Forrest Blades

[DWSmith]

Earlier this year I purchased 40ct thin kerf blade at Woodcraft on a whim. Mainly it was to see if all the hype about Forrest was true. At first the blade performed well. Good cuts but there was a fair amount of splintering on the bottom side of a crosscut as opposed to their advertising claims.

After a fair amount of use I noticed that crosscuts in 24" wide 8/4 hard maple glue-ups were tapered. The end of the crosscut was 1/16" narrower than the start.:BangHead: At first I thought my old saw was to blame and checked everything closely for square and parallel. Everything was okay even though the old Delta contractors saw was on its last legs. I changed blades to a Forrest 40ct standard kerf blade and the cuts were once again perfect. In the process of checking the saw and blade I ruined a good amount of quality wood. The old blade went back to Forrest for sharpening. (Sharpening and return postage was $32.50.)

After using the standard kerf blade for a few weeks I decided to order a new 40ct thin kerf blade direct from Forrest while the old blade was in for sharpening. The new blade arrived on 9/7 and was immediately put to use. The performance was good and the same amount of splintering was present. When I tried to crosscut another 24" wide 8/4 hard maple glue-up yesterday, 2 weeks later, I saw the same result, the crosscut tapered 1/16" to the end. That blade promptly was removed and replaced once again by the standard kerf 40ct blade and the cuts were once again perfect. To add, I checked the new saw over closely and everything checks out square and parallel.

Has anyone else experienced this type of blade drift? BTW I am calling Forrest tomorrow for a RA# so I can send the blade back for credit. A $100.00 blade should not drift!

 

[gator]

I may be wrong which should be no surprise but, I don't use thin kerf blades because it is my belief that they will flex quicker in a binding situation. I think that I would check the alignment of the miter slot to the blade and the fence to the blade. If you are using a miter gauge in doing your crosscut and the miter slot is not parallel with the blade you will be putting some side stress on the blade and thus flexing it. If you are using the fence, the same holds true. I have not found any problem cutting any wood with a full kerf blade on a 1½HP contractors saw so long as the blade is clean and sharp.

George

 

[dino drosas]

David;

I too have had many disappointments using Forrest blades and no longer use them at all. You should consider using TENRYU blades. In my opinion, they are as good as you can buy and are sooo quiet compared to any other. They make many blades so be sure to get the industrial Pro Series. You will not believe you are using the same saw!

Dino

 

[Don Alexander]

seems to me that you are using a thin kerf balde for something it isn't good at doing.

thin kerf blades are always going to be more susceptible to deflection and the harder and or thicker the wood the more likely deflection becomes.

i have no dog in the fight to borrow an old phrase as i do not and never have owned a Forrest blade of any kind (mostly use Freud blades), however i have and do use several thin kerf blades and no matter the brand they deflect easier than a standard kerf blade, if you think about it seems kind of obvious that they would.
as for chipout, a 40 tooth blade is going to show some chipout on a crosscut as thats not enough teeth for smooth crosscutting.

just a friendly reminder that no matter what saw or type of saw being used the proper blade for the task being done always will produce better results ; there is a reason why there are many different types of blades

HTH

 

[Bill Clemmons]

I've used the Forrest WWII blade for quite awhile and can't say that I've noticed any deflection problem. That doesn't mean it isn't there, just that I may not be the most observant person some times. :nah: Of course, I don't often cut 8/4 maple.

Regardless of what blade I'm using, thin kerf or regular, I always use 5" blade stiffeners on both sides of the blade. A very knowledgeable dealer once told me that any good quality blade would cut as well as a Forrest if you used stabilizers. I don't know if that's completely accurate, but they certainly seem to help. If you're not using them, you might try that.

HTH

Bill

 

[mkepke]

Forrest Woodworking "strongly recommends" the use of their blade stiffeners - but they do not caveat the performance of their thin-kerf WW2 versus the regular kerf.

I too would expect a refund for that reason.

BTW, has the OP contacted Forrest directly ?

-Mark

 

[junquecol]

My experience with Forrest blades is that they are OVER, over priced, and over rated. Even though I own two WWII"S (just had to have them), I keep a DeWalt / Delta 7657 on the saw most of the time. My first Forrest blade hit one of those staples that hold a SKU tag on the end of a board, and lost FIVE teeth. Blade had less than 10 minutes of use on it. With other brands of blades, over the years I have literally cut hundreds of those staples with no bad effects. Had Forrest fix and sharpen blade, and they charged for TWO sharpenings. For only a couple bucks more, I could have bought a new WWII. Later, I sent a friends blade with very similar damage to Dynamic, and total cost including sharpening was about $25.

 

[toolferone]

Sorry to easy not to post. We have our Premier Fusion (P410T) out in a thin kerf now. Try it and if you don't like it return it before it is sharpened and we will refund your money.

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Sorry to easy not to post. We have our Premier Fusion (P410T) out in a thin kerf now. Try it and if you don't like it return it before it is sharpened and we will refund your money.

Tom, what is Frued's opinion on using blade stiffeners/stabilizers? Thanks.

Bill

 

[DWSmith]

Spoke with Forrest this morning. In the blade box was an instruction on how to obtain a RA#. The first sentence states, "If for some reason you are not satisfied with your saw blade(s) you must call ###-###-#### before returning it within 30 days of purchase". The lady on the other end wanted me to return the blade for them to "look over" and "discuss" before a refund was made. I stated I wanted a refund not a discussion. Not the easiest return I have ever made. She is supposed to be sending the RA by email today.

Tom, if you want to drop one of those Freud/Bosch blades by for me to test and write a review, I will be happy to publish my opinions. When I worked for Bosch I did just that, many times.

 

[boxxmaker]

I have heard bad things about forest,although I have never used them.I have been a very happy user of freud for more yrs than I can remember and have never had to use the bs with them,even on the thin curfed blades.I can guaranty no blade wil give a more acurate cut.

 

[mlzettl]

I have three WW II blades from Forrest, one being about 20 years old. I have never had any problems with these blades, and have never had any problems with the ones I have had sharpened. On one occasion, I hit a hardened steel awl (don't ask) and chipped numerous teeth. When I sent it for sharpening, they called me to discuss the options. They ended up retoothing the entire blade for less than a new one would have cost. It was like a new blade.

I don't dispute the fact that they have some problems and dissatisfied customers from time to time, every company does. But all in all, I have been happy with their product and service.

I would like to try some other options that are out there, because I think that from what I have read there are a number of manufacturers producing top quality stuff. I have two Freud rip blades that are excellent, and I would highly recommend for example. It's just hard to switch from a brand that one has had good success with just for the fun of it, as none of these blades are what I would call cheap. When I bought my first Forrest, they were head and shoulders above the competition. Now, the playing field is more level.

Matt

 

[toolferone]

Tom, what is Frued's opinion on using blade stiffeners/stabilizers? Thanks.

Bill

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Freud does not recomend blade stifeners with Freud blades.