I have seen several YouTube videos about cutting dados with a table saw using a straight kerf saw blade. I have searched Amazon, Lowes and Home Depot and none of them seem to carry a table saw blade with straight kerfs. I even called an Ace Hardware store and they didn't have any in stock but they could order me one for a mere $120.

Does anyone here know where I can purchase such a blade without taking out a loan? I have no desire (or bank roll) to get involved in dado stacks.

It's just something I wanted to try but I'm not willing to shell out $120 for something I MIGHT use a couple of times a year or never again if I don't like the results.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Check out rip blades. I seem to recall someone said they will work 

https://www.popularwoodworking.com/tools/essential-tablesaw-blades/

All the rip blades I have see seem to have a thin kerf which means more passes to create the dado and I see nothing in the ads that tells me it has a flat kerf.j

 

1 minute ago, lew said:

https://www.popularwoodworking.com/tools/essential-tablesaw-blades/

Thanks for the link @lew, I will check that out and see if they have anything this old cheapskate can afford. 

If there’s a saw sharpening place near you, maybe they can grind an old blade for you

Saw something in the article I was trying to remember.

ATB alternating top bevel would be one bevel to left , one bevel flat top, and one bevel to right. This is a general purpose grind but should work except it will leave a fine deeper line on each side of the cut.

 

FTG flat top grind is what you are referring to but I do not believe I have ever seen one. Here are a couple FTG blades but might be able to find a mid level dado set at this price.

 

Freud T24409

 

Lorna 24T FTG      never heard of these people

 

Found this on Amazon but cannot get link to post.  CMT 221.060.10 Industrial Cabinetshop Saw Blade, 10-Inch x 60 Teeth TCG Grind with 5/8-Inch Bore, PTFE Coating that might fit the bill at affordable price.     industrial cabinet saw blade . FTG grind alternating Flat Top Grind.

 

Edited January 8Jan 8 by Gerald

Ridge Carbide makes 2 that will leave flat bottoms. Their TS2000 model comes in 2 configurations: one has 4 ATB, and then a raker tooth. I have that blade and love it. It does cut a perfectly flat bottom kerf. The other has all the teeth flat ground, they refer to this as their box joint blade and mentions that it cuts more slowly than the one I have.  Thsi question came up a few months back and i made this cut with my blade to show the kerf. The downside to these blades is they may be in the "bank loan" area, however it's not (in my case) a blade that gets seldom used....it's on my saw all the time.  I believe that Forrest might either have one or will make one that cuts a flat kerf as well. BTW, I've cut 1/8" wide box joints using this blade.

Edited January 8Jan 8 by Fred W. Hargis Jr

10 hours ago, Bubba said:

All the rip blades I have see seem to have a thin kerf which means more passes to create the dado

How wide is the dado that multiple passes become an issue?

realistically, what is the difference between a thin kerf blade and a regular blade? 1/32? 1/64?

Just guessing, but if you are making a dado greater than 3/8 of an inch and time is critical, a stacked dado setup might be the solution.

Thanks for the Kerf types education guys. Based on the information you have provided I believe I may have found what I am looking for on Amazon.

CMT Orange Tools (Italian made) 24 teeth FTG Full Kerf 10" ripping blade for $44 + tax. That falls into my penny-pinching budget. 

as a follow up:

 

I THINK, I'll have to mount it to be sure, a Freud 1050x blade is a FTG+R type of blade. FTG+R= flat top grind with raker.

also, I THINK I bot a rip blade from Harbor Freight that is a full kerf blade.

 

all the above is subject to me mounting the blades and doing a cut or two.

 

either way you are looking for a FTG+R, in my opinion.

 

You can query Freud's customer service, or any of the manufactures to be sure.

 

BTW-- I think you are objecting to the "bat wing" that a ATB blade produces. I started a thread a while ago on that subject (bat wing are driving me nuts) and never got off my duff to follow up with the Freud recommendation

I bought THIS dado stack set a few years back in kind of an "urgency" need situation needing to make 1/8" finger joints. Budget was a factor at the time as well as local, immediate availability. I simply used only a single blade for the cuts. In fact, I've never used the chippers yet. The 8" diameter was fine for my purpose but may not work for your specific needs. To the best of my fading memory, the blade(s) did leave perfectly flat bottom cuts without the batwing effect.

44 minutes ago, smitty10101 said:

as a follow up:

 

I THINK, I'll have to mount it to be sure, a Freud 1050x blade is a FTG+R type of blade. FTG+R= flat top grind with raker.

also, I THINK I bot a rip blade from Harbor Freight that is a full kerf blade.

 

all the above is subject to me mounting the blades and doing a cut or two.

 

either way you are looking for a FTG+R, in my opinion.

 

You can query Freud's customer service, or any of the manufactures to be sure.

 

BTW-- I think you are objecting to the "bat wing" that a ATB blade produces. I started a thread a while ago on that subject (bat wing are driving me nuts) and never got off my duff to follow up with the Freud recommendation

Thanks @smitty10101 but no need to mount another blade on my account. The CMT blade I ordered from Amazon should be here tomorrow then I'll know if the rip blade is what I was looking for.

Follow up #2

 

forget the Freud 1050x it has VERY SLIGHT bat wings, really barely noticeable

however,

a Freud uncoated blade that I have does give a flat bottom.

Unfortunately I wore off the branding except for the # 20104237-44/20. I think it's an industrial blade. 60 tooth.

 

I also have a Kempston 10" rip blade (from Amazon???? as opposed to Harbor Freight) that the carbide is noticeably thicker than a standard blade.

 

@Bubba saw your post about ordering the CMT but decided to post this for anybody in the future.

The CMT blade I bought did the trick.

17 minutes ago, Bubba said:

The CMT blade I bought did the trick.

I was interested in this so checked reviews. Found several that indicated there are corners left in the cut (almost opposite of the bat wings). Did yours give a fully flat cut? 

Edited January 16Jan 16 by BB1

18 minutes ago, BB1 said:

I was interested in this so checked reviews. Found several that indicated there are corners left in the cut (almost opposite of the bat wings). Did yours give a fully flat cut? 

Yes the CMT blade gave a flat full kerf width cut. The dado technique I used didn't cut the dado quite wide enough but all I had to do was put a couple of pieces of blue tape on the edge of my stop block and the dado with was perfect.

22 minutes ago, Bubba said:

Yes the CMT blade gave a flat full kerf width cut

Good! Maybe those reviews were older or the blade was updated.

If there were corners left I didn't notice it but I'm old, blind in one eye and can't see out of the other. All I can attest to is it served my purpose.