Disapointed in new blade

Bob Gibson

Member
Messages
11,472
Location
Merrimack, New Hampshire
I had a gift certificate so I thought I would splurge on what is supposed to be a fantastic TS blade. Forrest WoodWorker ll.
I have a Delta 714 Hybrid saw and it is tuned almost perfectly. The fence is in perfect alignment. Cutting pine the blade works as good if not better than my Freud blades. In walnut, it burns and bogs my saw down. Nothing has ever bogged down my saw before. The forrest blade throws back so much sawdust I had more dust on the saw, floor and me than I did in the DC.:(
My freud blades at half the cost perform twice as well.

I don't know if I got a dud but so far I feel like I wasted $110.00 plus shipping. Wouldn't recommend it to anyone at this time.
 
Bob,

I haven't tried any of the forest blades yet myself. I was thinking about getting one or two later this spring.

Just FYI, this is off their site...

Forrest Saw Blade Guarantee

Purchase any Forrest saw blade or dado and use it for up to 30 days. If you are not completely satisfied for any reason, return it for a full refund. There's never any risk to you.
You have my word on it!

Jim Forrest
President


Let us know if you change your mind on the blade. I'm interested in how their blades handle.


Brian
 
Not sure what's going on with the forest, always heard they were good. If you do return it though, I've really liked my freud premier fusion thin kerf blade. Good all around blade.
 
Forrest Woodworker II

I had a gift certificate so I thought I would splurge on what is supposed to be a fantastic TS blade. Forrest WoodWorker ll.
I have a Delta 714 Hybrid saw and it is tuned almost perfectly. The fence is in perfect alignment. Cutting pine the blade works as good if not better than my Freud blades. In walnut, it burns and bogs my saw down. Nothing has ever bogged down my saw before. The forrest blade throws back so much sawdust I had more dust on the saw, floor and me than I did in the DC.:(
My freud blades at half the cost perform twice as well.

I don't know if I got a dud but so far I feel like I wasted $110.00 plus shipping. Wouldn't recommend it to anyone at this time.

Bob,

Better call Forrest for advice. I am sure they will make it right. I have used the Forrest Woodworker II on my Mark V for over 25 years and have had great sevice. I have used their sharpening service with excellent results as well. I haven't used a jointer in over 20 years because the WWII blade cuts an edge ready to glue. Geat cuts even cross grain in oak ply. Best multipurpose blade out there IMHO. BTW I purchased the Tenyru combo blad last year (about $30 cheaper) and it is a very good blade but not as good as th Forrest.

Jack
 
Disapointeed in new blade

I've been using freud for over 20 yrs and have allso tried the forrest blades,an from my personal experiance,I'll take a Freud over any of em.I have freud on my tablesaw and on a cheap 12" HF slidinging compound miter saw and when I cut endgrain,the cuts are smooth as glass.Don't have anything to do with Frued except I love there tools and think that forrest is a bit over rated and way over priced.Just my :twocents: for whats its worth ;)
 
I would contact Forrest. I too was disappointed with my WWII. It left marks and burned where my Freud and Lietz do not. I was foolish and did not contact Forrest right away like I should have.

The 40T WWII is now just a beater as the cost to ship it and have it sharpened will nearly buy one of the blades that I prefer. I have no confidence that it will return any better off than when it was brand new but, I could be wrong. Its just not worth it to me to find out as that money can go toward blades that I have had good results with.

Many people who's opinion I respect use these blades successfully. You and I may have just gotten lemons. You should get your money's worth though so please, learn from my mistake and contact Forrest for advice or a refund right away.
 
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i feel for the hype on Forrest blades at a show,, the guy was cutting 8/4 cheery , ripping it.. and then stopped half way threw the cut with the blade running then took and finished the cut.. no burn i had cut a fair amount of cherry to know that cherry will burn easily.. he had the fish in his basket and i lost 110 dollars on a blade that i feel Freud can match for less..it also is a 40 tooth..i think the blades are made well but not worth the extra cost..
 
I recently swapped out my Forrest WWII for a 40 tooth combo blade from Infinity. I really like that new blade - so much, in fact, that I bought one of their 80 tooth blades for my SCMS.

Just for the record, the old Forrest needed sharpened, and had already been sharpened (by Forrest) once before.
 
Back in the day, when you could not find a carbide blade in a lumber yard or hardware, long before the Borg, Forrest blades were the bee knees. They were the best game in town, and were and still are I'm sure a good blade. But there are options now that are just as good or better and at reduced prices in some cases.

Do you have a riving knife on your saw? Cherry is sensitive to dry correctly and many times it will pinch in towards the blade when cut and the stresses are released. If your blade is one with little set, that may be your issue, and would explain the chips flying back at you.
 
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I moved the back of my TS fence out about 1/32" today put the blade back in and tried it again. Seemed to help a a little bit. Not quite as much burning and dust thrown back. But still not performing like a $100.00 blade should. Going to call them tomorrow. Meantime it's back to my good old Freud $50.00 blade.
 
I've got an Infinity blade in my new TS and love it!! Have their 80 tooth for the slider, but haven't installed it yet. I've used Systimatic blades, (50 tooth combo and 60 tooth plastic/laminate), in the past with good luck. Still use the 60 and just had it sharpened. The 50 laid it's life down for me cutting hidden nails in some wood. Too many teeth damaged to be worth redoing. But the Infinity 50 tooth combo is a better blade anyway.
I do have a 30 tooth TK Forrest II. I didn't have any trouble with it. Just don't use the contractor saw for anything but dados right now. Need to make a TK riving knife for the Griz and use it for ripping until I get the Infinity ripper blade. Can you tell I'm very happy with the Infinity blades???:wave: Jim.
 
I have the 40 tooth as well. Tried it a couple times, it's in the rack now. I have better luck with the Ridgid 50 tooth from Home Depot. Really a good blade for the $45 or so it cost.
 
Bob - What kerf width did you go with? If you switched from thin kerf to full kerf, you would have added 33% more blade width, and 8/4 maple would definitely bog that saw. Even with the TK version, it's still a tall task for a 40T blade. The 30T WWII TK would do better...a 24T ripper would have an even easier time but wouldn't leave as smooth of a cut.
 
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The 40T WWII is now just a beater as the cost to ship it and have it sharpened will nearly buy one of the blades that I prefer.

Have it sharpened locally.

Its total BS that only Forrest can sharpen their blades. No different than any other blade.


I've been using mostly FS tool blades with good results. I've got some Amana blades that are okay, and a few Forrest blades and a Forrest Dado set. The FS Tool dado sets suck in plywood. They worked great in melamine, nothing but tearout in plywood going across the grain.
 
I use FS Tool blades for the most part as well. I have one 24 tooth 12" rip that is perfect, and it is time to sharpen and I hate to send it in.

I was going to order a custom dado set to replace my Forest 10" from them, but I guess I'll send in my Forest if you say they are not up to snuff Karl. That is one blade/set from Forest that has been awesome. The saw has a 1 1/4" arbor so I can't buy off the rack.
 
I was going to order a custom dado set to replace my Forest 10" from them, but I guess I'll send in my Forest if you say they are not up to snuff Karl. That is one blade/set from Forest that has been awesome. The saw has a 1 1/4" arbor so I can't buy off the rack.

You can have them punched out so the bore is bigger. My blade guy does it somehow. Don't know if he farms it out to a machinist or does it himself.

Systimatic dado heads were awesome in melamine as well. I don't have any of their stuff in my shop, but a place I used to work used almost solely Systimatic blades/dado sets. I've been curious about the performance in plywood. Seems to me a dado head that does well across the grain with a veneered mdf, won't necessarily do well in plywood. :dunno:
 
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