Anyone out there had much experience with either of these. I'm getting
a new combination blade and have gotten various opinions from people I
know. Its between the Freud "Cabinet Maker" and the CMT "General".
I'm trrying to stay away from Forrest because of the cost. Also I have
had several people recommend the Dewalt "Woodworker" blade. Any
thoughts?

Thanks but is the Forrest blade really worth the extra cost. Maybe.
Also, whats the wisdom on thin kerf blades. I don't think wood waste
is a viable bonus for most applications. The only upside I think makes
sense is that its less work for the saw but that has been counter by
those that say with a sharp blade it doesn't matter. The down-side
that makes the most sense is that the thin kerf blades have more flex
and vibrations.

Again CMT or Freud?

"BD" wrote in message
oups.com...

Thanks but is the Forrest blade really worth the extra cost.

Yes if your saw is set up to take advantage of the Forrest tollerances. If
your saw is not set up properly the Forrest may not cut any better than a
lesser blade. And the blades that you are considering may not cut better
than a $10 blade. The Forrest blades do stay sharp for a very long time
compared to the carbide blades that I have used in the past. If you go
twice as long between sharpenings the initial cost between the two is soon a
wash.

Maybe.
Also, whats the wisdom on thin kerf blades. I don't think wood waste
is a viable bonus for most applications. The only upside I think makes
sense is that its less work for the saw but that has been counter by
those that say with a sharp blade it doesn't matter. The down-side
that makes the most sense is that the thin kerf blades have more flex
and vibrations.

Your thoughts on thin kerf are correct. I believe the advantages of thin
kerf blades are outweighed by the disadvantages.

"BD" wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks but is the Forrest blade really worth the extra cost. Maybe.
Also, whats the wisdom on thin kerf blades. I don't think wood waste
is a viable bonus for most applications. The only upside I think makes
sense is that its less work for the saw but that has been counter by
those that say with a sharp blade it doesn't matter. The down-side
that makes the most sense is that the thin kerf blades have more flex
and vibrations.

Again CMT or Freud?


No experince with CMT. Freud makes good blades and I use a couple of them.

Consider this also: http://www.infinitytools.com/products.asp?dept=1196

Only real advantage of a thin kerf is less power is needed. If you have a
benchtop saw, it may make a difference on some cuts or thick, hard wood.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

Ba r r y wrote:

On 19 Mar 2006 05:08:22 -0800, "BD" wrote:

Anyone out there had much experience with either of these. I'm getting
a new combination blade and have gotten various opinions from people I
know. Its between the Freud "Cabinet Maker" and the CMT "General".
I'm trrying to stay away from Forrest because of the cost. Also I have
had several people recommend the Dewalt "Woodworker" blade. Any
thoughts?


I've had all of the above, except for the DeWalt. All of my recent
new blades have been Forrest. By shopping around and pouncing on
sales and coupons, I've never paid more than ~ $15-20 more for Forrest
blades over the others.

Past experience tells me I get what I pay for. I just bought an
second 80T Chopmaster for $80, shipped, from Amazon. That's ~$20 more
than the competition, but the quality difference is worth far more
than $20. MY last WWII was $74, shipped, also from Amazon.

FWIW, I've had Forrest sharpen my used CMT and Freud saw blades and
they came back better than new.

I buy lots of CMT router bits, though!

Barry

how much do they charge to sharpen a blade? how long will it take to get my
blade back? I like my Freud blade, but it's getting a little dull and I
hate to drop another $50 or so to get a new one if I could get it sharpend
for a reasonable price.




--
if corn oil comes from corn,
and olive oil comes from olives
where dose baby oil come from?

In article . com,
"BD" wrote:

Anyone out there had much experience with either of these. I'm getting
a new combination blade and have gotten various opinions from people I
know. Its between the Freud "Cabinet Maker" and the CMT "General".
I'm trrying to stay away from Forrest because of the cost. Also I have
had several people recommend the Dewalt "Woodworker" blade. Any
thoughts?

I cut a lot acrylic, 1/2" thick.. and I mean a LOT of it. The stuff is a
bit tricky to cut as the feed rate makes all the difference. Too fast,
you melt the stuff..too slow, you melt the stuff. Based on that
experience, starting some 20 years ago, I have experimented with many
blades. Mostly bought for the purpose of cutting solid surface, I have
tried many on different woods as well.

So, maybe I'm going out on a limb here putting on my NOMEX suit, but
to me, feed rate is the most important facet of proper cutting. You MAY
have the best blade for the job, but then get seriously skewed results
by mucking with the feed rate.

Cutting is all about 3 things (assuming the basics, like adequate power
etc)
A tooth, slices off a piece of material. It therefore stands to reason
that the planar presentation of the tooth be adequately stable in the
spot where it is supposed to do the cut. A stable, accurate disc. Thin
kerf blades suck at this.

The same tooth expels that same, freshly cut piece. That calls for an
adequately large enough gullet to transport the chip to the nether
regions of the shop, preferably to a DC system. Chip removal is very
critical in the over-all picture, being it saw blade or router bit.
Blades with too many teeth, have small gullets, and suck at this.

The same tooth waits for the next time to do the same job a fraction of
a second later. Feed rate. Period.

It is based on these observations, that I do not believe in combination
blades. Ever.

Cross-cut or rip..... and most importantly, a good sharpening service
and they are way harder to find than one might imagine. A true running
blade, ripping some cherry, and just seeing the curls fly, gives me
tremendous pleasure.

r

"Richard Clements" wrote in message

how much do they charge to sharpen a blade? how long will it take to get
my
blade back? I like my Freud blade, but it's getting a little dull and I
hate to drop another $50 or so to get a new one if I could get it sharpend
for a reasonable price.

Check their web site. I send mine to www.ridgecarbidetools.com and pay
about $15 Takes about a week both ways.

"BD" wrote in message
ups.com...
Anyone out there had much experience with either of these. I'm getting
a new combination blade and have gotten various opinions from people I
know. Its between the Freud "Cabinet Maker" and the CMT "General".
I'm trrying to stay away from Forrest because of the cost. Also I have
had several people recommend the Dewalt "Woodworker" blade. Any
thoughts?


I have used all of them and put the Dewalt in a category below the Freud and
CMT. I think that Forrest is the best and also the best value for high-end
work. If you are trying to get repeatable, highly accurate work I would
spend the extra money for the Forrest. If you are not that exacting buy one
of the other blades. I would also look at the Ridge Carbide products.

FWW did a test a couple years back and confirmed what most of us already
believed. The WWII won hands down.

It escapes me now which one, but one of the far less expensive blades
finished second.



"BD" wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks but is the Forrest blade really worth the extra cost. Maybe.
Also, whats the wisdom on thin kerf blades. I don't think wood waste
is a viable bonus for most applications. The only upside I think makes
sense is that its less work for the saw but that has been counter by
those that say with a sharp blade it doesn't matter. The down-side
that makes the most sense is that the thin kerf blades have more flex
and vibrations.

Again CMT or Freud?

I have the CMT and love it. I have not used the other blade you mention so
I can not make a comparison. I do not think you will be disappointed with
the CMT. Produces clean cuts even on my contractors saw .

--
Stoutman
http://www.garagewoodworks.com
(Featuring a NEW look)

Robatoy wrote:
...
I cut a lot acrylic, 1/2" thick.. and I mean a LOT of it. The stuff is a
bit tricky to cut as the feed rate makes all the difference. Too fast,
you melt the stuff..too slow, you melt the stuff. ...

So, maybe I'm going out on a limb here putting on my NOMEX suit, but
to me, feed rate is the most important facet of proper cutting. You MAY
have the best blade for the job, but then get seriously skewed results
by mucking with the feed rate.
...

Good to know.

How about applying a thin coat of mineral oil to the cut line?

I've found that the chips then mostly melt into a softish goop
that is easily peeled off the piece.

--

FF

On Mon, 20 Mar 2006 01:19:22 GMT, "Joe Tylicki" wrote:

FWW did a test a couple years back and confirmed what most of us already
believed. The WWII won hands down.

It escapes me now which one, but one of the far less expensive blades
finished second.


I believe it was the Oldham Signature, with free stiffner/sound reducer. I went out and bought one
based on that article, and it was the best blade I'd used up to that time. I stumbled on a good buy
for a WW-2 and now have that in the saw. There is a difference between the two. The WW-2 gives a
better cut in ply and solid stock on my setup. I'm sending the Oldham in for sharpening, and I
still think it is a good blade.

Regards,
Roy


"BD" wrote in message
roups.com...
Thanks but is the Forrest blade really worth the extra cost. Maybe.
Also, whats the wisdom on thin kerf blades. I don't think wood waste
is a viable bonus for most applications. The only upside I think makes
sense is that its less work for the saw but that has been counter by
those that say with a sharp blade it doesn't matter. The down-side
that makes the most sense is that the thin kerf blades have more flex
and vibrations.

Again CMT or Freud?

Thanks for all the advice. I ended up going with the Forrest wwII and
I'm glad. It was worth the few extra bucks.

For the folks raving about Forrest, here's a tale I heard.

Forrest is a family run company and is running out of generations
interested in staying in the business. So, not too far down the road,
there may no longer be a Forrest, or, at least, not the one you're
used to.


Freud has a blade that leaves a no-further-planing-needed edge. Don't
know how long it'll last w/that fine a cut. I believe it was only
$50.


Renata


On 19 Mar 2006 05:08:22 -0800, "BD" wrote:

Anyone out there had much experience with either of these. I'm getting
a new combination blade and have gotten various opinions from people I
know. Its between the Freud "Cabinet Maker" and the CMT "General".
I'm trrying to stay away from Forrest because of the cost. Also I have
had several people recommend the Dewalt "Woodworker" blade. Any
thoughts?

--
NewsGuy.Com 30Gb $9.95 Carry Forward and On Demand Bandwidth

Renata wrote:
For the folks raving about Forrest, here's a tale I heard.

Forrest is a family run company and is running out of generations
interested in staying in the business. So, not too far down the road,
there may no longer be a Forrest, or, at least, not the one you're
used to.

There's always Ridge. G

On Thu, 23 Mar 2006 13:51:49 GMT, "Leon"
wrote:


"Renata" wrote in message
.. .
For the folks raving about Forrest, here's a tale I heard.

Forrest is a family run company and is running out of generations
interested in staying in the business. So, not too far down the road,
there may no longer be a Forrest, or, at least, not the one you're
used to.


Freud has a blade that leaves a no-further-planing-needed edge. Don't
know how long it'll last w/that fine a cut. I believe it was only
$50.

Well until they do go out, I'll stick with them. I have heard the same
about Porter Cable, Delta, Powermatic some rumors, some not.


Now, I hardly think Porter Cable, Delta and Powermatic are "small,
family run" companies?

Renata
--
NewsGuy.Com 30Gb $9.95 Carry Forward and On Demand Bandwidth