WWII users: Do you ever take it out?

[Bobby O'Neal]

If the Forrest WWII is your primary blade, I'm curious to know how you use it. Do you ever take it out? Use a separate plywood blade or glue line rip blade? Can you make all of your hardwood cuts with it?

I have a 2hp saw and I'm thinking about getting a thin kerf version.

[Bruce Page]

I change blades often. The WWII spends the most time on the arbor but if I'm doing a lot of cross cutting, ripping, or sheet work I will use the appropriate blade.

[Peter Quinn]

I take mine out all the time. I will put in a dedicated cross cut blade for use with a panel sled if the cuts are critical, a 24 th rip blade for thick or very hard stock, an 80th high ATB blade for delicate veneer plywood. The WWII is pretty good at everything but it isn't the best at anything, so when performance is critical to me I switch it out. When I need a good average cut and will be both ripping and cross cutting in frequent secession it stays in.

[glenn bradley]

IMHO, use the right blade for the job. The WWII gets used for general purpose stuff. Dedicated rip and crosscut blades get used for those tasks. It takes just over a minute to change a blade including ZCI so I really don't see swapping blades to be something to be avoided. If a general purpose blade is meeting your needs 90% of the time, there is no need to change just because someone else does something differently. Too many folks get hung up on what they think something should be or how someone else does their tasks. Use other's methods as a learning tool but, most importantly, do what works for you ;-)

[Chris Rosenberger]

The WWII is on my saw 99% of the time. The only time I change blades is if I am cutting old material that might have metal in it.

As for plywood, Today I used the WWII to rip & cross cut several sheets of birch plywood.

I have never found it to not be the right blade for the task.

[Jim Foster]

Mine is always in... but if I had projects using good veneer plywood, or lots of dedicated ripping or crosscutting, I'd get additional blades.

[Bobby O'Neal]

I suppose my thoughts have been that if it isn't the best at anything, then how do I determine which cuts are not critical? I have a dedicated rip blade and I have a plywood blade that crosscuts hardwoods very well. I would love to have a blade that just lives in the saw except for when I'm making lots of plywood cuts. That could be asking too much of any one blade. And I'm not sure that I could label some cuts as not crucial for quality. I mean, that's why we do this, right? Do it right and do it well or don't do it. And if I could find a way to feel good about cuts that weren't critical, I could just use the cheap Craftsman "Professional" combo blade that my wife bought me because its not terrible.

[david brum]

I bought two WWII blades a few years ago, thinking they'd be the only thing I'd ever use. Now that I do all of my crosscutting on the RAS, the table saw get used primarily for ripping. I now use the WWII blades as glue line rippers. They work OK for that purpose, although not as quick as a real ripping blade.

For crosscutting, I never found the WWII to give satisfactory results without some chip out at the back of the cut. They give a polished cut, but require a sacrificial backer every time. There are much better blades for crosscutting.

I also got lots of tear out when crosscutting plywood. There are much better blades for that, too.

I'm going to continue to use the WWII blades as rippers because I'm too cheap to replace them. If I had it to do again, I'd buy really good, dedicated ripping and crosscut blades.

[ray hampton]

can you crosscut plywood without doing a ripper cut ?

[Kevin Presutti]

"The WWII is pretty good at everything but it isn't the best at anything........."


At $180.00 to $200.00 plus shipping for me, WWII is not really money well spent again for me. I have 2 Industrial Freud ripping blades, 2 Industrial Freud crosscut blades, 1 Industrial Freud SCMS blade that rocks btw with a very decent Bosch backup, plus a half dozen or so of 40-60 tooth assorment when cutting something questionable, but I only have about $225.00 in all 5 blades and always have one sharp. Thinking about a decent combo so as not change blades all the time if it'snot neccesary. But hey I live in the woods and you can't buy anything decent around here, I order from Amazon and in a couple of days I'm in business. There is a fella nearby that does one heck of a job sharpening everything from router bits, to planer knives, replaces the carbide teeth on a saw blade for no more than .50 cents a tooth I think it might even be a quarter, so for living in the sticks that's what works for me.

[david brum]

can you crosscut plywood without doing a ripper cut ?

Well, somewhere inside the plywood you're probably doing a rip cut, but it's the surface that counts, since that's what you'll see. If you're crosscutting plywood with the wrong blade, you're sure to tear the heck out of the outer veneer on the bottom side, where the blade exits. My WWII doesn't cut nearly as cleanly as a Hi ATB plywood blade.

[George Gyulatyan]

At $180.00 to $200.00 plus shipping for me, WWII is not really money well spent again for me.
Those prices seem excessive. I got a 20T WWII ripping blade for around $70 and 30T WWII for aroun $95 or so? http://www.forrestblades.com/woodworker_2.htm lists the 40T 10" blade at $114?

Were these the prices of a pair of them?

[Andrew Kertesz]

I find the WW II does a great job on plywood if you use a ZCI. While I don't do a lot of cutting it is the only blade I own.

[scott spencer]

If the Forrest WWII is your primary blade, I'm curious to know how you use it. Do you ever take it out? Use a separate plywood blade or glue line rip blade? Can you make all of your hardwood cuts with it?

I have a 2hp saw and I'm thinking about getting a thin kerf version.

Yes...for fine crosscuts, fine plywood, and thick rip cuts. I usually use a 60T or 80T Hi-ATB blade for ply and fine crosscuts, and a 20T or 24T FTG ripper for thick ripping....each does a better job in those extremes than the 40T WWII. The glue line rippers don't really buy you much that the 40T WWII can't handle though.

You could probably get by nicely with a pair of blades like the 30T WWII TK and the 60T WWI or similar Infinity 010-060....that's sort like getting a taste of the dedicated blades but without the need to change them out for most general cuts.

[Alan Wright]

I find that 95% of my cuts on the table saw are ripping cuts. I have a chop saw (rigid 12") and a Delta / Rockwell 14" ras within 8 feet of the TS, so if I need to cross cut, I use one of these tools. For that reason, I have a Freud glue line rip blade in my TS. I will change it out for plywood, MDF etc, but since I work with QSWO mostly, I just leave the ripping blade in the saw. I have about 10 other quality TS blades (mostly combination blades), but I love the Freud, and once I figured out that most of my cuts were rip cuts, it makes more sence to just leave the Freud in.

[Neil Brooks]

Every time I DO swap out my WWII (Usually for my Freud ripping blade), I'm very glad I did.

It's almost always when I've got a fair amount of fairly dense, fairly thick stock to cut. My Bosch 4100 really prefers the lower tooth count.

Would a big cabinet saw care ? Dunno.

[Van Huskey]

Combination blades are a compromise for almost every cut, that said excellent combo blades like the WWII and Freud P410 are EXCELLENT at balancing the needs of a hobby woodworker. However, I find myself often switching in my most appropriate blade for a task, it can often actually save me time if the task at hand is ripping due to the faster feed rate gained by say a 20T WWII. In the long run I think the only thing one loses is a little time since over the long haul monetarily having the "best" blade for the task actually balances out, you aren't "wasting" a 40T WWII or P410 when doing heavy ripping and you have less wood waste due to an unacceptable cut in veneered plywood for example. That said when I finish a project and clean up the shop I almost always reinstall one of my go to 40T combos because I already have what ever blde out to clean it so very little loss of time and I am ready to make 90% of cuts if I need/want to get up and running quickly the next time.

[Ben Hatcher]

I do most crosscuting with my RAS which has a Forrest Chopmaster. My WWII stays on my tablesay all the time unless I'm cutting something that might contain metal. If I do another project with melamine, I'll buy a melamine blade. I get too much tear out with the WWII unless I do a scoring cut first. I'm far to lazy to do that every time.

[Kent A Bathurst]

WW II 40t is standard. I have 2, so there is always one to run when the other is being sharpened.

But - I have a 30t and a 20t.......as I go to thicker hardwoods, the tooth count drops.

I also have an 80t for panels.

Oh - and the 80t Chopmaster on the CMS.

I have thought about getting a dedicated crosscut blade, but I would not use it that much, and I am not all that disappointed in how the 40t works. If I am in a situation where I am going to crosscut on the TS, and the tearout is a critical issue, I put a hunk of scrap behind it.

[Don Morris]

Sort of what Scott Spencer said: a rip blade for thick rip cuts, top of line plywood get a plywood blade. Don't change to thin kerf because I don't like the different size for ZCI and other measuring on left tilt TS. Other than that unless I have a specialty wood need, it stays on. I'm happy with the cuts I get. If not, it wouldn't be there.

[Michael Peet]

I usually have a 40-tooth WWII in the saw. It is sufficient for many tasks. I tend to rip thick hardwood on the bandsaw, so I don't have a dedicated TS blade for that. I also use a Forrest crosscut blade (can't remember the tooth count) for critical crosscuts. With a crosscut sled, which has built-in support behind the workpiece, the cuts come out great.

Mike

[John Nesmith]

I very rarely take mine off. Typically only for cutting expensive ply, or ripping thick dense stock.

[Phil Thien]

I never change blades, I run a high-quality 40-tooth GP blade until it is dull, take it off, and switch blades.

I've got a Forrest, I've got Freuds, I've got the yellow DeWalts, I've got a bunch of them.

The difference in cut quality from one high quality blade to the next is negligible, IMHO. Yes, there are subtle differences. None of them amount to anything in terms of my final project.

[Gary Venable]

My WWII is the blade on my table saw 95% of the time. It just does so well I rarely need to change it.

[Jim Becker]

I have two WW-II 40t blades and they live on my saw full time...except when I take them off to use the 20t version for any "serious" ripping. By rights, I should replace them with 12" versions to use the full capacity of my slider, but since they have many sharpenings left, I continue to use them.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I take mine out when I plan to do lots of ripping, put my Glue Line Rip in, or when I's cutting used/salvage/old wood. Then I put a cheaper Freud combo blade in. Don't want to find a nail or rock with the WWII. Plus, it may fire my brake.
Maybe I should get a few of those cheap Delta blades too.

[Neil Brooks]

The difference in cut quality from one high quality blade to the next is negligible, IMHO. Yes, there are subtle differences. None of them amount to anything in terms of my final project.

I guess I'd agree that most decent blades give a very good cut.

But ... what about time ? if you have a lot of thick, hard stock to rip, and choose the TS over the BS, for example, doesn't it go a DARN sight faster using a good rip blade ?

[Phil Thien]

I guess I'd agree that most decent blades give a very good cut.

But ... what about time ? if you have a lot of thick, hard stock to rip, and choose the TS over the BS, for example, doesn't it go a DARN sight faster using a good rip blade ?

I haven't found that to be the case. But my little Ryobi BT3000 saw is so small that I often have to rip in two passes anyhow.

[Doug Colombo]

99.5% of the time, my WWII is on the saw.

[Shawn Pixley]

Like others, WWII on most of the time. Occasionally switch out to Rip or Crosscut. I have a plywood blade that I've used twice.

[Brian Kent]

My WWII's stay on all the time.

[Victor Robinson]

WWII stays on the saw unless I am ripping really rough stuff or pine. I don't have top of the line crosscut blades, and my WWII performs just as well as my "good" crosscut blades. Of course, I recently slammed my Sawstop's brake into my WWII, which has now been sent to Forrest for inspection (evidently the newer Sawstop brakes do not damage teeth as bad as the old ones...what the gentleman at Forrest said). Had to finish up a project with a different 40T, and let's just say I wasn't used to seeing saw marks!

[James Carmichael]

Those prices seem excessive. I got a 20T WWII ripping blade for around $70 and 30T WWII for aroun $95 or so? http://www.forrestblades.com/woodworker_2.htm lists the 40T 10" blade at $114?

Were these the prices of a pair of them?

Hey George,

Is the 20T a 10", and where did you find it?

As is often the case, Glenn is right. I bought a 40T thin kerf WWII for my underpowered contractor saw (it was around $50 on sale at Amazon, IIRC). I thought it was all I needed until I realized the weaker saw needs a more aggresive blade for rip cuts. I've switched to a Freud 24T thin kerf for ripping and the WWII for crosscuts, though I'm looking for a dedicated cross-cut blade since I'm now changing blades, anyway. With a stabilizer, the Freud puts as good a finish on as the Forrest, and doesn't burn.

I used to avoid construction-grade SYP, until figuring out I needed a more aggressive blade with more set and switched to a 24T Avenger that was a $3.99 closeout at Rockler. Since I use the SYP for shop projects, I don't really care about the finish. I'll probably throw it out when it dulls enough to start burning.

If cutting much MDF or laying laminate flooring, I buy a throwaway combo blade from HF. It's cheaper than having a blade sharpened and the finish is good until it dulls. I've found just cross-cutting about 80 SF of laminate flooring will dull any carbide blade.

I hate MDF and go with plywood for just about everything except some jigs and ZCIs. I generally use a DW 7614 TCG for plywood if concerned about the finish.

I'm a man of many blades:-)

[Don Bullock]

Mine is always in... but if I had projects using good veneer plywood, or lots of dedicated ripping or crosscutting, I'd get additional blades.

Same with me.