Review on Freud Industrial Ripping Blade LM74R010 by Mike Rice

I have a kerf, so cleaning up after a rough rip isn't a big deal. But with my other thin kerf, the 24-tooth Freud, I still had to plan ahead. That means I had to cut out larger pieces so I could join both sides, even though the gap was pretty clean. The biggest problem was that a fine-blanketed blade couldn't cut boards that weren't "perfectly" flat. When I bought hardwood, I had to saw it immediately. If the board had the ability to twist, breaking it, especially relatively thin strips, was difficult. You could almost see the blade vibrating. Stabilizers did not help. Some may argue that non-planar boards are generally not worth working with. Looking back I don't know why I do NOT have thin notched blades. I have a fairly powerful table saw, so it doesn't matter if it's thick or thin. I can see where some handymen who need to bring a small portable table saw to the site might need to make thin cuts. I have tried both pine and oak with this blade. I found the cutting speed to be slightly faster than the 24 and the cuts were advertised as ready for the "glue line". There were no fractures or burns. I didn't try to break bent boards. I really like Freud's blades and that's all I buy anymore except when I have rough non-furniture work like ripping decking. Then I use the cheapest disposables I can find. I love the fact that Freud blades have recommendations printed on the side of the blade. That said, the blade may be good for cross cutting in general, but not so good for melamine. So if, like me, you have a choice of 4 or 5 blades, you can choose the one that should give the best results for the material and type of cut. Be careful when cleaning as the cleaner can remove any marks.