Time for a New Table Saw Blade?

[Richard Coers]

I'm a huge fan of Forrest blades AND their sharpening service. Tried a big name sharpening service in Chicago once, sent their freshly sharpened work back to Forrest. Won't ever do that again.

[Pat Germain]

I've always had pretty fast turn around, Pat...maybe a week back and forth; a day or two to get there a day or two to be processed and a day or two for shipment back. Since you're in Colorado Springs, it might be an extra day or two for you to both Dynamic Saw and Ridge Carbide.

I also fully support having more than one primary blade. My primary blade is the WW-II, 48T 12" for my slider. I have two. Why? "Stuff happens" in addition to the occasional need for re-sharpening. Keeping the blades clean can help them work better, too. I happened to get a free bonus blade with my new slider and since it's similar in configuration to my WW-II, I put it on to use for awhile as I was doing new shop fitout and it remains in use at the moment. It's either an Italian or German blade...I forget right now. One other thing I do is keep my blade kerf exactly the same across all my blades. That consistency makes working with fixtures a lot easier. I agree with James...if you have a 3hp+ saw, there's no good advantage to a "thin kerf" blade other than the thinner kerf for a special cut. IMHO, of course, and some might disagree.

Thank you, Jim.

[Jacques Gagnon]

My Woodworker II is a thin kerf. I measured and it's a bit wider than the factory riving knife. But maybe not wide enough? My SawStop is also a 3HP.

Pat,

I do not want to be rude but please allow me to ask: what benefit do you expect to gain from using a thin kerf blade?

Your 3hp saw is more than capable of handling full kerf equipment.

Regards,

Jacques

PS: As it turns out Jim Becker posted a reply while I was working on mine. Sorry for the partial duplication.

[Pat Germain]

Pat,

I do not want to be rude but please allow me to ask: what benefit do you expect to gain from using a thin kerf blade?

Your 3hp saw is more than capable of handling full kerf equipment.

Regards,

Jacques

PS: As it turns out Jim Becker posted a reply while I was working on mine. Sorry for the partial duplication.

No problem, Jacques. I bought the thin kerf many years ago when I was using the Craftsman contractor saw. That saw didn't have a lot of power and I was hoping the thin kerf blade might be easier on it. With my 3 HP SawStop, you're right, there's no point in going with a thin kerf.

I just went through all my old saw blades. There's a Vermont American combo blade. I remember buying that because Vermont American used to sponsor New Yankee Workshop. Are they even in business anymore? I also found a Freud laminate/plywood blade and another blade I couldn't identify because all the printing is worn off. I think I bought those back in the 90s when I first got into wordworking. Unfortunately, they're all thin kerf blades.

I'm thinking I need to buy a new Woodworker II or maybe a Ridge Carbide saw blade. Either way, they will be not be thin kerf.

Thanks for the input, everyone.

[Lee Schierer]

I have a full kerf Freud Fusion F80 (item 810) 80 tooth blade that I use on my Craftsman saw and it works extremely well. Nice very smooth cuts. For ripping I use a full kerf Glue Line ripping blade. It also makes excellent cuts.

[Jim Becker]

Pat, I've become fond of Silvers Mill for sourcing Forrest blades if you choose to go that route. They have very good pricing, ship fast and have good customer service in my experience. I originally bought direct, but the last x number of Forrest blades I've purchased have been from them. Regardless of brand you choose, I wouldn't throw away the WW-II Forrest blade you have as it might be handy where you need a thinner kerf for some purpose, but with the 3hp PCS, the regular .125" kerf blades are a better choice for overall cutting, IMHO.

[Pat Germain]

Pat, I've become fond of Silvers Mill for sourcing Forrest blades if you choose to go that route. They have very good pricing, ship fast and have good customer service in my experience. I originally bought direct, but the last x number of Forrest blades I've purchased have been from them. Regardless of brand you choose, I wouldn't throw away the WW-II Forrest blade you have as it might be handy where you need a thinner kerf for some purpose, but with the 3hp PCS, the regular .125" kerf blades are a better choice for overall cutting, IMHO.

Would you recommend this 40 tooth blade?

https://www.sliversmill.com/product_...ening_off.html

[Jim Becker]

Yes, that's exactly the blade I used in 10" form when I had the cabinet saw pre-slider and honestly, continued to use for a number of years before I moved to the 12", 48t version. I had two of them so I could always have a spare and send one out for sharpening while running the other. There are other variations of the blade for special purposes, but that's one of the best general purpose blades you can buy, along with the Ridge Carbide and a few other high end blades. I had mine sharpened 4-5 times over their time with me and they still had quite a few sharpenings left available for the person I sold them to. That's one reason to buy a good blade, regardless of the brand...it may have a higher price tag up front, but over the life, it can be less expensive since sharpening is less costly than replacing. The more times you can sharpen without compromising the blade, the less expensive it is over time.

[Pat Germain]

Yes, that's exactly the blade I used in 10" form when I had the cabinet saw pre-slider and honestly, continued to use for a number of years before I moved to the 12", 48t version. I had two of them so I could always have a spare and send one out for sharpening while running the other. There are other variations of the blade for special purposes, but that's one of the best general purpose blades you can buy, along with the Ridge Carbide and a few other high end blades. I had mine sharpened 4-5 times over their time with me and they still had quite a few sharpenings left available for the person I sold them to. That's one reason to buy a good blade, regardless of the brand...it may have a higher price tag up front, but over the life, it can be less expensive since sharpening is less costly than replacing. The more times you can sharpen without compromising the blade, the less expensive it is over time.

Thank you again, Jim. I think I will pull the trigger on that Forrest blade.

[Frank Pratt]

I'm all for resharpening. hat said...

I went with the Freud Fusion and I have to say, its the best blade I've ever used. If I were you I might send our the WWII for sharpening, get the Freud and give it a try. Truly excellent results on my end.

I have a Premier Fusion combo blade and it is easily the best combo blade I've ever used. If I wrecked it, I'd buy another tomorrow.

[Dave Sabo]

Thank you again, Jim. I think I will pull the trigger on that Forrest blade.

I DO NOT advise you getting a 48t blade for your saw. Jim has a 12” saw - and that makes sense for that size as a combo blade.

40t is your sweet spot.

I have all the big name 40t combos and think the Ridge provides a better cut for me and my saws over the Forrest. I fully believe at this level 10 guys will have ten different opinions on what cuts best for them and all will be correct. It’s totally dependent on your seTup and what you cut.
https://ridgecarbidetool.com/collect...er-combo-blade

All of that said - when $$$ is factored in I have yet to find a better bargain than the Freud Fusion p410 combo. You mentioned earlier that you saw “different” ones. The differences are only size and thin kerf vs. reg.

https://www.freudtools.com/explore/s...eneral-purpose

At half the price of ridge and forrest it’s really difficult to beat for value.

[Jim Becker]

Dave, he linked to the 40T saw. I don't think there was any confusion about that.

[Pat Germain]

As a follow-up, I ordered a standard kirf Forrest Woodworker II from sliversmill.com. When I check out, I saw the blade was being shipped via USPS and I thought, "Oh no!". My local post office is notorious for losing packages and delivering packages to the wrong address. To my surprise, my new blade was in my mailbox only three days later. Wow, I'm a unicorn.

I haven't yet installed the new blade, but it appears I'm a dork because it's the same thickness as my other saw blades. So my previous Woodworker II was not actually a thin kerf. I'm not sure why I thought it was a thin kerf. I bought it and used it many years ago, then put it away for many more years while I was restoring a classic car. I'm having to re-learn a lot of things as I get back into woodworking. But I now have a brand new Woodworker II with a coupon for sharpening. I can now send out my old Woodworker II to Slivers Mill for sharpening without any down time.

Thanks for the help, everyone.

[Jim Becker]

Kewel discovery. So you can send out the original blade for sharpening and have a second to shift to when the one you've been using needs sharpening. Rinse and repeat. I've been happen with Silvers Mill and am glad you got your shipment quickly, too.

[Christopher Charles]

Pat, glad it worked out for you!

Dave or others, I'm considering the Ridge as it would be nice to have a combo blade that has a fairly flat bottom. I have a 8" box joint set, but often it is great to get close with the blade that's on the saw, esp. now that I have a SS and that requires a cartridge swap.

For the TS2000, I know the kerf is not completely flat, but is it noticeably flatter than a WWII?

Many thanks,
Chris