Doing some homework on table saw blades and need some advice with
experience.
Most of my cutting on my table saw (10" blade) will be ripping <1"
pine (SPF) and ripping & xcutting plywood veneers (oak, mahogany and
the like). Freud blades conveniently put a chart on each blade
outlining its strengths and weaknesses. BUT... invariably when the
blade is 'excellent' for ripping it is 'fair' for plywood and vice
versa.
What I would like to know... should I buy a good combination blade
biased to RIPPING and sacrifice on PLYWOOD performance or vice versa.
I have used some pretty poor blades in the past that made a horrible
mess of veneer plywoods on the xcut and I don't want to regret my
purchase. Is there a 'do it all blade' or should I just invest in TWO
blades?
Brandt
"brandt" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Is there a 'do it all blade' or should I just invest in TWO
> blades?
>
> Brandt
Two?! I have three blades I use regularly, and a couple more saved for
special purposes. There is a reason that blade manufacturers sell various
blades, other than getting more money out of someones pocket!
Greg
Wes Stewart <n7ws@_arrl.net> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> On Sun, 25 Apr 2004 09:52:34 -0500, "Swingman" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> |"Wes Stewart" wrote in message
> |
> |> Used up 30 minutes of the 30-day trial period. Return to sender.
> |
> |I have two that are rotated between sharpenings and can't fault them for
> |99/9% of the cuts I do. I know of three local cabinet shops that will use
> |nothing else, and one of the most successful furniture/cabinet makers in
> |this area buys five at a time annually at the woodworking show.
> |
> |All belie your _atypical_ experience with the WWII.
>
> I'm sure my experience was atypical---most of them are [g] If there
> is a bad one out there I'll buy it and if there's a bug in software,
> I'll find it. Happens every time.
>
> The as supplied left extension wing on my new Uni was warped.
> Woodcraft ordered me another one. It was worse than the original so I
> took it back. I called Delta and they shipped another one. The box
> came apart during shipping and it had obviously been dropped since one
> corner was bent. So the saw has the original and I figure that's the
> best Delta can do. Life goes on.
>
> Unless they come pick it up, I'm keeping the bent one. Maybe I'll
> mount my D4 to it, that ought to steady it up. [g]
>
> Wes
I had the same experience you had when I got my first WWII at a show.
Called up Forrest and sent it back. The new one that was returned to
me was just fine. I will say that I expected a little more concern
from them when I called, and I had to call them to prompt them to send
it back when the turnaround was over 2 weeks. I think the new blades
from Freud and Dewalt are starting to give them competition.
"Wes Stewart" wrote in message
> Used up 30 minutes of the 30-day trial period. Return to sender.
I have two that are rotated between sharpenings and can't fault them for
99/9% of the cuts I do. I know of three local cabinet shops that will use
nothing else, and one of the most successful furniture/cabinet makers in
this area buys five at a time annually at the woodworking show.
All belie your _atypical_ experience with the WWII.
--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 4/13/04
Brandt...
I like the Freud thin kerfs especially on the saw I know you're thinking
about.. I'd go with a dedicated rip blade plus an 80 tooth crosscut.. No one
blade will do it all well. Also the Freus melamine blade is excellent for
plywood.
Ken in Canada (eh!)
Burlington, ON
"brandt" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Doing some homework on table saw blades and need some advice with
> experience.
>
> Most of my cutting on my table saw (10" blade) will be ripping <1"
> pine (SPF) and ripping & xcutting plywood veneers (oak, mahogany and
> the like). Freud blades conveniently put a chart on each blade
> outlining its strengths and weaknesses. BUT... invariably when the
> blade is 'excellent' for ripping it is 'fair' for plywood and vice
> versa.
>
> What I would like to know... should I buy a good combination blade
> biased to RIPPING and sacrifice on PLYWOOD performance or vice versa.
> I have used some pretty poor blades in the past that made a horrible
> mess of veneer plywoods on the xcut and I don't want to regret my
> purchase. Is there a 'do it all blade' or should I just invest in TWO
> blades?
>
> Brandt
"Doug Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, "Leon"
<[email protected]> wrote:
> >I use the Forrest WWII. It does everything well.
> >
>
> Tried cutting melamine with it yet? Freud's melamine/laminate-cutting
blade
> does a *much* better job on melamine than the WWII does.
Yes, and it did do quite well without chipping.. BUT..... It was a brand
new sharp blade and went slowly. I am sure that over a short time that the
Melamine/laminate -cutting blades will hold up better and not degrade as
quickly. Again, for all around cutting I find that the WWII does everything
well when "Sharp" but "NOT Perfectly" as would a blade made specifically for
a particular cutting operation.
I was answering more to the question of the best "Do IT ALL Blade" that the
OP was asking about.
"Wes Stewart" <n7ws@_arrl.net> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
Snip
> I'd heard this stuff so often I figured I'd try one on my new Unisaw.
> After squandering $1500 on a saw, what's another $100, right?
>
> I ordered one from Coastal Tool, paid extra for 3-day shipping and got
> the blade six days later.
>
> What a disappointment. When I first turned the saw on after
> installing the WW-II I could have sworn that I forgot to tighten the
> arbor nut. I was wrong.
I would find it hard to believe that every Forrest is perfect or arrives in
perfect condition. I do not doubt at all that the blade may have had
something wrong with it or that it could have been damaged during shipping.
In my experience, the WWII reg kerf blade made a thin slot in the insert I
was totally sold after putting it through its paces. Fortunately the second
one also performs just as well.
On Sun, 25 Apr 2004 09:52:34 -0500, "Swingman" <[email protected]> wrote:
|"Wes Stewart" wrote in message
|
|> Used up 30 minutes of the 30-day trial period. Return to sender.
|
|I have two that are rotated between sharpenings and can't fault them for
|99/9% of the cuts I do. I know of three local cabinet shops that will use
|nothing else, and one of the most successful furniture/cabinet makers in
|this area buys five at a time annually at the woodworking show.
|
|All belie your _atypical_ experience with the WWII.
I'm sure my experience was atypical---most of them are [g] If there
is a bad one out there I'll buy it and if there's a bug in software,
I'll find it. Happens every time.
The as supplied left extension wing on my new Uni was warped.
Woodcraft ordered me another one. It was worse than the original so I
took it back. I called Delta and they shipped another one. The box
came apart during shipping and it had obviously been dropped since one
corner was bent. So the saw has the original and I figure that's the
best Delta can do. Life goes on.
Unless they come pick it up, I'm keeping the bent one. Maybe I'll
mount my D4 to it, that ought to steady it up. [g]
Wes
On Sun, 25 Apr 2004 05:26:54 GMT, "Leon"
<[email protected]> wrote:
|I use the Forrest WWII. It does everything well.
I'd heard this stuff so often I figured I'd try one on my new Unisaw.
After squandering $1500 on a saw, what's another $100, right?
I ordered one from Coastal Tool, paid extra for 3-day shipping and got
the blade six days later.
What a disappointment. When I first turned the saw on after
installing the WW-II I could have sworn that I forgot to tighten the
arbor nut. I was wrong.
Elevated the blade through the zero-clearance insert and voila, a new,
wider kerf. I had left the splitter/guard off the saw and had just
screwed the rear attachment bolt partway in for safekeeping. The flat
washer on the bolt was dancing a jig from the vibration and it sounded
like a bearing was going out.
Remove WW-II, reinstall my 12-year old Freud LU84M. Smooth as silk.
Measure static runout @ 0.001".
Reinstall WW-II. Whole lotta shakin' goin' on. Measure static runout
@ 0.007" and mostly in one segment of blade between laser cuts.
Dismount blade and examine laser cuts. Looks like a lot of slag in
the cuts and they are not uniform cut-to-cut. So much for stress
relief.
Used up 30 minutes of the 30-day trial period. Return to sender.
"brandt" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> Most of my cutting on my table saw (10" blade) will be ripping <1"
> pine (SPF) and ripping & xcutting plywood veneers (oak, mahogany and
> the like).
> What I would like to know... should I buy a good combination blade
> biased to RIPPING and sacrifice on PLYWOOD performance or vice versa.
Two blades is best, but I'd ripped with a Freud cross cut.It takes longer
that way though. I now have a good combination blade, but it is not as
good on plywood as the Freid 80T cross cut. Having little chip out is not
acceptable when NONE is easily achievable.
No one blade will suffice for everything.
Ed
[email protected]
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome
I love my Forrest Woodworker II.
When I first got it, I noticed a bit of tearout. Once I used it a bit the
cuts became nearly perfect. I cut a lot of pine, oak, maple, etc. This
blade also does an outstanding job with plywood.
I won't use anything else.
Rob
"brandt" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Doing some homework on table saw blades and need some advice with
> experience.
>
> Most of my cutting on my table saw (10" blade) will be ripping <1"
> pine (SPF) and ripping & xcutting plywood veneers (oak, mahogany and
> the like). Freud blades conveniently put a chart on each blade
> outlining its strengths and weaknesses. BUT... invariably when the
> blade is 'excellent' for ripping it is 'fair' for plywood and vice
> versa.
>
> What I would like to know... should I buy a good combination blade
> biased to RIPPING and sacrifice on PLYWOOD performance or vice versa.
> I have used some pretty poor blades in the past that made a horrible
> mess of veneer plywoods on the xcut and I don't want to regret my
> purchase. Is there a 'do it all blade' or should I just invest in TWO
> blades?
>
> Brandt
"Wes Stewart" wrote in message
> |All belie your _atypical_ experience with the WWII.
>
> I'm sure my experience was atypical---most of them are [g] If there
> is a bad one out there I'll buy it and if there's a bug in software,
> I'll find it. Happens every time.
My sympathies ... and now your experience with the Leigh jig. You sound like
that guy in the comic strips with the cloud following him around. :(
--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 4/13/04
In article <[email protected]>, "Leon" <[email protected]> wrote:
>I use the Forrest WWII. It does everything well.
>
Tried cutting melamine with it yet? Freud's melamine/laminate-cutting blade
does a *much* better job on melamine than the WWII does.
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)
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