Has anyone tried the new Forrest WWII 48T?

[Dick Strauss]

It looks like it is a 25* ATB blade that is supposed to be better on crosscuts. I suspect that you will lose some ripping performance though. I just found it after seeing Thomas Stephenson's note about the 40T WWII in the "deals" section.

http://www.forrestsawbladesonline.com/product_644_NEW_48_TOOTH_Woodworker_II_For_Even_Cl eaner_Cross_Cuts_Plus.html

[scott spencer]

I haven't tried one yet Dick, but I suspect you're correct...you'll lose some ripping efficiency, but should gain improved performance in ply and crosscuts. It's probably intended to compete more directly with the Infinity Super General and Freud Fusion blades....both of those have 30° Hi-ATB grinds and dual side grinds.

[Ken Shoemaker]

I'm one of the few who do not like the Forrest WWII. I've never had those great cuts everyone talks about. My contractor's saw is tweeked to the max and still not the performance other enjoy. I'll never do that again. Just my opinion.

Ken

[Michael Drew]

I got one for Christmas. I haven’t had much of an opportunity to use it much though. I ripped and crosscut some 4 quarter red oak this weekend (again, not much). This is my first Forest blade. I use Frued fusion blades and was hoping this blade could take the place of the 80 and 40 tooth blades as I grow tired of swapping back and forth between the two. So far I’m impressed. It rips as good as 40T and crosscuts very good. I think the Frued does better, but so far I think I can live with the Forest.

[mreza Salav]

I sold my FWW-II (40 teeth) as I was not that impressed with it. I think it is overly hyped. Got a Freud Fusion. I think it's a better blade (think the teflon coating makes it smoother in operation too).

[scott spencer]

I sold my FWW-II (40 teeth) as I was not that impressed with it. I think it is overly hyped. Got a Freud Fusion. I think it's a better blade (think the teflon coating makes it smoother in operation too).

The teflon coating makes it easier to clean, less prone to rust, easier to find in the rack ;), and possibly less prone to heat build up, but should have little to no impact on performance. The Fusion and Super General should have better crosscut and ply performance due their tooth geometry but give up a little ripping efficiency....there's never a free lunch with any design differences. It's usually a matter of matching the blade characteristics to what your cutting more than one clearly being superior to the other.

[Dick Strauss]

There was a bad batch of WWIIs that were being sold for a little while. There were lots of comments on this board about them.

Ken,
Hopefully you didn't get one of that bad batch. I assume Forrest has solved the problem. If you are not happy with them, try to get Forrest to replace the blade for you. I've heard that a few folks asked for and got replacements from Forrest that were much better.