I wrote a piece awhile back comparing opinions on WWII, Frued and Ridge table saw blades, but this thread gives a little deeper insight into the WWII and asks hard questions.
The thread opens with a woodworker expressing his frustrations with his WWII:
“I got a WW II 40T and just haven’t been happy with the cut. I’ve been cutting alot of red oak and find that the blade leaves 1/8th inch, VERY thin, square, chips on the cross cut, rips are fine. I’ve tried raising and lowering the blade to see if that would help – not.”
28 responses later there are some great suggestions for why he might be getting chip out on his cross cuts with his WWII. There’s also some great discussion about saw blade choices in general.
First off, here are some suggestions from the thread:
1) Try using a zero clearance insert.
2) Try feeding wood more slowly.
3) Raise the blade so that the teeth come down more vertically into the piece.
4) Align blade and miter slot.
5) Put blue painter’s tape along the cut.
6) Give Forrest a call.
7) Remember that red oak is particularly prone to splintering.
8) 40T is too low for cross cutting.
There were a number of folks who suggested that WWII are simply overhyped and too expensive. Here’s a quote or two to give you the gist of it:
“I bought my WWII a few months back when Amazon had them on sale. I don’t know if I was expecting too much but the blade has not lived up to expectations. I felt like I got a lemon.”
“Many folks praise their WWII blades but I have never been satisfied since day one.”
Now, those are more the exception than the rule, and it certainly sounds from the thread like Forrest has excellent customer service. I include these remarks and opinions mostly because I think there is a contingent of folks who believe that the WWII is going to revolutionize their work.
As Creeker Bob Feeser puts it, “I thank the contributors of this post for opening my eyes to the possiblities, instead of thinking the FWWII is the cure all. I have some experimenting to do.”
the wwII lasts longer, not cutting better then others of same quailty. check blade to miter slot
Are you a writer? Do you write for any other blogs? Nicely done, Steven.