Forest Woodworker II blade stuck on the Arbor

[Dave McDonell]

I recently bought a Forrest WWII blade and it will not come off the arbor. I have tried using a rag and turning the blade as I pull it off but I can't get it to budge. I don't want to damage the blade but I do need to use a dado from time to time and I can't get this thing off. Any suggestions?

BTW, I really like the WWII blade. Gives a great cut and is a great general purpose blade.

[scott spencer]

I'd try removing the insert and arbor washer/nut, and give the blade body a few light taps with a mallet near the arbor to see if it frees anything up. Don't tap too hard are you could throw off the alignment.

[Kevin Presutti]

Dave,
Sorry to hear that, how did it go on? You didn't have to hammer it on did you? (LOL couldn't resist). Do you have blade stabliizers? Does your saw have threads all the way to the bearing on the arbor? Sometimes the blade stabilizers become one with the blade after a few heat up and cool down cycles. If the stabilizer is from another manufacturer the tolerances may be just enough different that you don't have that wiggle room to separate one from the other. I would recommend 2 wedges (long and thin) on each side of the blade against the arbor and gently applying pressure to each side if you get to the point where you want to strike it with a hammer, I would use a light dead blow hammer and piece of hardwood spanning the wedges to drive both wedges simultaneously. Remember, gently. Best of luck!

[Howard Acheson]

What kind of saw do you have?

[john bateman]

With the arbor nut loosened, try just turning on the saw briefly. The blade may break free.

[Chris Fournier]

Get a heat gun and warm up the saw blade, shielding the arbor from the heat. Once the blade is pretty warm - say 140 degrees or so I think that you'll find that the blade comes off the arbor quite nicely. Let gentle heat solve this problem and you won't mess up your saw or the blade.

[Dave McDonell]

Get a heat gun and warm up the saw blade, shielding the arbor from the heat. Once the blade is pretty warm - say 140 degrees or so I think that you'll find that the blade comes off the arbor quite nicely. Let gentle heat solve this problem and you won't mess up your saw or the blade.

Will a propane torch work?

[Al Weber]

Probably but I wouldn't do it because of the potential fire hazard with sawdust in the saw. A cheapo hair dryer can probably be had for a few bucks at an outlet store.

[Kent A Bathurst]

What kind of saw do you have?

Very good question. And the followup is: Prior to the WW II, what brand of blade were you running [I assume with no problems mounting and removing]?

Somebody here is out of tolerance, it would seem. I have a $jillion in Forrest blades, with never a single problem, but that doesn't mean one can't pop up from time to time.

[Gary Kman]

I vote for the propane torch to heat and expand the blade before the shaft expands. You could get a -40* head start on the shaft with dry ice from Walmart.

[Lee Schierer]

I would suggest a quick call to Forrest for advice. It's their blade and they will have the best information on how to handle it.

[george wilson]

I think driving thin wedges at 180º from each between the back side of the blade and the arbor gently is the best advice. Heating the blade,especially with a torch could permanently warp it ? Especially the torch approach.

Have you been cutting wood with pitch in it that could have built up on the arbor? Doesn't seem like it could get that tight from that,though. Wonder if the arbor gets just a teeny bit oversize as it approaches the flange. Check that out when you get the blade off,and carefully file it off.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

does the arbor have a flat relief on it for a wrench? if so, I would use a piece of scrap to hold the blade from spinning and then use the wrench to try to pop the arbor loose.

[Gene Waara]

I also recently bought a WW II and had an arbor size issue. I called Forrest customer service and they told me to put sandpaper on a dowel and spin the blade to open up the arbor diameter (it worked). The rep said he had received several calls regarding the arbor size. Check lumberjocks or Woodnet (sorry SMC). There was a recent thread on this very issue. The OP sucessfully removed to blade using thin wedges. Good luck.

[Terry Beadle]

So...... did you get it to come loose?

[Dave McDonell]

Very good question. And the followup is: Prior to the WW II, what brand of blade were you running [I assume with no problems mounting and removing]?

Somebody here is out of tolerance, it would seem. I have a $jillion in Forrest blades, with never a single problem, but that doesn't mean one can't pop up from time to time.

I have a Porter Cable saw that I bought from Lowe's. I have used several different blades and have never had a problem.

[scott spencer]

Is the blade still stuck Dave?

[Dave McDonell]

Not yet. I cut the dados this weekend with 3 passes since they were only a 1/4" and I haven't got to the store to get a heat gun. I think that is my next try.

[mreza Salav]

Not yet. I cut the dados this weekend with 3 passes since they were only a 1/4" and I haven't got to the store to get a heat gun. I think that is my next try.

I think a hair dryer (if you have one at home) would work too. Just set it on high temp and keep it at the blade for a little while.

[Dave McDonell]

I heated the blade for 10 minutes (timed it) and the blade would not budge. I didn't do a good job of shielding the arbor so it's possible I heated both.

What is a good way to shield the arbor?

BTW, I am using a 1000* heat gun I purchased at Ace.

[David Kumm]

Was the blade fitting tight or loose when you installed it? Could it be that it wasn't tightened down and spun on the arbor? If that happens it will kind of weld itself. That happens to shaper cutters that aren't tight but I've never heard of that with saw blades. Sounds like more than a tight fit though. Dave

[Steven Hsieh]

Why dont you post some pictures?

[Dave McDonell]

It was tightened all the way. It was snug going on but I agree with you, this sucker is tight!!!

[Mike Goetzke]

I heated the blade for 10 minutes (timed it) and the blade would not budge. I didn't do a good job of shielding the arbor so it's possible I heated both.

What is a good way to shield the arbor?

BTW, I am using a 1000* heat gun I purchased at Ace.

This isn't the easiest thing to do. Sometimes you can even make it tighter by heating. If you are applying heat only toward the arbor or ID of the blade it will get tighter. Try heating the OD of the blade.

Mike

[Harry Hill]

I am going to stick my neck out on this one and suggest a freeze spray of some type sprayed on both the arbor shaft and the blade hole. I admit I have had no experience on a stuck blade but I will share my reasoning. I was in the USAF working on Avionics system signal malfunctions occurring at high altitudes. The cold temperatures at high altitudes would result in electrical problems where the male and female pins in Cannon plugs would not make a good connection. The cold temperatures would cause the female pin to enlarge and the male pin to shrink. The two pins would then fail to contact one another because their mutual connection had shrunk away from each other. You would need a form of cold spray, not a cold liquid. I don't know if this will work but it makes sense to me from what I had seen in troubleshooting electronics problems. I know this sounds desperate but it might just work. Harry

[Kevin W Johnson]

Cold spray can be had at Radio Shack, for anyone looking for it.