Which Blade for 3650 ?

[imported_dlathem]

I'd be curious to see what blade you would suggest to replace the one that came on my 3650.

Oddly enough, when I rip a 1x with it, I end up with lots of "swirl" gouges in the material. I thought the blade or fence was out of square, so I rechecked them both and they are square, at least square by my combination square. I did not get out an electron microscope, and don't own calipers...yet. Anyway, I called Ridgid and they said the blade could be bad and are sending me another one. Maybe I am missing something, but I aligned it exactly like the book says and it is dead on...Again, with a combination square. I think even with that I should be able to rip with a smooth edge, so I am thinking maybe the blade was bad.

Your opinions??

[K.M. Delano]

Read my answer to this one. It applies in your case also........


http://www.ridgid.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=002084

[hewood]

The stock blade is "wafer thin", and is probably deflecting a fair amount under load. That blade is more functional as a promotional tool than it is for cutting. Notice how it moves about 1/4" from side to side if you wiggle it. You'll want to get a decent quality blade even if they do send you a replacement for the stock blade.

I'd expect to pay $40-$100 bucks for a precision blade. Forrest, CMT, Amana, upper end Freud, Systemic, Ridge Carbide, Tenryu, etc.

[woodworkerjake]

Agree with all of the above. The blade that comes with it is not necessarily a cheap blade althought it may be. BUT, I'm pretty sure it's a thin kerf blade. And those can have deflection - especially w/o a blade stabilizer.

I would invest in a dial guage if I were you. I used the same method you are using with the combination square and my measurements were off by about 1/100th of an inch. Doesn't sound like much but would cause saw to double cut wood.

Jake