What's your preferred tile blade type?

[kebwi]

I just bought the notorious HF 10" tile saw. Since it doesn't come with a blade, I bought the only relevant blade HF seemed to have on the shelves, the $30 DiamondLife blade ($20 online, sigh). I've seen mention of this blade on the forum before. It lists several materials and tile/brick are *not* one of them (again, this was commented on in other thread).

What blades do people prefer? I've seen comments about this mixed into other discussions, but I'm focusing specifically on the blade in this thread.

First of all, am I correct that no one ever uses a blade that "looks like" a wood blade, with curved teeth? The other two major blade shapes I see are toothless (like the blade I got) and radially symmetrical "segmented" blades. Which of the three do most people use to cut their bricks?

Second, once you're in the diamond blade range (and I never really considered *not* using a diamond blade), does money make any difference? Is a $70 Husky diamond blade better than a $30 DiamondLife diamond blade?

Thanks.

[shuboyje]

Re: What's your preferred tile blade type?

I used the same blade you did with great results. Just a tip for the future, I've found Harbor Freight will price match their website if you have a printout with you(or in my case MANY times pull it up on your iPhone). Also make sure you get on their email list, you will practically always have a 20% off coupon in your in box which is even good on sale items. I happed to know they can even scan that barcode off an iPhone, lol.

[kebwi]

Re: What's your preferred tile blade type?

I know. I'm new at the HF game. I didn't realize the blade was cheaper online until I got home. Otherwise I would have at least tried. :-)

Thanks though.

[RTflorida]

Re: What's your preferred tile blade type?

The HF blade is fine. are there better more task specific blades, YES. The biggest differences in diamond blades are the amount of crushed diamond used, the actual size of the diamond coated area, the bonding material used, and probably the most important for truely precision cuts - blade thickness and steel quality used in the blade. A very strong rigid blade will wabble less and cause less chipping in materials such as marble, granite, and the porcelain finish of tile.
That said, the HF blade is just fine for general use. I built my entire oven, porcelain tiled 2 entire bathrooms, and did a granite tile kitchen (countertops & floor) with the same blade. The key to blade longevity is keeping it cool with clean water flowing through the pump and not forcing the material through the blade too fast.
If your not a pro that uses the saw every day or one that cuts expensive marble and granite every day, save your money.....$70 and up blades really are not necessary.

RT

[jmhepworth]

Re: What's your preferred tile blade type?

If I recall right, the HF saw has a warning on it to use only a solid blade, like the one HF sells. I've seen other blades with teeth at the brick yard. I thought the HF blade was fine, but I did go through a couple of them. The firebrick is soft, but it still eats up the blade.