10 Best Miter Saw Blade For Trim 2021

One cannot be forgiven for believing that all miter saw blades are the same. As a matter of fact, they are not the same at all.

In the daily life of a DIYer or a professional craftsman, they have to deal with a diverse range of materials, having different considerations in mind when cutting them. Miter saw blades come in different sizes are made out of different materials but the right saw blades will give you peace of mind and confidence that you’re carrying out your trim job to the best of your ability.

Want a smooth cut with no tear-out? In this article, we will walk you through the best miter saw blades used for trim work that will yield supreme results for you which you ask for.

Top 10 Miter Saw Blade For Trim Work Reviews

To attain smooth, fine cuts for trim work, you typically need a blade with a lot of teeth. Below we have sorted for you the Top Rated  miter saw blades for trim.

1. Freud LU85R010 – With High Density Carbide Blade


Freud’s LU85R010 is a standard 10 inch blade with 80 high density titanium carbide teeth for mirror-like smooth finishes, especially with crosscuts. These 80 teeth are arranged in alternating-top-bevel (ATB) configuration towards left and right which is extremely efficient for cutting hardwood.

The unique and exclusive side grinding feature etched on every tooth simultaneously buffs the surface to a polished state during the cutting operation. Further stability is added through anti-vibration slots cut on the blade with a precise laser in a novel design so that you don’t need to add stabilizers for high rpm cutting.

Freud’s patented Perma-SHIELD insulation coating keeps the blade cool and ensures longer operation life. It is an ultimate saw blade designed for low vibration, long life span, and smooth cuts of hard workpieces with precision and accuracy.

The Expert Opinion
This superior carbide-tipped Freud blade is highly recommended for trim work as it gives glass-like finishes when crosscutting hard and softwoods, minimizing tear-out, so no sanding is needed.
Pros
  • 80 carbide-tipped teeth arranged in ATB configuration
  • Polishes surface while cutting
  • Insulated coating for longer life
Cons
  • Full kerf takes more energy of the saw’s motor to cut through hardwoods

2. Makita A-93681 – Mirror Smooth Finish


Makita miter saw blades are designed to bring about precision and performance, with every cut. Makita blades are the ideal attachment for your miter saw with the Alternate Top and Alternate Face (ATAF) tooth pattern and the Japanese ultra-thin kerf of .091″, a 5-degree hook angle, and .071 thickness plate are accumulated to provide smoother cuts with less material loss with least effort on the motor.

This Makita 80 teeth 10-inch miter saw blade is constructed from seasoned and proficiently hand-pressured steel for more accurate cuts. An ideal choice for a smaller, 10-inch miter saw, can crosscut a variety of materials by maintaining the cutting accuracy. Can also smoothy cut thin wood without wasting any.

The 80 Micro grain carbide teeth are sharpened with about 600 grits for a polished finish making it ideal for  Trim , hardwood, softwood, and plywood. Makita does wonders when reaping dado as it offers excellent, fine-quality performance.

The Expert Opinion
This 80 teeth blade is perfect for smooth and clean cuts with no trimming splinters. With its 80 carbide teeth, this professional-grade blade can deliver a mirror-smooth finish, especially for cross cuts when working with trim.
Pros
  • Carbide Eighty-teeth blade
  • Mirrored smooth finish
  • Intended for fine crosscutting
Cons
  • Cannot handle laminate or melamine

3. Freud D1280X  – Ideal for Trimmers


D1280X is Freud’s next-generation 12-inch blade with technical specifications similar to LU85R010. It features 80 high-density TiCo blend with carbide tipped teeth which are designed in alternate top bevel arrangement for quick and smooth cutting with flawless precision.

Similar to LU85R010, D1280X also has a side grinding design that polishes the surface while cutting with an ultra-thin kerf making it a faster and cleaner cutting blade. The blade is coated with special Perma-Shield insulation for better heat resistance ensuring longer life.

With specially designed laser cut stabilizers made into a tri-metal alloy, this blade can operate at 6000 rpm without any stabilizer to cut through any kind of workpiece including hardwood, trims, melamine, and MDF. The capability of a mirror-smooth cut surface with a large crosscut capacity. The cutting edge design with top of the line features, make your cutting experience a pleasure.

The Expert Opinion
This Freud Diablo blade is an ideal choice for trim carpenters because it leaves a smooth surface that requires almost no sanding. With 12 inch diameter, 80 teeth in Alternate Top Bevel arrangement, 1-inch arbor, and a large 7 Degree hook angle, this D1280X Diablo blade is can be use for multipurpose .
Pros
  • Makes clean cuts through wood and mild molding
  • Yields smooth and quiet cuts
  • Features shock resistant carbide to ingest noise
  • Hi-density TiCo blend with special carbide to craft the product
  • Extended life span
Cons
  • The sharpness dulls fast

4. DEWALT DW3219PT  –  With Exclusive Dampening Slots


DEWALT DW3219PT is a 10-Inch 80 tooth TCG made with premium micro-grain carbide that produces ultra-sharp cutting edges that vividly reduce splintering making it good for aluminum, plastic, and fine trim.

The vent system in the blade provides give full versatility for use with a perfect teeth size and space while the tough carbide coat finish reduces heat, friction, and gum to ensure a durable blade life.

The precision balanced, laser-cut body provides awfully accurate cuts, while the exclusive dampening slots moderate vibration and control noise to enhance cutting accuracy making it excellent for laminate flooring and metal cutting works.>

The Expert Opinion
It is the best compound miter saw blade with its ultra-sharp power, and its ultra-thin shape to offer full control for easy cutting and ease of use. But, this blade is recommended with its perfect vent system to make accurate cuts through most types of wood.
Pros
  • Traditional design
  • Ultra-Sharp blade
  • Light in weight
Cons
  • Teeth size is not perfect

5. DEWALT DW3216PT  – With Premium Micro-grain Carbide


This precision trims crosscutting blade from DEWALT is 12-Inch in size with 60 extra-strong micro-fiber carbide teeth that stay sharp for long and reduce splintering. This blade also features dampening slots around its body to help decrease vibration whilst enhancing accuracy.

The ribbed heat vents in this DEWALT blade are designed such that it stays cool so you don’t have to worry about its continued performance with a tough-coat body finish to resist heat, gumming, and friction guaranteeing a longer blade life with consistent clean cuts.

DW3216PT is a 2.3 pounds, thin kerf saw blade with a maximum RPM of 7000, alternate top bevel, .098 kerf, and -5 degree hook angle to be used with table saws and miter saws, and the precision balanced, the laser-cut body offers exceptionally accurate cuts.

The Expert Opinion
This DEWALT DW3216PT 12 inch 60T carbide thin kerf saw blade is great for working on a wide range of real-world wood, plywood, and wood composite cutting applications and is highly recommended for trim work.
Pros
  • Ultra-sharp cutting edges
  • Good for heavy-duty applications
  • Ribbed heat vents keep the blade cool
Cons
  • Blade kerf is too thin

6. WEN BL1280 – Ideal Fine Finish Woodworking


The WEN BL1280 is an 80 carbide-tipped teeth 12-inch professional clean finish woodworking saw blade designed to provide reliable and accurate performance while maintaining its straight shape and keeping the edges sharper for longer than the competitors.

The machine-cut carbide-tipped teeth slice through both hard and softwoods of any kind, making it easy to work out of pine, oak, poplar, and more. The 1-inch arbor permits for easy compatibility with the common 12-inch miter saws and table saws available in the market. The blade expands and contracts as much as needed with heat expansion slots to arrange for maximum accuracy through a series of cutting situations.

The unique protective coating combats off any possible damage caused by heat, rust, corrosion, and gum. This lightweight blade with an ultra-thin 1/10-inch kerf (2.6 mm) provides maximum efficiency and powerful performance with a rating of up to 6000 RPM.

The Expert Opinion
This BL1280 Wen blade cuts through hardwood without leaving many splinters on the backside of the wood. It is a good quality blade and recommended for a smooth cutting and high-quality finish work and trim work.
Pros
  • Cheap but high quality
  • Smooth cuts and Durable material
  • Compatible with the majority of 12-inch miter saws
Cons
  • A little scorching at a low speed

7. TOMAX  ATB Saw Blade – Multi-purpose Woodworking


TOMAX is a reliable front-runner in developing high-performance blades for home and professional use tools with more than 10 years of design and manufacturing experience.

This brand has sourced a wide selection of best quality materials to develop this 60-Tooth, 12 inch blade with high precision laser-cut teeth, perfectly centered arbor, and vent system for a longer cutting life. As the high-grade carbide teeth provide the maximum resistance, the electrophoretic coating reduces the rusting and corrosion ensuring for longer life.

The 60 tooth Alternate Top Bevel arrangement and a capacity for up to 5000 RPM making it multi-purpose which can be used for either crosscutting or rip cutting applications. While the laser cut anti vibration slots considerably reduce vibration and sideways movement in the cut extending blade life and giving a flawless finish.

The Expert Opinion
This is one steady blade from Tomax without any wobble. It’s recommended for trim carpentry (baseboard, quarter round, thresholds, etc.) and the cuts are smooth.
Pros
  • The electrophoretic coating ensures a longer life span
  • Sharper Edge and Precise Formulation
  • Anti-Vibration Slots
Cons
  • Not good for rip cutting
  • Heavy

8.  DEWALT DW3232PT – Meticulous Trim Crosscutting Blade


DEWALT DW3232PT is a 12-inch rigor trim crosscutting blade which features extra-strong  micro-fiber carbide teeth in Alternate Top Bevel (ATB) arrangement to provide ultra-sharp cutting edges and dramatically reduced splintering without being dull.

This 80 teeth, crosscutting blade from DEWALT also traits dampening slots around its body to help minimize vibration and increases accuracy. This 1 pound 12-inch blade with 1 inch arbor size is suitable for use with both miter and table saws.

A precision balanced, laser cut body with a tough coat body finish is designed to resist heat, gumming, and friction offering a longer blade life and unfailingly clean cuts.

The Expert Opinion
The Dewalt DW3232PT blade is highly recommended to cut trim and molding boards, both pine and vinyl-coated MDF and it cuts very accurately, with no splintering, and leaves a smooth edge.
Pros
  • The sharp blade increases accuracy
  • Dampening slots to minimize vibration
  • Longer micro-fiber carbide teeth
Cons
  • A bit expensive

9. DEWALT DW7116PT  – Best Cordless Miter Saws


This 7-1/4 inch DEWALT DW7116PT Precision Trim Miter Saw Blade from DEWALT is designed to be used with cordless miter saws. It is a multi-purpose saw blade that can be used on circular saws, table saw, and miter saws.

The blade’s specialty is the unique plate technology which permits for less vibration and improvises a better cut quality, with extremely sharp boosted carbide tips to reduce tear-out.

This 0.6 Pounds 60Teeth DEWALT blade features a miter saw optimized hook angle, with a new plate design making it perfect for trim, moldings, and pre-fabrication. The blade is sharp and creates smooth cuts with 60 teeth with minimal tear-out.

The Expert Opinion
This blade works fine to cut trimming with minimal tear-out and splintering making it a good quality blade for the price.
Pros
  • Cheap but improved cut quality
  • Can be used with a circular saw/ table saw
  • The exclusive plate technology minimizes vibrations
Cons
  • Deflects because it is very thin

10. Amana 610800C  – With ELECTROBLU Non-Stick Coating


This trim blade from Amana Tools is multipurpose and suitable for use on table saws, sliding table saws, radial arms, and miter saws of all sorts. When cutting through hard or softwood, this carbide-tipped blade leaves a polished finish. 610800C is especially apt for trimming and sizing veneers and laminates, either in single sheets or in stacks.

The alternate top bevel grind and 80 teeth count in ATB are sure to yield excellent, chip-free cuts. ELECTROBLU micro-thin translucent non-stick blue-tint is applied on the whole blade by using an electrostatic bonding process which reduces gum accumulation and heat build-up.

The carbide tips stay sharp for longer resultant in drawn-out blade life and maximize blade performance for perfect cut quality. This blade is also attuned with the ‘Saw Stop’ safety system.

The Expert Opinion
This is a highly recommended, excellent 10-inch hardwood blade providing smooth finish cuts with undetectable blade flex, either cross cutting or rip cutting without any blowouts or tear outs on the rear side of the wood.
Pros
  • Chip-free, smooth, sharp cuts
  • Electro-Blu™ Coating reduces gum
  • Extended life span
Cons
  • Pricey

Which size of blade will be good for Trim?

A thin blade will be the best saw blade for cutting trim with an ideal tooth count of about 80-100. Hence, a 10-inch miter saw is sufficient for cutting most types of trim boards and siding strips, which are usually less than 3/4-inches in thickness and 6-inches wide.

Which type of blade material do you need to buy for trim and why?

Usually, very strong and tough materials are used to create the best saw blades to be used on table/ circular/ miter saws such as steel, hand pressured steel, and carbide/ tungsten carbide for trim carpentry.

Carbide-Tipped Blades

It is the most expensive and widely used material for the manufacture of miter saw blades. This material allows you to carry out neat finesse jobs, with glass-like finishes. This material is a lot more durable as compared to other blade materials because it does not melt and combined with tungsten, the tungsten carbide blades are a lot more powerful and this material miter blade is useful for creating furniture.

Steel

The miter saw blades made out of steel are most commonly available in the market and are reasonably priced too. They are very effective in trim work done in softwoods but they are not very efficient for hardwood boards.

Hand tensioned Steel

This type of steel is stronger than ordinary steel because it is treated and so is the blade made with it. Since it has a lot of resistance, it can be used to do the different ripping and crosscutting jobs including trim work on wood, and can also handle hardwoods.

The Ultimate Buying Guide of  Trim Blade

The major component of a miter saw is the saw blade. Miter saw blades are used for different practices like rip cutting, cross-cutting, slicing, and trimming. We will talk you through this buying guide to help you choose the best miter saw blade according to your usage and cutting specifications.

  • Type of Workpiece

Before choosing your blade, you have to determine what types of materials you are going to cut with it. Most of the mentioned blades are suitable for most workpieces including different types of lumber, moldings, and laminate.

  • Blade Material

Mostly, the saw blades are made out of steel, but you’ll also find carbide made saw blades which is another material used commonly. Blades made with steel are pretty durable but reasonably priced however carbide-tipped blades are more long-lasting but expensive.

  • Type & Count of Teeth

You also need to check the type of teeth along with the tooth count on the blade before buying it, according to your cutting requirements.

A blade with more teeth provides small and smooth cuts which are ideal for trim work, however, if you want larger coarse cuts, pick the saw blade with fewer teeth.

  • Compatibility

There are some miter saws that only work with specified blades so it’s important to check for compatibility of the saw blade with the saw before you get on to your project. While choosing your saw blades, make sure to check the sizes, some may require a 10-inch blade, while others could call for a 12-inch blade or smaller.

  • Type of cut

The type of cut is related to the number of teeth the blade has. Saw blades can provide, cross-cutting, rip cutting, slicing, or trimming, you could get a micro-grain carbide blade for a laser-cut, or kerf blades for the exact width. Use a specific blade according to the type of cutting.

  • Noise Control

Some miter saw blades have a lower noise discharge because of the unique plate design and dampening slots to help reduce sound and the employment of vibration absorbing fillers and plugs helps control vibrations providing a steady and smooth cutting operation.

People Also Ask

Can table saw blades be used on miter saws for a trim?
The straight answer to this would be a yes, you can. Generally, circular saw blades are designed for use with miter saws, table saws, radial arm saws, and cut-off saws. Many blades can be used interchangeably between saws. As a rule of thumb, a blade with a hook angle less than 7° can be used on a miter saw. However, because a miter saw has less power than a table saw, kerf thickness is going to be an issue, since a miter saw blade is thin-kerf, the table saw’s splitter might need to be changed. Because if the splitter is thicker than the blade, the workpiece will get caught on it.
Are more teeth on a Miter saw blade better for trim cutting?
To achieve the finest cuts for trim work, furniture building, and cabinet making, you need a blade with a lot of teeth on your miter saw. An ordinary 12-inch blade typically has 32 teeth however a good trim blade commonly needs 80. The number of teeth on the blade helps govern the speed and finish of the cut. Blades with fewer teeth cut faster, but those with more teeth bring about a finer finish. However, you can opt for 90 to 100 tooth blades available for the smoothest cutting to seek out the optimum results in miter saws for trim cutting.
What type of miter saw blade is best for trim wood?
The Trim saw blades are designed with higher teeth to count to retain a fine cut on the appearing side of your workpiece. So, you can use either crosscut blades or combination blades for trimming wood, also the raker tooth in a blade makes sure to stray away any sawdust allowing the teeth to cut with perfection.

CONCLUSION

The bottom line of this article with all these saw blades is that they are all well-made and will continue doing precision trim carpentry as long as you use them with care. All of them are great crosscutting and rip cutting blades, and above all the smoothest cutting blades you will find! But whichever blade you are using, don’t forget to wear your safety gear when dealing with any power tool.

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