Diablo D1012LF vs. Freud 10” x 40T Premier Fusion

Let’s compare these two table saw blades: the Diablo D1012LF and the Freud 10” x 40T Premier Fusion.

Features & Benefits

You can read our complete guide to buying a table saw blade.

Related: Choosing the Right Table Saw Blade

We’ve also got a roundup of the best 10” table saw blades.

Size

Both products have a 10” diameter and fit on a 5/8” diameter arbor. Typical table saws have a 5/8” arbor and can accept blades up to 10” in diameter. Thus, both saw blades should be generally usable on many saws.

The D1012LF cuts a 0.087” (thin) kerf. The 10” x 40T Premier Fusion is 0.098” thick and cuts a 1/8” (full) kerf. (The term “kerf” refers to the width of the cut that the blade leaves in the material being cut.)

A 1/8” kerf is called a “full” kerf and ought to work on a wide range of table saws. On saws with less power, a full-kerf blade might cause the saw to have trouble with thicker or harder material, when compared with a thin-kerf blade.

A kerf under 1/8” is termed a “thin” kerf. Thin kerfs waste less material than full-kerf blades and make it easier for saws to cut through thick or hard wood. Most, but not all, table saws can take thin-kerf blades. Ensure that your riving knife is thinner than the kerf, or dangerous binding can take place.

Teeth

The D1012LF has 12 polycrystalline diamond teeth. The 10” x 40T Premier Fusion has 40 TiCo high-density carbide teeth in a Hi-ATB configuration.

Blades having a tooth count under 40 are generally meant for ripping wood lengthwise. For crosscuts or general-purpose use, you should consider options with more teeth. Blades having 40 to 60 teeth are usually considered general-purpose blades. They will do an adequate job at ripping as well as crosscutting, but not quite as well as a blade designed for those cuts.

Alternate top bevel (ATB) teeth have a sloped shape rather than being straight across. This design allows them to slice through wood rather than chewing out chunks, leading to cleaner crosscuts. ATB teeth do have a tendency to break more frequently than flat-top teeth. Hi-ATB teeth have a steeper bevel angle than regular ATB teeth, and perform even better on materials like plywood and melamine.

Pros & Cons

Let’s take a look at some of the pluses and minuses of these products.

For the Diablo:

For the 10” x 40T Premier Fusion:

Comparison Chart

Here’s a full side-by-side look at these products’ specs. You can view comparisons of the Diablo D1012LF with other products

	Diablo D1012LF	Freud 10” x 40T Premier Fusion
Brand	Diablo	Freud
Blade Diameter	10”	10”
Arbor Size	5/8”	5/8”
Thickness		0.098”
Kerf	0.087”	1/8”
Tooth Bevel		30°
Tooth Count	12	40
Tooth Config		Hi-ATB
Tooth Material	polycrystalline diamond	TiCo high-density carbide
Rake	10°	18°
Expansion Slots
Pros	Diamond teeth are highly durable even when cutting laminates Leaves very smooth cuts in laminate flooring	Glassy-smooth cross cuts on many kinds of wood Very little tear-out cutting plywood Smooth enough results for gluing without sanding Long useful life before needing sharpening Less dust than comparable blades
Cons	More expensive than carbide-toothed blades Not useful for cutting wood or other materials	Some customers report teeth chipped either out of the box or after only a few cuts Does not rip as well as some other general-purpose blades, especially hardwoods Hard to get sharpened locally, may need to send to factory The red coating may rub off on harder materials
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