Hats Off to Infinity!
Written: Mar 16 '08 (Updated Sep 11 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Super quality, very clean cuts, glue-ready edges, very versatile, suitable for many types of saw.
Cons: Doesn't rip efficiently in thick materials over 6/4".
The Bottom Line: Super blade for clean cutting general purpose applications in a TS, RAS, CMS, or SCMS. Extraordinarily well made, exceptional crosscut ability, versatile, reasonably priced compared to other world class blades.
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| woody2's Full Review: Infinity 10" 60-Tooth General Purpose Saw Blade 01... |
Yep, yep, yep, I know....another blade review. Not very original, but opportunity keeps knocking, and I keep answering!
The Infinity 010-060 is a 10" 60 tooth carbide tipped saw blade. Infinity lists it as a general purpose blade suitable for table saw (TS) and radial arm saw (RAS) use, but with 60 teeth, it could just as easily be listed as a crosscut blade. The same characteristics that make it suitable for a RAS also make it suitable for a sliding compound miter saw (SCMS), which also makes it suitable for a compound miter saw (CMS), which gives it excellent versatility for the type of saw it's used on. It features large C-4 micrograin carbide teeth with a 30° Hi-ATB grind with a slightly positive hook of +5°. The "hook" angle or "rake" refers to the forward or backward "lean" of the teeth. Teeth with a positive hook lean forward, and those with a negative hook lean backwards relative to an imaginary line drawn from the center of the arbor hole. A steep positive hook helps blades rip with a better feedrate but can cause problems of "self feeding" for a RAS or SCMS, so a low to negative hook is desirable for those saws. The Infinity's 5° positive hook is suitably low to allow for safe use on a RAS or SCMS without issue, and is very desirable in a TS. It has a kerf width of 0.104" which registers on the thicker side of most thin kerf blades, which tend to fall in the range of 0.094" to 0.098.
"Hi-ATB" is an acronym for an alternating top bevel grind with a higher than normal bevel angle. The Hi-ATB grind is known best for it's ability to make clean slices in wood fibers, so it's extremely adept at crosscuts, veneered plywoods, and sheetgoods, but due to it's kerf width and sufficient gullet size, the 010-060 will also handle most ripping tasks up to ~ 5/4" with relative ease. It'll even venture into the 6/4" range, but that's pushing it and could result in some burning issues. The 010-060 would be an excellent compliment to a good 24 tooth thin kerf ripping blade, or a top 30T rip/general purpose blade such as the 30T WWII ...one's weakness is the other's strength.
This test was done solely using a TS, and as is typical for my tests, no blade stabilizer or stiffener was used, nor is one recommended unless you're getting unsatisfactory results due to blade vibration or runout. In use, the 010-060 really shines in materials in the range of 1/4" to ~ 5/4" thick, and will crosscut nicely to full blade height. The Hi-ATB grind performs predictably and admirably well in crosscuts. There's almost no tearout of fibers even without the benefit of a backerboard to reduce tearout. Red oak is particularly prone to tearouts but the Infinity readily tamed that nuisance. Infinity's website doesn't list the angle of the side clearance on the 010-060, but judging by the glassy smooth shiny edges it leaves, I'd guess it has a fairly low side clearance, which contributes to the smooth glue ready edges. It rips nicely in 3/4" to 1" oak, poplar, cherry, and maple, and shows that it's deserving of a general purpose label, and will even venture into rips as thick as 5/4" without issue in most cases. So what can't the 010-060 do that my 30T WWII or 40T Ridge Carbide TS2000 will do? In a nut shell, thicker ripping. The 010-060 is at it's best where the cleanest cut is desirable, and is weakest in thick bulk ripping....no surprise there. Most 40T or 50T blades are more efficient rippers than the 60T blades, but few can offer the tearout free crosscuts and polished edges this blade can. My 60T Freud LU88R010 "Crosscut" blade comes closest to the performance of this particular Infinity, and is a blade that I'm very fond of. It's strengths are similar to those of the 010-060. The Infinity has the upper hand in crosscuts, melamine, and plywoods, while the LU88 has a slight advantage ripping thicker hardwoods. Both are excellent, but the Infinity leaves a more polished "glue ready edge" ...really a non-issue with either of these blades.
After all was said and done, the Infinity 60 tooth 010-060 was impressive on many fronts, and was really a pleasure to use. It's remarkably well made, as are any other Infinity products I've encountered. There's really a fine line between versatility and optimal performance within a given cutting range....it's pretty much impossible to achieve the best of both because they're opposing performance characteristics. As versatility increases, the blades performance at each cutting extreme decreases. The 010-060 offers very slightly less versatility than a blade like the 40T WWII or TS2000, but it rewards that loss with a taste of the performance achieved by a fine task specific crosscut blade yet retains much more versatility. I've had the opportunity to try over 30 high end saw blades in the past few years. Very few have disappointed, but very few leave such a strong impression as this one. It's very subjective of course depending on your tastes and needs, but after trying four different Infinity blades, and reviewing three, I believe Mr. Forrest has company at the top of the saw blade food chain. The 010-60 could easily be viewed as either a general purpose blade with outstanding crosscut ability, or a crosscut blade with excellent versatility and clean rips within it's intended operating range. It'll take an 80T purebred crosscut blade to yield a cleaner cut, but the differences in cut quality are likely to be negligible, plus you'd be giving up the versatility the 010-060 offers. I see myself turning to this blade for critical cuts in my most expensive woods, and projects like jewelry or shadow boxes, frames, clocks, hardwood furniture or for plywood cabinetry and faceframes, to name a few. I'd also be comfortable just leaving in place for most everyday general purpose tasks. It's not exactly suitable for a "one blade does all" situation, but it'll do a fine job of a lot of tasks, and it's a super compliment to a good 24 tooth ripper, or even a blade like the 30T Forrest WWII. (What a 1-2 punch the 60T Infinity and 30T WWII will be for my needs!) It's suitable for use on many types of saws with a 5/8" arbor, and offers excellent results in most commonly encountered materials. Very highly recommended as the "go to" blade where a clean cut in multiple applications is needed.
Recommended:
Yes
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woody2
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Location: Rochester, NY
Reviews written: 97
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Thank God for God. Think life is tough now...try without him!
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