"Forrest Custom Woodworker II"

[Phil Winn]

What are the thoughts of the Forrest CUSTOM Woodworker II blade?
I have the standard kerf Woodworker II on my SawStop-and went to the
Forrest homepage to check out ordering another one and to get their mailing address to send my dull WWII to get sharpened(I assume that they do a good job at an OK price, correct?)....when I came accross their Forrest Custom WoodWorker II...I love my WWII for ripping, the cross-cuts are OK+ but not great-What does the Custom WoodWorker II do better? Worse?
Thanks,
Phil
PS: I tried to do a site search and no luck..

[Jim Becker]

Phil, there are a bunch of "custom" WW-II versions (http://forrestblades.com/woodworker_2.htm#custom). I use the 20t ripping version for, um....ripping. It's very aggressive, but cuts thick material like butter.

Read the descriptions of each to see what they are designed to do.

[Roy Wall]

That's a great link Jim!!

Phil - my guess is your thinking of the #6 grind; I think Forrest was promoting it heavily at this years WW shows......it may be more of the standard now.

Charlie Plesums should be able to enlighten us more on the subject:)

[Phil Winn]

Would the Forrest 40T Custom Woodworker II #6 Grind for Near Flat Bottom and Easy Feed Saw Blade be suited for both ripping and cross cutting? Or do I need to buy two different blades-the WWII(plain) for ripping and someting else for cross-cutting? In this two blade case, is the
plain WWII equal to the Custom WWII? For the cross-cutting blade-what do you recommend?
Thanks,
Phil

[scott spencer]

Hi Phil - I've got a standard grind 40T WWII TK, and have used a Ridge Carbide TS2000 TK that's pretty much identical to the Forrest #6 grind. The two blades are so close in performance that it's just about impossible to tell them apart without marking them. They were both pretty comparable in feedrates for ripping too....theoretically the flat bottomed raker should provide more efficient ripping, but in actual use most of us can't tell the difference, other than by looking at the bottom of a groove.

The whole point of a high quality general purpose blade is to provide you with one blade that will do a very good job with most cuts. You shouldn't need two IMO unless you want one for a backup...choosing to use a dedicated ripping blade for ripping and a dedicated crosscutting blade for crosscuts has some merit too, but you'd want to use proprietary blades made for that task for each cut, not general purpose blades. There's merit for that philosophy because a high quality dedicated 60-80T crosscut blade and a 20-24T ripping blade should each do a potentially better job with their respective tasks than a 40T general purpose blade....I say "potentially", because top quality general purpose blades like the Forrest are extremely good, and the slightest drop in quality with the dedicated blade is likely to yield worse results than with the Forrest. The downside of the dedicated blade philosophy is the need to change blades frequently, and of course the need to buy a second blade, although many of us still buy a ripping blade to augment a general purpose blade. HTH.

Hop

[Charlie Plesums]

What are the thoughts of the Forrest CUSTOM Woodworker II blade?
I have the standard kerf Woodworker II ....when I came accross their Forrest Custom WoodWorker II...I love my WWII for ripping, the cross-cuts are OK+ but not great-What does the Custom WoodWorker II do better? Worse?
...

I had used my standard WW II for a couple years, and assumed it must have gradually gotten dull...without my noticing. So I sent it to them with a note to see how bad it really was before sharpening, so I would be able to tell by time if not by performance. They called and said it was fine, why did I send it...something must be wrong. How did I like it. I told them it was great, but wish the kerf had a flatter bottom... I often make a couple cuts with the regular blade for a drawer bottom, for example, rather than getting out the dado or router.

Charles at Forrest told me about the #1 grind - for box joints - perfectly flat bottom, but more chance of rip out without the slice at the edge of the kerf. He also told me about the #6 grind - every 5th tooth is a raker, for flatter bottoms, but with the "ears" still at the edge of the kerf. Just what I wanted... I ordered one, and said go ahead with sharpening the original... I would use it as a spare blade. What I didn't know until much later, the original was sharpened with the #6 grind... apparently they can convert a blade.

When I upgraded my saw, I got another #6 grind, but in a 12 inch blade. So I feel like a rich guy with three custom WW II blades. It is the only type of blade I use, although I do have a scoring unit for cross-cuts in plywood.

When I was at the Dallas woodworking show, the Forrest peddler (who is a dealer, not factory rep) tried to tell me about the "new" Woodworker II that had a raker tooth for flatter kerf and better rip performance. I said, "I know." He said, "how could you... they just came out with this new one." I said "I have three of them." Oh well. I don't think he believed me.


...went to the Forrest homepage to check out ordering another one and to get their mailing address to send my dull WWII to get sharpened(I assume that they do a good job at an OK price, correct?)....
Their sharpening service is great - I have even heard of people sending other blades to get the Forrest cut. By the time you add postage it isn't cheap, but well worth it. I just sent my 12 inch 40 tooth back for sharpening ($20), and they even replaced a tooth (I hadn't noticed the problem, but if it needed it, I was thrilled to have it for $7.)

The Forrest web page now looks like it is really a Forrest web page, but I am not sure since it has to much about shows (handled by dealers) and so little about sharpening. Until recently, it linked to a URL for one of their dealers, despite the Forrest logo and address. Therefore I would call or write to be sure I was dealing directly with Forrest.

[Jim Becker]

Charlie, that is the Forrest factory site. They were hosting directly with WOOD Magazine's WOOD MALL for a long time, but it appears they now have their own site. (And you can tell that by the prices...)

I'm glad you mentioned your satisfaction with the #6 grind. When I eventually need to get my standard WW-II that lives on my saw sharpened, I'll likely ask for that configuration.

Phil, what Scott said, more or less. The WW-II is fine for both rip and cross-cut within reason. I do switch to the dedicated ripping blade for thick materials for better efficiency.

[Roy Wall]

Phil,

Good info from those who know! (that's not me but I'll chime in with a few more cents......)

Since you like the rip performance from your current WWII, and the #6 grind "technically" improves the rip.......this may be a good "resharpening" service to get........I will probably get my WWII resharpened this way - Thanks CHarlie!

You seemed concerned that the CC results your getting from your current blade were "a little less that desired"........so I'm sure a 60-80T blade would solve that problem- when you really need a clean CC!

When we all mill wood to size, imagine how much more we "RIP" than CC! Rails, stiles, legs, stretchers.......whole lot more lineal feet of ripping!---like 5x, or 10x MORE! So, I can see how a 20T rip blade (good point Jim B.) is needed - especially on thick stock ripping.

I guess I haven't helped much....:confused: -- but a perfect solution IS to have all three blades:) :eek:

[Gary Keedwell]

I like to use a dedicated rip and cross cut blade for the simple reason...It forces me to take the blade off for cleaning. Many woodworkers keep a blade on far too long...and the result is inferior cuts due to build-up on the blade's teeth.

PS. I have a friend that sharpens blades on the side, and he tells me stories of blades sent to him ....and after he cleans them, there is no need to sharpen them.

Gary K.

[glenn bradley]

IMHO if you're going to change out blades anyway, use the one you're happy with for ripping and buy a blade made for crosscut work; 60 - 80 teeth. My understanding is that the WWII 40T is promoted as a general service blade that allows you to do a variety of cuts WITHOUT taking the time to change blades. I use a 24 or 30T for ripping and a 60 or 80T for crosscuts depending on material. I have a WWI (standard) on order that I plan to use for 'general' cuts when I'm at that stage of material breakdown.