Forrest WWII blade

[eclipsme]

I just purchased the Forrest Woodworker II 10", 40-Tooth, 1.8" kerf Blade from Amazon - 15% off - around $82. Almost all the reviews were fantastic, but now i am wondering if I got the right blade.

Can you really use this for both cross cutting and ripping - and get a mirror finish while doing so? I am concerned that a 40 tooth blade can't do all that it is claimed to do.

It hasn't shipped yet, so I can still cancel. I make furniture and cabinets as a hobby, and am ready for a very good blade for my Powermatic 60 table saw. Any comments would be welcome.

Thanks, Harvey

[Swingman]

Prediction: you will like it so much you will buy another at some point in the future because you won't want to be without while one is being re-sharpened from being used so much.

[Lew Hodgett]

I use a 24T for rip, a 50T for combo, & an 80T for ply.

I'm happy.

YMMV

BTW, rip a mostly 8/4 hard maple & white oak. Both are tough.

Lew

[Jim]

Yes, mine does all that. I mostly cut 4/4 oak, 3/4 plywood, etc. Jim

[Leon]

You will love the blade and as Swingman commented you will probably get another like I did so that you will not be with out one while the other is being sharpened. I highly suggest using Forrest to resharpen the blade. No more changing blades for different tasks 99.5% of the time.

[Frank Arthur]

No blade will give you a mirror finish on wood.

[Dan]

On Sun 30 Jul 2006 03:37:39p, "Frank Arthur" wrote in news:TL8zg.13694$ [e-mail]:

When my Forrest was new, "mirror finish" wasn't a bad way to describe what it left behind. My wife commented on it when I handed her some pieces she'd asked to be cut. "What'd you do to them?" "Nothing. That's fresh off the saw." "Oh. THAT'S why you bought that blade."

It's probably wan't really a mirror finish because you couldn't really see yourself in it. But it sure was glass-smooth.

Since then it hasn't become dull enough to need to send out to Forrest but now the edges are "only" crisp and smooth.

[Ed Walsh]

[joeljcarver]

now i am wondering if I got the right blade.

Yes, you did. My getting a WWII was a major breakthrough. First was getting rid of my Sears and getting a Unisaw, then the blade and, last, getting a Unifence.

Mirror finish? No, you won't see your reflection, but you can usually glue without jointing. If I have a lot of ripping to do, I'll switch to a thin kerf Freud rip blade, but for occasional ripping and crosscutting, the WWII fills the bill excellently. Get it --- you won't regret it.

Joel

[Keith]

[CW]

I can do that with a $25.00 Craftsman blade. That's not a qualifier.

[lwasserm]

I am using that same blade. When new, it will do everything Forrest claims it will. Prior to the Forrest I used a top-of-the-line Oldham that cut just as well when new, but the Forrest has cut (estimated) twice as much wood now as the Oldham did before the Oldham needed resharpening, and I'm not quire ready to have the Forrest resharpened yet. YMMV of course.

[lwasserm]

Have to disagree there. I've got quite a few blades that do. (They were all made by Stanley)

[Leon]

Swing on by my house Frank. I'll show you a mirror reflective finish that I can see the color of my truck in.

[Leon]

Joel if you ever have to joint after ripping you may have an adjustment problem. Not getting a mirror shinny reflective finish may also be an indicator that you say may not be set up as good as it could be.

[eclipsme]

All I can say is "Wow!". Thanks for all the comments. I certainly feel

*much* better now about my purchase. I have had my powermatic with Bes fence for some years now, though it was in storage for several of them. Now that I am actively working it again, I am ready for the upgrade.

Now if I can just wait for the Amazon 'free' shipping...

Harvey

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Holy Crap. I've never seen a blade with that kerf. Even the biggest logging chainsaw blade cut no more than about 1/4". What size motor do you have on your saw?

[TJL]

No chit. Never heard of a Powermatic 60 either, at least not a table saw

[eclipsme]

I bet I will be filling lots of sawdust garbage cans, won't I? Don't make fun of the dyslexic man. It isn't nice! :=)

Harvey

[joeljcarver]

I don't joint, but I notice on Norm's shows that he does. My saw is adjusted fine --- I use an "A-Line-It" (got it from Woodcraft) to keep both my blade and fence dead on.

that you say may not be set up as good as it could be.

Maybe we're talking about different shiny. I can't comb my hair by looking at my reflection in the wood. The wood is smooth --- As the old timers said when I was a kid: "Smoother than the inside of a maiden's thigh."

Joel