All Replies on Diablo saw blades

it was a toss up – but I bought the twin pack of Avanti when they were
on sale and am very satisfied with it overall.

.

-- there is no educational alternative to having a front row seat in the School of Hard Knocks. --

They’re adequate blades. Not near the best, but not the worst either. There are definitely some better deals out there for blades, depending on the size.

I purchased the avanti twin pack also, and well, its ok, not as fine a cut in hardwood as i’d expected.

i do have a couple diablos, while i have not used any on TS, i do have on my 8-1/4 hitachi sliding compound that i cut all stuff with, am happy, and after what seems like an eon, it is still sharp, cut a lot of walnut, oak, maple, sapele, some alder, but mostly the hardwoods.

I find some of the major blade manuf. quality control sometimes falls off the wagon, i’ve had upper end blades be awesome and then its replacement of same quality and name, be a dog.
just the luck of the draw. i believe
good luck, fella can’ thave too many dust makers around.
Rj

ON another note, i did buy into a HF 50 tooth, and by golly was pleasantly surprised, i only cut a few pieces, but consistant cut, fairly smooth, i pulled it and stashed it for when i need a quick fix, wanna say it was on sale for like 23 bucks or so. I think it will go far.

Rj

-- Living the dream

Just bought a 1040x and a 1080x. I’m using them both right now. The 1040 I really haven’t had time to really tell how it’s doing, but the 1080 is a real good blade.
Gerald

They’re good for the money and easily accessible.

-- Shooting down the walls of heartache. Bang bang. I am. The warrior.

I have a diablo blade in my circular saw. It’s framed my basement and still going. For $17 cad I’m happy.

-- No craft is very far from the line beyond which is magic. -- Lord Dunsany — Instagram @grailwoodworks

Go for the Diablo good blade for the money. When I worked for the school district I had to use them sometimes. The make a good cut but will dull a bit faster that the Frued. They also have less carbide for less sharpening.

For what it’s worth.

Here is a responce provided by a Freud tech guy a number of years ago.

All Freud blades come from the same machines in the same manufacturing plant. We make our own micrograin carbide in numerous formulations that represent various degrees of hardness. The carbide is selected depending on the intended application (the hardest is used for laminates the softest for ripping) as are the tooth angles and tooth quantity. The steel for the blade plates is all the same grade. The brazing is all the same. The key differences between the 3 main lines of Freud blades are:
The LU/LM Industrial blades have the thickest tips for the most resharpenings and are generally full kerf. We also offer the most selection of specialty blades in this line. These have the most appeal to professionals who need to get a lot of sharpenings out of a blade and to artisans who need specialty blades for their projects.
The TK and Diablo lines are very similar. Both are thin kerf blades and the tip thickness is the same. The key difference is in the way we market these blades. The Diablo line has blades intended for purposes like framing, siding, decking and general home improvement and is packaged and promoted in ways that appeal to contractors and DIYers. The TK line has blades for similar purposes (as well as laminate blades) but is sold with different or no coating and different packaging and POP material to appeal more to woodworkers.
Do professional woodworkers shop for blades at Home Depot? Probably some do and they can get excellent performance from a Diablo blade for a lot of their uses but with a shorter overall life (and lower cost) due to the tip thickness. Same with the TK blades at Lowe’s.
Why not compare a TK or Diablo blade to Forrest? Consider this analogy: Toyota cars and Lexus cars share a lot of the same components and are made by the same company. Would you compare a Camry with a BMW?
We make a fourth line of blades (F400 Premier series) that is very similar to the WWII and is priced similarly. The difference between ours and Forrest’s is that ours is made by computer controlled, super modern equipment and theirs is made by hand. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages but I leave the final verdict to the consumer.
Charles M
Freud, Inc.

I’m sure many of you remember when Charles M used to frequent the online woodworking forums a few years back.

-- Alaskan's for Global warming!

I have them in use with my circular saw. Great for framing, rough cutting ply down to size for the TS and such. For the price not bad. I have cut aluminum diamondplate with them and to my surprise they did very well.

-- Live to tell the stories, they sound better that way.

+1 on the circular saw blades. Mine have served me well and, I believe, are a good value.

-- "You know, I'm such a great driver, it's incomprehensible that they took my license away." --Vince Ricardo

I have them on just about all cutting tools in my shop from skill saws, 2 different miter saws ( one being a 12” ), and on my table saw. I also have a lot of different tooth counts. My go to blade on my table saw is a 10 inch 50 tooth combo blade. I have noticed that they don’t seem to pick up any crap on the blades do to the red coating on them. I have never had a problem with any of them for any reason. The 50 tooth combo cuts both rip and crosscut very smoothly. If I have a lot of ripping, I do change to a ripping blade for quicker cutting. I have a 90 tooth blade that cuts plywood flawlessly. I am sure there are better blades out there, but for the money and how well they work I will stick with them.

-- MEL, Kansas

I also use the diablo combo cross/rip cut on my 10” table saw. My budget is always small, so I’ve never tried any of the $100+ blades. I also have a cheap contractors TS, and the diablo makes the saw 100x better. I suspect if you have a very expensive table saw, then a very expensive blade will make a difference. But with a cheap table saw, an expensive blade won’t overcome the issues as much as you’d want it to, a cheap blade will amplify the issues, but a medium blade (like the diablo) hits the sweet spot of improving performance enough without breaking the bank.

I also use a diablo blade in my circular saw, but I don’t use that too much. It’s definitely better than the OEM blade.

-- ~Walker

At one time the Diablo blades were made in Italy from the same materials, on the same machines, and to the same standards as the Freud Industrial line….they just had less carbide and offered fewer choices. Not sure if that’s still true, as I’ve heard some claims that at least some of the Diablo line is now made in China.

The Irwin Marples, CMT ITK Plus, Tenryu Rapid Cut, and DeWalt Precision Trim series are all decent value for performance and price. I would not recommend the Avanti or Avanti Pro blades for fine woodworking…just not enough better than a stock OEM blade to bother with.

-- Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....

At one time the Diablo blades were made in Italy from the same materials, on the same machines, and to the same standards as the Freud Industrial line….they just had less carbide and offered fewer choices. Not sure if that s still true, as I ve heard some claims that at least some of the Diablo line is now made in China.

The Irwin Marples, CMT ITK Plus, Tenryu Rapid Cut, and DeWalt Precision Trim series are all decent value for performance and price. I would not recommend the Avanti or Avanti Pro blades for fine woodworking…just not enough better than a stock OEM blade to bother with.

- knotscott

I don’t know how updated Freud keep their web site but they still calm they are made in Italy Switzerland.

http://www.freudtools.com/index.php/faq#55

I emailed Freud back in Dec of 2017 about where there router bit were made. This is what freud said then
To [email protected]
CC Customer Service (PTNF/LOG)
12/04/17 at 9:57 AM
This message contains blocked images.

McCracken Charles (PTNF/LOG2) <cmccracken>

All Freud router bits are produced in our factory in Udine, Italy.

Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Best regards,

Charles McCracken
Operations Technical Manager

Freud America, Inc

218 Feld Ave

High Point, NC 27263

To: Customer Service (PTNF/LOG) <customerservice>
Subject: Frued made in china

According to this web page the Freud Lock Miter bit is made in China. Is that true? Is that a misprint?

I don’t believe any of their saw blades are made in China either. To say that they are and not know for sure could damage their reputation. Not good IMO.

-- Alaskan's for Global warming!

Charles M’s info has been very reliable IME…we just dont’ hear from him much anymore due to other work priorities, but 12/04/17 is pretty recent info.

-- Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....

I want to thank everyone with this information, I am going to go get the Diablo, thx again, RJ

-- Life Begins @ 190 MPH

Sounds like you made a decision already but here it goes anyway…I’ve always liked my diablo blades but I bought a Marples few months ago (from Lowes I think) based upon a magazine article recommendation and I am very impressed. It seems to be quieter, and even after months of use leaves practically a finish ready surface after cutting. I will certainly buy them again.

-- Nathan, TX -- Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.

I was just looking at them the Irwin Marples, they are made in Italy, do you know if it is full kerf or thin, thx, RJ

-- Life Begins @ 190 MPH

I was just looking at them the Irwin Marples, they are made in Italy, do you know if it is full kerf or thin, thx, RJ

- RJweb

Mine is a thin kerf.

-- Nathan, TX -- Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.

Before anyone makes the assumption that one blade is better than another, I must emphasize the importance of a saw that is accurate and everything is adjusted for the best it can be. That is, an arbor that has minimal runout, a fence that is parallel to the blade and a miter gauge that can maintain settings. If a saw is not setup correctly, even a Forrest blade may not perform as it should. So make sure your saw is in good condition before considering a blade. If the saw is not aligned perfectly, the performance of any blade you put on it will be meaningless.

Nothing wrong with them. I use them until they are dull then save them for rough ripping etc. Not something I would spend the $ on to sharpen but then again I’ve got a drawer full of used blades and have never had any of them sharpened. I’m lazy. I tend to just leave one 40-50 tooth combo blade on the saw until I notice a drop in performance.

-- Andy - Seattle USA

All Diablo blades are thin kerf, they make a nice cut. The 60 tooth high ATB blade is my choice for my miter saw.

I put a Diablo blade on my Ridgid 10” Table Saw and I’m very pleased with it. About a year now. Still in great shape and cuts nice and clean.

-- Richard (Ontario, CANADA)

Before anyone makes the assumption that one blade is better than another, I must emphasize the importance of a saw that is accurate and everything is adjusted for the best it can be. That is, an arbor that has minimal runout, a fence that is parallel to the blade and a miter gauge that can maintain settings. If a saw is not setup correctly, even a Forrest blade may not perform as it should. So make sure your saw is in good condition before considering a blade. If the saw is not aligned perfectly, the performance of any blade you put on it will be meaningless.

- MrRon

Great point Ron….couldn’t agree more. I’ll add that choosing the right blade for the task is extremely important too. If you use a 24T rip blade for fine crosscuts or plywood, it’ll cut, but you’re not likely to get optimum results.

-- Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....

The difference in performance between a good circular saw blade and a cheap one is not huge. But, the difference between a cheap bandsaw bandsaw blade and a good one, is pretty dramatic.

I run a couple diablo blades (from home depot) but I’ve also used the Avanti Pro blades when I could get them on sale and didn’t have any issues with either. However, if you have cash to burn, make sure all your other tools have upgraded blades or bits or cutters before you go dropping $150+ on a Forrest or Freud IL/IM industrial blade.

On a side note, I’ve found that the Avanti Pro blades tend to gum up really fast and so keeping the blade cleaned off from any pitch or build-up will help tremendously and make it perform like a “good” blade.

-- Woodworking from an engineer's perspective