Forrest WW II - destroyed or salvageable

[Larry Fox]

Last night I was ripping a board with my WW II and hit a piece of metal which did quite a bit of damage to my beloved 40-tooth WW II. It ripped about 5 of the carbide tips off and chipped most of the others. A replacement is already on it's way via Santa. My question, is it worth it to have this one repaired to be used as a spare or should I just trash it?

Stupid $100.00 mistake.

[Mark Singer]

I would say no! By the time Forrest fixes it and ships it and you ship it to them, you will have $50 in a used blade. Often Forrest are on sale and many of the Freud blades are around $40 and they are great! That is what I have been using.

[Mark Rios]

I'd send it to Forrest and see what they say. I wouldn't feel comfortable letting anyone else try a repair of that sort on a different manufacturers blade.

[Bob Vallaster]

...but you're a lucky fellow if you didn't have to pick any of the loose pieces out of your hide.
Forrest can replace teeth and dress the set anew. I don't recall the charge per tooth. You're starting with 5 missing teeth, and the count might rise depending on the meaning of "chipped."
Before you call, you might want to check the blade runout. It too might have suffered from collision with the hidden metal.
The math doesn't look good: (5 missing teeth) + (unknown # chipped beyond repair) + (dress the set) + (correct runout if necessary) + (2 way shipping) = ???
If nothing else, the blade will make a face for a shop clock---instant conversation piece.

Bob

[Ellen Benkin]

Get an estimate from Forrest and then decide

[Larry Fox]

I think you guys have confirmed my suspicion. Gonna trash it. Bob V - I definitely consider myself lucky that I didn't get hit with any of them.

Runout is also an issue that I had considered and even if the teeth were repaired I am not sure that I would not always question it.

Trash bin it goes.

Stupid $100.00 mistake.

[Ken Shoemaker]

Of course, sending it back to them with an explination as to how the damage occured might do two things;
1) Give them a chance to examine the damage and possibly improve the design based on "real world" events, and/or
2) Allow them the opportunity to fix the blade and send it back as a jesture of good will since as a loyal customer you purchased the blade in the first place.

If they don't see it they can't fix it.... Sorry to hear about your mishap... Ken

[Chris Padilla]

At least recycle it or save it for a clock face! :)

[Brad Sperr]

Forrest has a schedule of fees for different services on their website if you want to check it out. On top of the $20.50 sharpening fee, it looks like teeth will be around $3 a pop. This does not include the cost of shipping the blade to Forrest and the $8 charge for them to ship it back. I agree that you should buy a new blade; you could probably get another WWII for around the same price.

[Terre Hooks]

I would let a local, trusted saw shop replace the "missing" teeth, sharpen the whole thing and save it for "rough" lumber.

I wouldn't "trash it".

[Brad Sperr]

I checked the fee schedule again after re-reading your post. It looks like if they have to retip all of the teeth, then they charge you 80% of the retail price of the blade (ouch), not including shipping.

[Cody Colston]

Of course, sending it back to them with an explination as to how the damage occured might do two things;
1) Give them a chance to examine the damage and possibly improve the design based on "real world" events, and/or
2) Allow them the opportunity to fix the blade and send it back as a jesture of good will since as a loyal customer you purchased the blade in the first place.

If they don't see it they can't fix it.... Sorry to hear about your mishap... Ken

I like Ken's idea rather than just chunking it. I'm sure Forrest does a lot of destructive testing to their blades during research but real-world results might help them (and eventually us) develop an improved blade.

[Lee Schierer]

Sounds like you need to invest in a metal detector as an insurance policy for your blades. One of these is less than half the price of a new blade. http://woodworker.com/images/ss/106-748.jpg

[scott spencer]

It's sounding like it won't be cost effective to send it back to Forrest, but perhaps a competent local sharpener or someone like Scott Whiting can breath some life into it for a reasonable cost so you can at least get some use out of it.

If you send it to Scott, it might be a good time to have another blade sharpened...it's not much more to ship two blades than one.

Good luck and give us an update!

[Randal Stevenson]

I know there are multiple grinds on Forrest blades, I was wondering if the chipped teeth, are not bad enough, the grind could be changed, then you only have the five teeth replacement.


Just one more option that would make me at least send it in to them for examination.

[Ken Werner]

I ran a WWII into a sheetrock screw, and the damage was pretty awful. [Doh!!!] I shipped it to Forrest for an estimate, and I could've just about replaced it for the cost, but Forrest said it'd be as good as new.

It cuts well, but not as well as I recall it new. So from my experience, I'd say don't repair a badly damaged blade at Forrest. On the other hand, the blade is good, and isn't in the landfill.

Ken

[Eddie Darby]

I would send it to Forrest for a refurb. What do you have to loose? If they can't bring it back to original cut quality, then you have a blade that can be used as a back-up.

http://www.forrestblades.com/sharpprice.htm

[Roy Wall]

Larry - glad you are only missing a few teeth.....:cool:

If you still want a couple extra blades for back up look to Freud. Last year Mark Singer told me about the freud line and to check Amazon for their specials. I picked up :

2 - Freud LU84R011 10-Inch 50 Tooth ATB

for some really cheap price of $35 and free shipping. Since then I added two more of the Freud 30 tooth rips that were only $28 on sale....

SO the Forrest has been on the shelf for quite some time. These blades are close to the WWII in quality - and to have price ratios of 3 to 1 and 4 to 1 compared to Forrest - well, that's just awesome.

Don't feel bad about the mistake......we've all done em!

[Bruce Wrenn]

I feel your pain. Not only will Forrest charge for the teeth, and sharpening, but extra for having to top grind the teeth. There is nothing magic about the angles on Forrest blades. Last year I lost three teeth on a new Forrest. Not including my shipping cost to them, it cost me $52. My shipping was $8.95. So that means I have over $60 in repairing this blade. While it was out, I started using a DeWalt (now Delta) 7657 blade. The Forrest hasn't gone back on my saw. Last week I chewed through some hidden nails with the 7657. A new one from Amazon was less than a buck more than fixing. Lowes sells the Delta 7657 for $39.99. Try it for thirty days- don't like it take it back for a full refund. Hard to go wrong with that option. There are a lot of other sharpening places that do as good or better than Forrest. As an example, Dynamic Saw charges $8.50 for sharpening a forty tooth blade, and $2.50 per tooth to replace broken teeth. Ridge Carbide is about $13.50 for same sharpening. I can't remember what they charge to replace teeth. Send your blade to Dynamic Saw and let them fix it. It will be a lot less than Forrest. If it doesn't live up to your expectations, just use it as a secondary blade.

[Lee Hingle]

Larry,
I had a similar problem with a WWII blade - 9 chipped teeth. I sent them a check for the sharpening + $3 per tooth for the 9 chipped teeth. They sent me the blade back in about a week with my original check in an envelope asking for a new check - for less money. Seems they gound the chips out without having to replace the teeth.
Sounds like you will only pay for 5 teeth and a sharpening. You may still get a good deal on a new blade on Amazon though and it may not be worth the trouble.
Lee

[Larry Fox]

Update on this. I just talked to a guy at Forrest who suggested that I put it in the circular file. Anyone want it for a clock-face - PM me and it is yours for shipping from 19343.

Stupid $100 mistake.