Forrest Manufacturing INC

[Glenn Clabo]

Well...I guess I'm really sold now. I'm really not into buying the best (paying the most) for something that good enough will do...especially when it comes to hobbies. I was reluctant buyer but Forrest just won me over.

I sprung for my first Forrest product...a Woodworker II a little while ago and just got around to put it on TS a couple of weeks ago. First cut...Kaboom! One of the teeth decided to go somewhere else than around and around. I pulled out the old spy glass and could see it could have possibly been a bad braze...or it could have been damaged before or while I put it on. I also know enough about this stuff to know that stuff happens so I just sent it off to the factory with my credit card info figuring they would fix it and charge me. Wrong...they sent me a replacement no charge in just a few days!

Looks like the ChopMaster may be on the list next.

[Mike Vermeil]

Glenn, I was just about to start a thread on the Forrest WWII I just received.

I'm no woodworking god or anything, but I've been building furniture for over ten years now. I have pretty decent equipment, and have had pretty good results. But in all that time, I don't think I've ever added a tool that was such a profound improvement over it's predesesor as was the Forrest Woodworker II.

I thought I was happy with the Frued combo I had been using for the past few years, but the WWII is in a whole different world. Cuts through everything I've fed it so far like butter. No tear-out, and absolutely no deflection. My Frued blade deflected quite a bit, and would leave boards at different widths when ripping at the same fence setting depending on grain orientation, how much or how little waste stock was left after the cut, etc. The WWII, with all it's heft, seems to be totaly oblivious to what is going on around it. It just cuts, cuts, cuts, and cuts some more. I would even go so far as to say it turns use of the table saw into more of a milling operation than a sawing operation.

Needless to say, I am sold big-time. Barring some earth-shattering event, I can't see myself ever buying a brand of blade beside Forrest, unless there's a type of specialty blade I need that they don't mfg.

[Maurice Ungaro]

I have a WWII regular kerf, and a WWII thin kerf. Love them both. I also bought their blade stiffener for use with the thin kerf, and man, does it even things out! I'm sure I can forsee a Dado King in my future, as well as one of their flat top grinds.


Maurice

[Mike Cutler]

Hmmmm.... It seems we've been down this road before. :rolleyes:
There is one blade maker that I know of that exceeds Forrest. They are somewhat speciality blades, but should you ever get the chance to try the "Everlast" line of blades for a chopsaw, you may never use another blade again. It looks like the miter was done with a brand new "Lion Trimmer", of course the blade is $275.00. :eek:

The Forrest WW II is a great blade however, and nothing can change that fact ;)

[Doug Shepard]

Now you guys have got me curious. I have the Dado King and am very happy with it. My regular blades are Freuds. A 80 tooth for crosscutting and plywood and a 20 or 24 (cant remember off the top of my head) for ripping. They're the models that they market as the 'Ultimate Crosscut' and 'Ultimite Rip' blades. I just change back and forth depending on what I need to cut. Is the WW II great enough (not just good enough) that it would outperform a dedicated cross and rip blade? I'm pretty happy with the results I'm getting now, but wouldn't mind decreasing the amount of blade changes I have to do.

[JayStPeter]

I liked my WWII so much that when my backup blade hit the floor I bought a second.

But, the Chopmaster I just bought isn't as much of a revelation. It's real good, but not amazing. I had an Amana blade that was just as good. I'd like to see what the new Mitermaster blade does, but it is just 2x too much $.

Jay

[Jim Becker]

Since I bought the chopmaster, I'm pretty much an all-Forrest shop...WW-II 40t on the TS 90% of the time, WW-II 20t ripping blade for...ripping, Dado King for...dados and Chopmaster on the CMS. The one Freud blade in my case gets a little lonely sometimes, but them's the breaks!

Seriously, the company has done well by me, too.

[Ken Salisbury]

Another "All Forrest Shop" here - Have them on both miter saws, cabinet saw and radial arm saw - and have had for more than 10 years.


http://www.oldrebelworkshop.com/forrestblade.jpg

[Gary Whitt]

Is the WW II great enough (not just good enough) that it would outperform a dedicated cross and rip blade? I'm pretty happy with the results I'm getting now, but wouldn't mind decreasing the amount of blade changes I have to do.IMHO, no.
Ripping thicker woods needs fewer teeth... 18-24 or so.
If the majority of your cutting is in 3/4 stock, you could probably get by with just a WWII. (I have the thin kerf WWII)
I hate blade changes, too, but for ripping, I put my Freud LM72 back on.

[Jim Becker]

Gary, I've seen many folks comment that the 30t WW-II performs really well for both rip and crosscut in up to about 6/4 material and 8/4 if you slow down a little--and they say it cuts as well as the 40t version except for doing a lot of sheet stock. Personally, I use a 20t WW-II ripping blade for thick stock when I'm doing batches, but frankly, the 40t that's normally on my saw performs great when I only am doing a small operation in thick stock...definitely no incentive to take the time to switch blades.

That all said, I do believe that there is no one blade that "does it all" for all thicknesses of material and that one needs both a GP blade for "most" work and a dedicated ripping blade for best overall results.

[Scott Coffelt]

Thanks to the sale at Amazon (no shipping), I ordered the WWII. I installed it this last weekend and man can that thing cut. It replaced what I thought was a great blade (CMT). No comparison, now that being said I did have the CMT recently sharpened and I am not convinced they did a good job with it. But anywho, I can tell you I will not be buying anything else but a Forrest blade in the future for my TS. I may have to try out the Chopmaster as well.

[Byron Trantham]

I have the Forrest dato-king, 12" miter master on my slider, a 7 1/4" [Hi ATB I think] on my skill saw. Right now I have a Freud panel and rip blades. They will be replaced with a Forrest product. I change blades routinely; I hate it [the changing] but the results are worth it IMHO.