All of the online woodworking forums have a steady stream of saw blade discussions. Perhaps this page adds fuel
to the fire. A lot of the discussion extols the virtues of the Forrest WWII blade. I have used Forrest WWII blades for
years on our PM66 and indeed it is an excellent blade. However, most woodworkers compare their new Forrest WWII blade
against their previous blade (which has been dulled by months/years of use) and cannot contain their glee regarding the
Forrest performance. The primary advantage of the Forrest blade is in its sharpening. Most sharpening services do their
final grind/hone at 400 grit. For cabinet making, you really want your blade sharpened and honed to 600 grit. Several
sharpening services (Forrest and Ridge to name two) sharpen/hone to 600 grit. As a test, I sent my Systematic blade
to Forrest for sharpening and it cut as well as the WWII.
For the past five or so years I have used the Forrest WWII combo blade for most operations (crosscut and rip). I use
the Freud rip blade for difficult rip operations (thick lumber). The Forrest WWII is an excellent blade but tends to burn
when ripping some hardwoods (oak and cherry).
Part of the appeal of the Forrest blade is the ultra smooth surface it leaves. This is due in part to its superior
sharpening and the narrow blade/tooth clearance. This narrow clearance appears to actually burnish the wood a bit. If your
table saw is not setup for the blade, if the blade gets a bit dull, the blade gullets do not clear the workpiece, or the
blade has some pitch residue, the burnishing turns to burning.
Consequently, Forrest recommends that you angle your fence (leading to trailing edge) .003" away from the blade and run the blade a bit higher than most woodworkers like, high enough so that the gullets of the blade are fully exposed. I have also found that our Forrest blades tend to dull faster and chip teeth more than any other blade I have used. Everytime I have sent the blade to Forrest for sharpening, they have had to replace chipped teeth. I only use these blades to cut cabinet grade lumber/plywood and melamine. No construction lumber, no nail-filled trees, etc. I have read where woodworkers have gone 2,3, 4 years without sharpening their WWII. All I can say, they must not be cutting much hardwood or melamine.
In October 2002 I purchased two In-line Industries / Ridge Carbide combo blades and have been using them almost exclusively. I like the flat bottom cut of the In-Line Industries blade. It provides a cut virtually as smooth as the Forrest and the flat bottom means I don't have to mount my rip blade to mill narrow dados and box joints. Also, the carbide tips of the In-Line blade are significantly thicker than the Forrest tips, meaning I'll get more sharpenings before the blade is toast. And finally, the blade does not burn lumber on rip cuts since its blade/tooth clearance is slightly greater than the Forrest blade. It is too soon to tell whether the blade will last longer between sharpenings than the Forrest, but I tend to believe it will because they tend to not collect as much pitch. This is important, because pitch leads to heat which is a prime cause of dulling blades.
For difficult rip cuts and resawing, I use one of two Freud LM72, 24 tooth blades. CMT offers a similar blade. Nothing
for the price produces a better glue line cut. They are inexpensive to sharpen and work great as resaw blades. I recommend
that you do not use combo blades for resawing, they just do not clear enough material.
I use a Freud F410 on our Grizzly 1023S. I purchased the blade for about $60 before the price increase. It is an excellent blade, every bit the equal of the Forrest WWII. It is especially good crosscutting melamine.
I use a Freud Dado set. It is not the best, but for the price it does very well. I understand the Ridge and Forrest Dado blades are considerably better, I just don't use them enough to justify the price.
Miter Saw Blades
I use one blade on our Delta miter saw, a Freud LU85. It does a reasonable job. With a proper sharpening the blade should perform as well as the Forrest cutoff blade. I have not sharpened this blade in 10 years and it is used (abused) daily.
Circular Saw Blades
I use a Forrest WWII on our DeWalt 364, used for most of our panel cutting. It works great, but splinters on the backside of panels on crosscuts, especially if the cut is not backed up.
I use a CMT Cutoff blade on our PC 743, which is used for some panel cutting and general all-around cutting. It works okay, but not as well as the Forrest which has been used much more and is need of sharpening.
I use a DeWalt carbide blade on our Skil saw, which is used to rough cut panels with our Jointability jig. It works better than expected for a "throw away" blade.
Here is a list of things to consider to prevent burning during rip operations:
Adjust your rip fence so that it angles slightly away from the blade towards the back. A fence adjusted .003" away from the blade, front to back is typically suggested by Forrest.
Raise the blade so that a full tooth (or more) is exposed. If you still get burning, raise the blade a little higher so
that one-half the depth of the gullets is exposed.
Clean the blade. Pitch buildup can cause havoc with Forrest WWII and other combo blades.
Feed the work at a faster and consistent rate.
Use a rip blade rather than a combo blade when ripping oak, cherry, maple. Freud, Jesada, and CMT sell excellent rip blades for under $40.00.
Use a splitter / riving knife behind the blade to ensure the wood does not close in on the kerf.
Use a feather board to keep the wood up against the fence.
Keep your blades sharp. A number of sharpening services do a great job including Ridge Carbide, Forrest, and Cardinal. For other sharpening services, see our How To Sharpening Page.
Much has been written about the Tenryu, CMT General, and other combination saw blades. Frankly, all of the new crop of combo blades have the right geometry to cut well, given they're sharpened correctly and honed to 600 grit. FWW magazine recently rated the US Saw Oldham and Everlast Astra Wood combo blades very highly and they run about $30-$40 less than a Forrest. You can check out the Everlast blade and the FWW blade chart at: Everlast Saw Blades.
Typically used for ripping (cutting with the grain) softwood and hardwood.
Alternate Top Bevel (ATB)
Typically used for general purpose/combination and and crosscut saw blades
Hi-Alternate Top Bevel (HI-ATB)
Higher top bevel grind and longer teeth than standard ATB blades. Specially designed for cutting Melamine with chip free results.
Triple Chip (TCG)
The 45° Teeth do the cutting and the flat tooth is a raker for chip cleanout. This
blade is used to cut Melamine, Plastics, FormicaŽ, other materials that are subject to chipping.
4 Tooth and Raker (4&1)
Used on General purpose/combination blades. Rips and crosscuts equally well.
Conical Form
Used on scoring blades.
Tooth Angles
Hook Angle +22° to -6°
Rip blades use a hook angle from 20° to 22°. The higher the hook angle, the more agressive the cut. Melamine and plastics use a negative hook blade.
Top Clearance Angle 12° - 15°
This relief angle changes with the style of blade. 12° for soft materials and 15° for harder materials.
1. Top Bevel Angle
2. Radial Side Angle
The steeper the angle the sharper the tooth is and the faster it becomes dull.
Provides for side clearance to prevent burning.
General Information
Kerf ('B')
Plate ('C')
Refers to the largest width of the saw tooth, and is expressed in decimal or millimeters.
Refers to thickness of the steel plate or body of the saw, and is expressed in decimals or millimeters.
Pitch ('P')
Refers to the approximate dimension between 2 teeth.
