no different than the stock blade that dewalt puts on their mitre saws before packaging.. the first thing i always do is tkae the stock blade off my saws anywyas.. they get set aside


----------



## Canarywood1 (May 5, 2012)

If you want the best you have to pay, I can attest to the Forrest and swear by them, have one in the miter and the table saw.


----------



## Nestor_Kelebay (Jun 17, 2008)

I admit that I know squat about woodworking.

However, what I have gleaned from people who's knowledge and expertise I trust is that Forrest is generally considered the Cadillac of blades for wood working table saws.

However, what I also understand about tungsten carbide saw blade teeth is that one tooth cuts on the left side of the kerf, the next tooth cuts the bottom of the kerf and the following tooth cuts on the right side of the kerf, and this sequence is repeated over and over again around the perimeter of the blade. As a result, when the blade is cutting wood, there are vibrations set up in the blade which cause it to wiggle as it cuts; and that's true regardless of how much you spend on the blade. So, if you're going to spend $120 on a saw blade, you also need to buy a pair of blade stabilizers to minimize that blade vibration so that you can get the best performance out of that blade that it's capable of providing. Blade stabilizers are basically heavy steel flanges that clamp onto the blade to prevent vibration of the blade, and even the best made blades will vibrate when they're cutting through wood because of that alternating cutting force with every second tooth.

If you are unable to install blade stabilizers on your Ryobi compound saw, then you might want to rethink your strategy to buy the "best" blade if it's not going to be able to give you it's "best" performancy anyway.


----------



## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

Forrest is the best and I totally agree on the full kerf not the thin kerf blade a lot more stable. Plus with the Forrest you get I think 2 free sharpenings.

Which means they can be sharpened some of the others mentioned are cheaper because they are considered throwaways.


----------



## Canarywood1 (May 5, 2012)

And whatever you do, don't put a stabilizer on your blade.


----------



## Scottg (Nov 5, 2012)

Hmmm.

As it turns out, I have a 60T Diablo that I'd used on my table saw. Though I'm back to a 40T for rip cuts on that. I think what I'm going to do is try the 60T on the miter saw. (As soon as I take it out of the box. I cut in garage and driveway and it's still a bit cold in northeast.)

If it's good enough, then maybe ok. If not, it'll be the Chopmaster, which I kind of want. Thankfully, wife really doesn't know what such things cost and won't even notice it. You guys are kind of confirming what I thought I knew... Forrest is the Chop of the line. (Sorry, couldn't help that.) 

I'll do some test cuts on ply, and a couple hardwoods with the stock blade that came with it, then the 60T Diablo, and if I take a big gulp and get the Chopmaster, those too, and post pics / results. May be a couple of weeks though.


----------



## firehawkmph (Dec 12, 2009)

I have used about every blade out there at one Time or another. But I would also say I liked the Forrest chop master the best when doing fine woodworking. Glass smooth cuts. Never put a stabilizer on it. Didn't need to. You get what you pay for.
Mike Hawkins


----------

