Blade Test

[Dr. Deb]

I know, or strongly assume, several of you are using very high end blades (cf., Forrest Woodworker II).

I wonder if you would mind doing a little blade comparison/test for me? The reason I am asking you to do it rather than doing it myself is, its a lot cheaper for you to spend 19.95 +tax than it is for me to plunk down 110.95

+tax.

Harbor Freight has a blade I have been using for a long time and with very good results. Crosscuts are usually, depending on the wood, extremely smooth, the carbide last a long time and the rip cuts are a bit rougher than the crosscuts but still acceptable. At least compared to other blades (none high end) I have used.

Being a HF blade, I know I will never see it in a comparison test and was wondering just how it compared.

The blade is this one.

guess they call it a "Novelty Blade" because its a 50tooth raker, rather than the standard 40tooth.

Deb

[Larry Jaques]

Deb, I've used HF carbide blades almost exclusively for years and they're decent blades. You won't get nearly the life out of them as a real blade , but they're really not that bad, as you've seen. When sharp, they will give you glue-edge smoothness. Most of the tips are C2 or C3, not the newest in high-tech micro-grain stuff you find on expensive blades. I have their 40T blades in 10".

I got spoiled by a Freud Diablo 7-1/4" circ saw blade last year and have been upgrading to them ever since. I haven't yet installed the

12-inch Freud on my miter saw yet, but I bought one for it.

Production shops may get good use from a really expensive and nice blade like the WWII, but I've never found the need to "eat off" a nicely finished board, knowwhatImean,Vern? Both HF and Freud are great value blades for po cheapskates like me.

Your request for a cheapest vs. most expensive blade comparison is a good one. I'm really interested in the results, too. Perhaps they could throw a Freud in there for the mid-priced blade? Maybe one of those rich Texicans would be willing to do it for us, y'think?

-- The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man. -- George Bernard Shaw

[Leon]

Most all "new" carbide blades cut like new. Not many can be resharpened

10~12 times and still cut like new 10+ years later.

Hard to make a direct comparison as I would not waste money on a cheap blade unleaa cutting questionable material.

BUT for 30+ years I have been doing what I call serious woodworking. I bought my first Forrest blade for my cabinet saw in 1999 and have not used another brand since. Yeah the extra expense is worth it.

[tiredofspam]

I'll second that. I have other blades, Craftsman , delta, Freud. I use the 80t Diablo in my miter saw... Or did until my Makita LS1013 took a dive down the stairs.

I use the Craftsman 20T blade to rip lots of wood it's fast and relatively rough. I got 3 blades for 3 bucks at a garage sale. One was steel and I tossed. The other 2 were the 20t and 40t.

And I use 2 other 40T blades for questionable wood or rough work (framing , utility stuff)...

The Freud is great but it is 80T.. The WWII is awesome. There is nothing like it. It cuts smooth as silk.

So you want someone to plunck down $20 so you don't have to buy a good blade. So someone should just throw away $23 (tax) to make you happy?

Unlike Leon, I would buy the blade if I had a need. For me saving my good blades for good work is important. Deb, do you live in Cali????

[Leon]

Hey I did qualify" unless using questionable material" LOL. I try to never use questionable material. I consider questionable material as wood which a customer or neighbor brings for me to cut.

Now having said that and to go with my previous comment, the condition of the saw will have as much to do with the quality of the cut as the blade will. Both have to be in top notch condition. Several have commented that after buying and using a Forrest that they see no appreciable difference. I can understand that if their saw is not of the same quality as the blade.

So if your saw is a budget model you may be better served with blades that you feel are doing a good job.

The biggest difference I found using a top quality blade was that I was doing a lot less sanding to remove tooth marks than I previously had with cheaper blades.

[John Grossbohlin]

If you are actually going to do woodworking, and not just collect a bunch of tools in a shop, it's one of those "cry once" things. I go long periods between sharpenings and know I'll get a decent cut. I cannot say the same for blades like the "came with the saw" Delta combination blades and other low end blades that I encountered in the past.

I do use the "came with the saw" blades on the bench top saw for occasional carpentry work but generally have a WWII on the cabinet saw and the appropriate Forrest blade on the CMS. Exceptions are times when I'm doing a lot of ripping of surfaced wood I put in a Freud rip blade (it cuts faster and clean enough) or a dado blade.

That said, my bandsaw has gotten a lot of use for ripping solid woods over the past six months as I've been using rough cut 8/4" maple and 2" pine and it is safer and faster than the cabinet saw. After surfacing the boards hit the cabinet saw...

John

[tiredofspam]

For me sanding removes the polish that the WWII leaves on endgrain. I think sanding with 220 is rougher than the WWII finish.

For ripping the finish is outstanding. But I usually touch up all glue lines with my hand plane JOINTER or JACK. I like a sprung joint. Not a flat one.

[John Shear]

I started out with Freud and they were pretty good. In 1999 I followed recommendations of others on the newsgroup and bought my first forrest WWII. There was a noticeable difference in how it cut cleaner and faster in all woods especially plywood. Earlier this year I noticed it starting to burn edges and splinter plywood so I had it sharpened (first time in 13 years). I'm amazed again at the quality of this blade. Not to be ignored is the tolerance to which this blade is made. It's so close to being perfectly flat I can align my contractor saw to within .002 and not need a special flat plate or similar accessory. If you amortize the cost of the blade over the rest of your life, consider the actual cost per year - it's cheap and you'll never regret it. That's the way I look at purchases. The only think I'd do different is get a custom #6 grind for a flatter cut. Btw, I'm an avid hobbyist just making projects for family and close friends in my free time and when not fishing. I do not do this everyday or as a business. Though, with my girls nearing the end of high school I am getting much more free time to get into more serious projects soon. If you're interested in a really good blade for a little less money, I've heard a lots or really good things about Infinity blades.

John S.

[Leon]

John about 18 months ago I sent my oldest Forrest WWII in for sharpening and had them put a flat grind on it. ;~)

Works great for flat bottom groves.

I have two other WWII's, one for use and the other to swap out when I send the other to Forrest to be resharpened. Then there is the Forrest Dado King set...

[Larry Blanchard]

I don't have a WWII, but I've seen cuts made with a new one. I bought a Freud Fusion blade and it's gives cuts just as smooth. Of course, it's pretty much in the same price range. My only complaint is that the Fusion is an ATB grind, not an ATBR.

[Steve Barker]

you all have sparked my interest in these blades. Just wondering who do you send it to for sharpening and how much does that normally cost?

thanks

[Dr. Deb]

No, fortunately. I have retired and live in Alabama, where the taxes are low and living is easy. :-)

Deb

[John Shear]

The Forrest website says $21 to sharpen a 40T 10" blade. But I just looked back through my checking acct and see they charged $38. I need to find my invoice to find the details of what they did... Forrest blades come in a nice UPS-friendly cardboard package that you can use to ship it back in. Save the packaging!

John S.

[John Shear]

Btw, Mine was out for 2 weeks for sharpening. So I was stuck with the "beater" Freud for a while. I probably should get that one sharpened too as it has been through some abuse! Geez, I also have planer blades and chisels in need of sharpening. I'm neglecting my regular maintenance duties...

John S.

[tiredofspam]

I'm in need of maintenance on my planer. I have a dewalt planer 2 blade.. The roller has started giving me trouble feeding. I cleaned it with mineral spirits and still a problem.. I'm thinking time to replace the rollers... Anyone here done it??

Small job? Big job?

It's about 12 years old. Still cuts cleanly.

[Lew Hodgett]

--------------------------- Talk to DeWalt tech service.

Good people.

BTDT

Lew