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Thread: Forrest Woodworker blades - worth the money?

  1. #46
    Join Date
    May 2014
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    Alberta
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    For anyone in commercial shops looking for blades check out Dimar or even better FS Tool. Both have solid true plates and massive carbide teeth that can be re-sharpened many times. FS Tool seem to last longer between sharpenings . I plan on replacing any blades that wear out with FS Tool from here on out. I have a Forrest WW 2 in my Contractor saw that has been cutting Cedar on high end decks/exterior finish work for the last few years. I had to see what all the Forrest hype was about. It is a good blade but I have many others that are just as good from other brands. Almost all of my blades are Industrial lines with a few freud's sprinkled in.

  2. #47
    Popular thread. I'll add my 2 cents worth. I have never owned a Forest blade and probably never will. I have Infinity, CMT, DeWalt, and Freud blades. The biggest dud of the group is an Infinity ripping blade with 24 teeth. It doesn't have a flat top design and doesn't rip wood with problematic grain as well as a less sharp Freud. The Infinity 50 tooth all around full kerf blade is on the saw at the moment and has been doing great in 3/4 and 1 inch hardwood for the dresser I'm making. If it starts to struggle on my 1.75hp PCS, a thin kerf Freud will go on.

    I had a freud 50 tooth sharpened by Ridge carbide and it came back better than new. All the reviews I've seen on them were very positive. But I'll probably never buy one of them either. A Freud at half the price does what I need so why spend twice as much?

    I have never purchased a Freud blade that I was unhappy with and I've owned a lot of Freud blades. I hope they come up with a 165mm blade for my DeWalt track saw and I'll probably add another one. The 160mm works but I loose a little depth capability. Their Diablo brand is their cheap line but they cut well and seem to require less hp than most. The teeth are small and seem inconsistent with resharpening but if you do it early before they get damaged you probably could. But resharpening may cost as much as a new Diablo. I've mostly used their professional line blades that cost $50-75 and can be resharpened. But I rarely resharpen them either. It's too easy to just buy another. I have both thin kerf and full kerf blades. Thin kerf in general (like the Diablo but also the thin kerf professional blades) do not cut as long as a full kerf and have smaller teeth less consistent with sharpening (at least in my mind). But saws with little motors like my PCS cut a lot better in problematic wood with a thin kerf. I keep one in both 50 tooth and 24 teeth available. But I've been really happy with a thin kerf 40 tooth Fusion blade too.

    My bottom line is lots of people make good blades but for the money it is hard to beat a Freud. Their line is so large you can find one for just about any need and all the ones I've used have been good blades. I'm not saying that a Ridge or possibly a Forest won't be sharper out of the box but the Freud will cut well and do a lot of work at a high quality level.

  3. #48
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Lancaster, Ohio
    Posts
    1,346
    I liked the Freud blades back in the 80's then tried a Forrest blade and never looked back. All Forrest now. As a hobby shop I can afford to run the blade I am comfortable with with out worrying about what it costs. The blade is cheapest part of the tool.
    Wood, finish materials are way more part of the cost than the saw blades
    Ron

  4. #49
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Toronto Ontario
    Posts
    11,247
    I suggest an FSTools rip blade if you’re ripping stock thicker than 4/4 or doing a lot of ripping.

    They have thick plate and large carbide teeth, they work very well......Rod

  5. #50
    have blades from most companies and they all work. Main thing dont use anyones combo blade if you are ripping, pick the right blade for what you are doing. No time to read this now but Kanafusa should be in some of these pages if it is not.

    Ill trust a full time guy running tons of material on a constant basis for years for his opinion. Andrew used to post all the time on the canadian site and maybe here a bit. He was very impressed with their blades and I know i had been told years before. I asked an older guy top company once and his answer was no one company makes the best blade but rather each have ones that shine. I had asked him about Kanafusa and ill still have to digest that answer as he did not sell them. Everyone salesman is a salesman. If he had a shop or been in the trenches for 30 of 40 years id trust the answer more.

    If they are not in the pages here id look them up for some reviews.

  6. #51
    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Kees View Post
    For anyone in commercial shops looking for blades check out Dimar or even better FS Tool. Both have solid true plates and massive carbide teeth that can be re-sharpened many times. FS Tool seem to last longer between sharpenings . I plan on replacing any blades that wear out with FS Tool from here on out.
    One caveat about full kerf or thick plate blades is it's best to have a cabinet saw with 3 HP or higher motor. Years ago I switched to thin kerf blades for my contractor saw and noticed the saw didn't strain so much.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  7. #52
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Spring Hill FL.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Dwight View Post
    ...The biggest dud of the group is an Infinity ripping blade with 24 teeth. It doesn't have a flat top design and doesn't rip wood with problematic grain as well as a less sharp Freud...
    Hi Jim. That is odd to hear. I have been with Infinity 7 years now and both of our ripping blades should have had a true flat top grind in that time. Feel free to reach out to our customer service team if you are inclined.
    Last edited by Andrew Gibson; 03-23-2021 at 9:13 AM.
    Andrew Gibson
    Program Manger and Resident Instructor
    Florida School Of Woodwork

  8. #53
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Doylestown, PA
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    7,551
    Quote Originally Posted by Julie Moriarty View Post
    One caveat about full kerf or thick plate blades is it's best to have a cabinet saw with 3 HP or higher motor. Years ago I switched to thin kerf blades for my contractor saw and noticed the saw didn't strain so much.
    I think it depends a little on what material. I had a Craftsman 113.xxxxx before my current G1023. The Craftsman was OK with full kerf blades cutting sheet goods and 3/4 solid. The only thicker material I cut with that saw was construction 2X. I'm sure if I were sawing 8/4 oak it would have been a different story.

  9. #54
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Sierra Nevada Mtns (5K feet)
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    267

    Ripping

    Quote Originally Posted by Tyler Bancroft View Post
    I'm looking at buying a Forrest Woodworker II blade to handle nothing but ripping – they're obviously quite pricey (~$175), but I'm willing to spend that if they're worth the money. Is there a better-performing blade in the same price range?
    For general purpose work I use the Forrest Woodworker II blade. For ripping I use the Freud Glue Line Rip blade.

  10. #55
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Dickinson, Texas
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    7,655
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    I changed my saw to 240 volt. I don`t have issues. I have a WWII on my saw.

  11. #56
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Alaska
    Posts
    711
    I have a WW2 46T blade, and their 80T blade for sheet goods. They do a great job. I also have a Ridge Carbide 46T blade, and it is equally as good as the WW2. I have too many blades because it takes so long to get one sharpened, so while one gets shipped out, the other goes on the saw..... I was planning to do a bunch of ripping - 8/4 hard woods, so I ordered a Forest 24T ripping blade, thin kerf. That was last Dec from Silvers Mill. It was on back order (still is, with no idea when Forrest will start making blades again), so I picked up a Freud Glue Line rip blade, regular kerf. The thing works as advertised. Rips super clean, and fast... It does make an irritating humming noise that none of my other blade make though. But based on the Freud's performance, I'm wondering why I've spent so much more on the "premium" blades......

  12. #57
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Manistique, Michigan
    Posts
    1,367
    I use all Freud blades. I haven't seen the need to pay more for a blade when these cut so well.

    I agree with Edwin and Julie on the glue line rip - just got one a month ago. After using this blade I have much less use for a combo blade. I use the rip blade for ripping and the fine cross cut blades for cross cutting. Not sure if I will use the combo blades again.
    Last edited by Rich Aldrich; 04-04-2021 at 11:29 AM.
    Thank you,

    Rich Aldrich

    65 miles SE of Steve Schlumpf.

    "To a pessimist, the glass is half empty; to an optimist, the glass is half full; to an engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be." Unknown author



  13. #58
    There are many good manufacturers not previously mentioned including Leitz, Leuco, Stehle, Popular, Matsushita, etc. and they all make good blades. It's important to use the appropriate design for the material and have tooling maintained by a competent sharpening shop. Sometimes the appropriate blade is a general purpose one - I usually keep a 40 tooth blade on my slider because I cut a variety of materials and don't want to be changing it out constantly, but if I'm ripping a batch of solid wood I will put on a rip blade, veneer gets a high alternate bevel crosscut blade and so on.

  14. #59
    Join Date
    Sep 2020
    Location
    Portland Oregon
    Posts
    83
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    To your specific question, I have a Woodworker II 20T 10" ripping blade. It's a beast and cuts nasty stuff like butter. I rarely use it because the 12" WW-II 48T blades perform well for most of the ripping I do, but do pull out the "beast" if conditions dictate.
    Wait... a 12” rip blade? How are you doing that? Can I actually it on my TS????

    The post below yours indicates the same. I’m a newbie here, so be kind please! 😲 .
    Last edited by Meryl Logue; 04-04-2021 at 2:48 PM.

  15. #60
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    Sep 2020
    Location
    Portland Oregon
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