Saw Cabinet made from a half sheet of 1/2" plywood.   I made this saw cabinet from a half sheet of 1/2" birch plywood, using beveled cuts on all the joints to give it the appearance of being made from a single block of wood. When making cuts such as this, it is extremely important to have a good table saw that will insure straight edges on all the cuts, but more importantly, you need a quality blade that will leave the cuts clean and chip free...

The DML Golden Eagle 74032 10", 60 tooth cuttoff/plywood blade.   ...and that's where the DML Golden Eagle 74032 cuttoff/plywood blade comes in. I had been using a Craftsman 60 tooth cuttoff blade for years, and it always performed well, but after talking to the folks at Sussex Saw & Tool, I was convinced that I needed to try their blade.

Close-up of the C-4 Carbide teeth.   The blade features 60, C-4 DyaniteŽ carbide teeth that are tougher and more durable than any conventional grade of carbide. Precision tooling results in a blade that gives longer life cutting hard and soft woods and lamintated veneer panels. And with an alternating top bevel (ATB) and 10 degree negative hook, this blade should provide virtually no tearout whatsoever.

Craftsman 60 tooth carbide cuttoff blade.   This is the Craftsman blade I have been using - with satisfactory results. It features 60 carbide teeth with an ATB and seems to be well balanced. This blade was recently resharpened by a professional saw sharpening service so it should be a tough blade to beat its performance!

Edge view of the Golden Eagle.   I didn't take a close-up shot of the Craftsman's teeth, but just looking at the two tells me the Golden Eagle is a superior blade! We'll have to see about that with a few cuts on the table saw.

Making a test cut with the Craftsman blade.   We're cutting the same 1/2" birch plywood that I used to make the saw cabinet. And to really put these blades through the toughest test, were going to cut across the grain! The Craftsman blade does leave a little bit of tearout, especially on the leading edge, but it's not as bad as I have seen from other blades, and has always seemed to be good enough for cutting sheet goods in my shop.

And now a cut using the Golden Eagle.   Wow!! You can already see the difference!! I even set the camera up closer to the cut to see it in the most minute detail. There is no question that the Golden Eagle has a much, much cleaner cut. No tearout along the cut and none at the entry point!

Comparison of the cuts made by the two blades.   The top piece was the one cut with the Golden Eagle, and the bottom was done with the Craftsman. There is no comparison; the Golden Eagle cut the plywood across the grain like a laser! I have many other blades manufactured by different companies, including Freud, Amana, American Vermont, Forrest, etc.., and I would not hesitate to put the DML Golden Eagle up against a similar blade from any of them.

I would like to thank the great folks at Sussex Saw & Tool for providing this blade for our tests. They challenged me to beat its performance and I came away unable to do that. When you know what works best, there is no need to continue looking for "the best blade." I personally believe I have found it in the DML Golden Eagle! Robert J. Brown 8/15/01

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