WWII blade ?

[Anthony Yakonick]

Hey, I'm leaning towards a 30t thin kerf for ripping thick squares, how will this blade do on cross cuts?

Anthony

[Todd Burch]

Not as good as a 40 tooth WW2!

[Dominic Greco]

Hey, I'm leaning towards a 30t thin kerf for ripping thick squares, how will this blade do on cross cuts?

Anthony
Like Todd, I use a 40 tooth Forrest Woodworker II cross cut combo and it works very well. I used to have this blade installed on my good old Craftsman 10 Contractor's Tablesaw. It worked great on that. After I got my Unisaw, I installed the WWII on it. It's stayed there ever since. I use it often when cutting up segments for my bowls.

I talked my brother Joe into one. After he got it and tried it out once, he said he was looking for wood to cut. He was amazed at the surface left by this blade. ;)

Just a side note: There was an article in the most recent issue of Wood magazine where the new Dewalt blade was compared to the WWII. While it was half the price, it didn't quite match up to the WWII. I'm paraphrasing, so you should really read the article to get the full story.

[Todd Burch]

I bought a Leitz blade a few weeks ago. It was advertised by the retailer to be just as good as a WWII, but for ony $58.

It wasn't.

I trashed my WWII a month or so ago. I need to order another one (or 2).

[Jim Becker]

Where's your avatar, Anthony? I could have snapped your picture on Sunday for you and "fixed" it... :D

As to your question, the 30t WW-II is a good choice if you need one blade to be relatively versatile for both ripping stock up to about 2" minimal degradation in cross cutting performance. (I've used my 40t version for that, too, with no problem with a slow feed speed) The 30t blade has the same tooth configuration as the 40t version which still slices fibers nicely on the cross cut, but with more space between the teeth, deals with the extra material removal that ripping requires.

But Forrest also has a 20t heavy ripping blade that's really excellent for thick and/or fast ripping. I replaced a damaged Freud ripping blade with one not long ago and I'm really happy with that 20t Forrest cutter! Surprisingly, scoring is minimal and I've even made non-critical cross-cuts with it with pretty amazing results. I've ripped thick stock right up to the maximum blade height with absolutely no problems with this blade.

[Anthony Yakonick]

As Jim knows I'm a turner and I'm looking for some middle ground without a major investment in multiple saw blades.
As for the avatar, if I have to I will but I'd rather not for reasons I won't discuss on the forum.

Anthony

[Ken Salisbury]

I have been a proponent of Forrest blades for longer than I care to remember (purchased my first one in 1991). I have them on my TS, RAS, and 2 Miter Saws. I feel the WWII, 40T, regular kerf is the best all around blade for a TS. I have that blade on my Jet cabinet saw.

Like I have said for years:


"Nothing runs like a Deere, and nothing cuts like a Forrest"

[Dave Avery]

Todd,

Which Leitz do you have? I have the 30T ripping blade, which I use when ripping anything other than 4/4 stock, and it works extremely well. I use a 40T WWII for everything else. Dave.

[mike malone]

I have been a proponent of Forrest blades for longer than I care to remember (purchased my first one in 1991). I have them on my TS, RAS, and 2 Miter Saws. I feel the WWII, 40T,

hi
BTW...has anyone discovered a "best price" retailer for the WW2 blades??
looks like a few of us are in the market.
regards
mike

[Bill Grumbine]

Good morning Anthony. I do not have a Forrest WWII. I have two of them, both 40 tooth thin kerf. The reason I have two is so one can be on the saw while the other is out being sharpened. I have never used a blade that cuts as nice as this one does, crosscut or ripping. I use the table saw for ripping glue joints, because as good as my jointer is, it isn't as good as the TS. The same goes for crosscuts. They are smooth and clean, and tearout is virtually nonexistent.

Bill

[Todd Burch]

Dave, the Leitz blade is a 40 teeth, 1/8" kerf, #WK 850-2. I also have a Leitz blade made for not chipping out thin veneers. It's mounted in the saw right now or I woul have given you the model #. It's a negative rake grind, and there's a BUNCH of teeth. It is excellent.

Todd.

[Jim Becker]

BTW...has anyone discovered a "best price" retailer for the WW2 blades??
looks like a few of us are in the market."Best online price" generally goes to 3D Sales (forrestblades.com), but buying direct also gets you discount coupons for sharpening direct from Forrest (forrest.woodmall.com/). I generally choose the latter as they have given me great service. But 3D's prices at the shows are unbeatable and I'll admit that one of my WW-II blades was purchased that way for "under $90".

[Bob Reilly]

hi
BTW...has anyone discovered a "best price" retailer for the WW2 blades??
looks like a few of us are in the market.
regards
mike


Current best price from 3 d sales is $94.99

[Anthony Yakonick]

I followed Jims advice and ordered a 30t from woodmall $90.90 plus shipping.
Thanks all, Anthony