Ridge Carbide TS2000 Crosscut Problems

[Jason Lester]

I'm having a problem with my new blade. It rips really nicely, better than any combination blade I've ever tried. On crosscuts however, it splinters pretty badly unless I raise the blade up much higher than I normally would. Is this just the nature of the way the teeth are ground or does my blade have a problem? I got out my alignment tools and everything is aligned perfectly. This is on a Sawstop PCS and I'm using a zero clearance insert and a zero clearance fence on my crosscut sled. If I only have the blade about 1/2" over the wood, the top and back splinter really bad. It actually makes the top almost unusable. If I raise the blade up to about 1.5-2", the top doesn't splinter as bad but the back is still about the same. I'm comparing it to a Forrest WWII and a Delta 35-7657. Both are much smoother on crosscuts.

Any ideas?

[Kevin Jenness]

I have the same blade and get good results. Since your other blades on the same saw work better and you have checked alignment, I would suspect a problem with the blade, whether runout or some teeth out of line. Have you contacted the manufacturer?

[scott spencer]

I've used all three of those blades (more than one of each actually), and found the TS2000 to be extremely competitive on rips and crosscuts. The flat tooth raker gives a slight disadvantage at the exit of a crosscut in theory, but when sharp and clean I've never noticed it to be remotely a concern. It's possible that something's not right with the grind or the sharpening job. It could also be partly the nature of whatever the wood is. Raising the blade slightly higher should help the tearout of any of these blades, but so will a zero clearance insert. If changing blade height and a ZCI gives good results, I'd let it slide, but it can't hurt to call Ridge Carbide and ask their opinion.

If you really want better crosscuts, your best bet is to switch to a 60T or 80T blade with a higher top bevel angle, like the Duraline or WWI, Infinity 010-060 or Ultrasmooth, Freud LU80, etc.

[Jason Lester]

I talked to the owner last night. He thinks the raker teeth might be too high in comparison to the angled ones. I checked runout on the blade and it is within .0015 all the way around. I'm thinking it's some teeth out of line. The blade is pretty loud when cutting and even vibrates the wood, not smooth at all. I'm sending some sample cuts back with it. I read some reviews and comparisons and everyone seems to love them. I'm hoping I just got a bad one somehow.

Jason

[Wayne Lomman]

If you have vibration and excessive noise, it is a blade problem. This is actually the most important symptom. Get it exchanged. Cheers

[glenn bradley]

I talked to the owner last night. He thinks the raker teeth might be too high in comparison to the angled ones. I checked runout on the blade and it is within .0015 all the way around. I'm thinking it's some teeth out of line. The blade is pretty loud when cutting and even vibrates the wood, not smooth at all. I'm sending some sample cuts back with it. I read some reviews and comparisons and everyone seems to love them. I'm hoping I just got a bad one somehow.

Jason

I'm voting for this. My first experience with a Forrest WWII was poor. According to all I had read this was indeed a disappointment. I had the blade sharpened and it was better but, still not as good as I anticipated a blade at this price point to perform. Years later, looking back, I feel the continued substandard performance was psychological (a personal problem, not a real one). Don't let this happen to you ;-) To this day I have not bought another Forrest cutter having found alternatives during the disappointing period mentioned. Again, my fault, not theirs. Keep an open mind.

[Van Huskey]

I'm voting for this. My first experience with a Forrest WWII was poor. According to all I had read this was indeed a disappointment. I had the blade sharpened and it was better but, still not as good as I anticipated a blade at this price point to perform. Years later, looking back, I feel the continued substandard performance was psychological (a personal problem, not a real one). Don't let this happen to you ;-) To this day I have not bought another Forrest cutter having found alternatives during the disappointing period mentioned. Again, my fault, not theirs. Keep an open mind.

In the end that isn't on you, when a company makes a mistake (they all do) it sometimes sours a new customer for life but that is still their issue. You found quality alternatives (with blades there are many) and so no need to go back to the potential lover that scorned you. However, if this was a cut of your nose to spite your face if Forrest was the best blade without even an equal it might be a different story.

To the topic in general, any time you get a quality blade that does poorly when used for the cuts it is designed for it almost always turns out to be a production issue. Any quality blade manufacturer will take care of it and Ridge is certainly a quality saw shop.

[Jason Lester]

John just called after he opened the box I sent him. He said he could immediately see as soon as he opened the box. He said two of the teeth didn't get ground for some reason. I didn't really inspect each tooth, but that definitely makes sense. I guess those teeth were just ploughing through the wood causing the splintering. He's sending me a replacement. That makes me feel better that there was definitely a problem with it. Great customer service in any event.

Jason

[scott spencer]

John just called after he opened the box I sent him. He said he could immediately see as soon as he opened the box. He said two of the teeth didn't get ground for some reason. I didn't really inspect each tooth, but that definitely makes sense. I guess those teeth were just ploughing through the wood causing the splintering. He's sending me a replacement. That makes me feel better that there was definitely a problem with it. Great customer service in any event.

Jason

Good to hear. Let us know how the new one works.

[Jason Lester]

Got the replacement back today and made a bunch of rip and crosscuts in both maple and cherry. This is more like what I was expecting, very quiet and smooth. I would definitely put it on par with my WWII blade now. They even reimbursed me for the return shipping of the bad one back to them.