I have had a Dimar 24 FTB for many years, liked it so much that when I saw Lee Valley had a 50 t Dimar I picked one up, no regrets, amazing blade so far. Have a 40 t Forrester that has been my go to "good" blade? My last Freud blade
a Premier Fusion developed a warp after about a year of low usage, don't see myself ever buy another one of there blades.
Was not aware of the Whiteside connection!

 

As a woodworker who never met a tool he didn't like, I don't want to persuade you not to buy another table saw blade-LOL!
Having said that, I have to confess that I'm puzzled by the wood burning you experienced with the Forrest blades.
I've been using Forrest blades for 20 yrs in my tablesaw with very good results-i.e. no burning. Have had them sharpened twice when I noticed it was harder to push hardwoods past the blade. The company sharpens them for a minimal cost and they work great when returned to you.
Did some research on burning wood, and all articles led to the same conclusion-moving the wood too slowly through the blade. I do remember when I bought the Forrest blades years ago that the salesman said-a) make sure you use them in a tablesaw of sufficient power (I have a 3hp Unisaw), and, if you notice burning while cutting, raise the blade much higher above the wood to eliminate it. Being a "safety minded" woodworker, I was a little concerned about blade height when cutting, and was taught to never raise the blade more than a tooth's dept above the surface being cut. And even at that depth never had burning from the Forrest.
Wanted to share these experiences with you to hopefully help you solve the issue with your current Forrest Blades. I use other blades (e.g. Freud) but always come back to the Forrest as the one that cuts the best.
You might want to start with increasing the feed rate of the wood you're cutting with the Forrest, and see if that solves the problem. Or, revisit whether your riving knife is pushing the wood against the blade, causing the burn.
Hope this helps-but at the end of the day, if you can't solve the issues with the Forrest-go buy some new blades!
Gerry

 

I suspect your riving knife and blade were not playing well with each other.

Good Luck

 

Thanks all,

First; would love to hear if anyone else has Whiteside/Dimar blade experience.

I have a 3HP Grizzly G0651, so plenty of power.

I spent literally hours aligning, testing, realigning the blade, riving knife and fence. I even have this pimp device from Woodpeckers.https://www.woodpeck.com/woodpeckers-saw-gauge-2-0.html

I got it to a point with barely a smidgen of difference from the front to the back of the blade and fence from the same miter slot. i don't see how i could get it any better. Even tried multiple depth gauges to be sure something wasn't funky.

Even with the 20 tooth THIN kerf Forrest rip blade, you have to PUSH, like really push to get it through. I've used that blade on 1 single project, and out of the box had the burning problems. I honestly don't know how i could push any harder.

Then, i throw in this $28 diablo blade, and presto, the saw cuts through it like butter, not hard pushing required either. I did no adjusting of the table or fence to the diablo either, same settings as when the Forrest was in there.

And for what it's worth, laying flat, the Diablo cheapo and the Forrest $110 rip blade, laying flat, are damn close to the same exact kerf.

Its with this i believe my alignment is all good, riving knife too, as no issues with the cheap blade; no burning, feeds nice and fast, i don't have to push hard to where it's scary i'm going to throw my hand right into the blade.

The ONLY thing i can think of; before i got the Grizzly G0651 a couple months ago, for a few years i had been using a 1946 Delta Unisaw, and i had used both these Forrest blades in it. Maybe it could be possible the Unisaw "bent" or made those blades out of whack somehow? Both of these blades in the older Unisaw never ever made me go "wow".

Here is the thing; am i willing to shell out $120 bucks, a third time, so test that theory? It's tough, because their reputation is impeccable, they are in NJ (So am I, and I would rather support local). Maybe i'll reach out to them and see if they'd be willing to take a look at the blades, as right now it's about 8-10 weeks to get a blade from them, depending what you order.

 

Do you have a blade sharpening service nearby? Maybe the old saw was binding and torched the teeth? I had that happen with a wonky aluminum fence. Would shift and pinch the wood and start literally smoking. I took a file to the teeth and fixed it up good enough for a rough work blade(in case nails etc on reclaimed wood), but a sharpening place could do them right.

 

Hrm; yeah, Forrest is actually not that far away from me. I'll reach out to them.

 

Well, I think the cause has to be the fact you have to really push the piece to get it through. That suggests, to me, that the riving knife is either not in line with the teeth, or you have the wrong width riving knife for the blade.

The test would be to remove the riving knife temporarily and do a test rip (carefully, obvs). If it's easy to push the piece through, it's a problem lies with the riving knife.

 

Yep; tested without riving knife, still same result.

unless i'm missing something, throwing that Diablo on there without adjusting anything would indicate riving knife is good.

FWIW these blades did this same behavior on my old saw too.

Just did some panel glue up with cuts of that diablo; they were perfect.

We'll see what Forrest says; i'm at a point in my life that shop time is more precious, and i don't' wanna be chasing saw blades =-P

 

There's you problem trying to spin a American blade on a Chinese saw.

Good Luck

 

Ok, that simplifies things greatly. The Forrest blades are likely dull. It's for sure cheaper to sharpen the them than to buy new blades. But you might look into why the blades got dull. How it was stored, or cleaned, maybe. Cutting wood with a lot of silica, or just dirty wood, etc. For most hobbyists a quality blade like a Forrest won't need to be sharpened very often under normal usage.

 

unless i m missing something, throwing that Diablo on there without adjusting anything would indicate riving knife is good.

- Everett1

All saw blade plates are not the same thickness. Neither are all of the riving knifes. and or splitters. It is likely you have no burning with the Freud, because it is near to, or thicker than the RK. The WWII is evidently thinner than the RK, and you are hanging up on it.

Check with a micrometer, or a caliper the thickness of all 3 items, WWII, Freud, and RK. I and several others are certain that you are going to find out what we are saying.

 

Definitely send the Forrest blades back to them. They should perform flawlessly.
I've got…? Don't really know…probably about 10-15 Dimar blades in the shop among 80-100 others. Mostly big boy blades 14"-16" but there's a few 10" in the mix as well.
Most(all?) are Crosscut and combination blades. For the money, no real complaints at all. They're good solid workhorse blades.
I'm comparing them to the others in the shop….Royce, FS Tool, Leitz, Tenryu, Kanefusa…I'd put them at the bottom of that list, but by no means are they low grade blades.
Dimar also lists 2 other brands, Woodpecker and Nova? I have zero experience with them.

If you're looking for a top notch combination blade(I mean badass) in the 10" range, try out a Tenryu Gold Medal.
As good or better than a Forrest. You WILL smile and say dirty words.

 

There's you problem trying to spin a American blade on a Chinese saw.

Good Luck

- Aj2

To be fair, had the same problems an an ACTUAL made in America saw, my 1946 Delta Unisaw. haha

 

unless i m missing something, throwing that Diablo on there without adjusting anything would indicate riving knife is good.

- Everett1

All saw blade plates are not the same thickness. Neither are all of the riving knifes. and or splitters. It is likely you have no burning with the Freud, because it is near to, or thicker than the RK. The WWII is evidently thinner than the RK, and you are hanging up on it.

Check with a micrometer, or a caliper the thickness of all 3 items, WWII, Freud, and RK. I and several others are certain that you are going to find out what we are saying.

- therealSteveN

Yeah, was thinking that too, but as above, still have the issue without the riving knife AND with the full 1/8" Forrest blade as well.

 

I don't use a riving knife. All my blades are Tenryu. My rips with their Gold Medal blades are glue ready. And my saws are Shopsmiths.

 

I don t use a riving knife. All my blades are Tenryu. My rips with their Gold Medal blades are glue ready. And my saws are Shopsmiths.

- Gene Howe

Wow! That's Brave! I assume your saw doesn't have the option?

I was ripping some hard maple last night, and you could watch it wrap around the riving knife (splitter when guard is on).

So I just ordered the Whiteside Glue Line rip blade. Walmart had the best price with free shipping.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Whiteside-Plus-10-30-T-TCG-5-8-Bore-Glue-Line-Ripping-Blade/734687448

I'll make sure to report back and review it.

Thanks!

Ev

 

I don't have a riving Knife or splitter on my table saw. Anything that's rough or thick unruly wood gets ripped on the bandsaw first.
When a board does make to the tabkesaw it been faced flat planed and jointed. A square edge to a flat face up against the fence.
I don't work with plywood very often.
I used to have a Delta unisaw that had a dip around in the top around the blade. Small cross cuts would get picked up by the blade and explode or fly past my right side. I only got hit twice because I'm pretty quick to move.
I sold that saw and have older Davis and Wells saw.
Check this out I bought the saw from a crazy lady up in the local mountains near me. She used it to cut mdf for some sign business. She had the saw wired so the blade spun backwards. She like it the way it threw dust away from her.
But complained that the blade would come loose.
And we wonder why people cut their fingers off .
My saw is small but will run a 12 inch blade . 4 inch of cut above the table.

Good Luck everyone

 

Love that D&W, Aj. Did you find a second saw top to make the extended outfeed?

 

Yes sir I was able to get a top from Dan in Lynwood same place that made the saw.
I use the back half for a router table I poke the router bits up through the throat plate.
Good Luck

 

The forrest fanboys here amaze me.

Did you even considered the possibility that it might just be the BLADE ? Even forrest makes a bum steer every once in a while. They screw up sharpening too.

Andre had problems with his freud fusion, why weren't all you suggesting he check his saw ?

I've got 40t combo blades from forrest, ridge carbide, the fusion, infinity, and a wizzard from oldham. For me, the ridge carbide is clearly the best cut. The fusion is close behind, but when it's $65 price is considered it's the winner. The forrest brings up the rear with the wizzard. That's my experience.

 

Glad you like the Ridge. But this isn't a matter of a fanbase winning. A brand new big box Diablo blade is going to cut better than a dull Ridge, but that doesn't mean the Diablo DOMINATES the Ridge in QUALITY CUT FACE OFF. After a certain price point, the brand doesn't matter as much as the grind, angle, and technique.

But I guess it's more fun to rep a brand online than help people figure things out.

 

I'm not a rep for anything. I buy what I want and tell it like I see it.

I only mentioned ridge and infinity here because they were not previously talked about before as quality blades on par with the darling forrest. I have noticed the forrest lovers do get touchy every time ridge is mentioned though.

And while you may not find anything I said helpful, perhaps Everrett did by being made aware of other choices of quality blades. It's not as if your suggestion that he should check his machine , twice, was very helpful. In fact it was downright insulting since he told us his knife WAS ALIGNED from the start. Calling his skill into question is condescending. His forrest blade is clearly dull, or warped or both.

As to your "Diablo DOMINATES the Ridge in QUALITY CUT FACE OFF." - that's absurd and misrepresenting what I said.

I did say : for me , on my equipment , and material I cut- the forrest does not produce the best cut out all the premium 40t blades I own. Never did I say , or even suggest a Diablo would win a cut quality inspection. And at the $100 + level, the differences are subtle - and different from user to user based on their setups.

So, it kinda does sound a bit like fan base whining. Forrest is a good blade. IT IS NOT the be all end all , nor does every one that comes from their shop new or sharpened perform to the expectations of their reputation.

 

Forrest Blades 5stars

 

I keep one blade on my saw all year. It does everything I need but truth be told any blade cuts fine on my saw. I also like the chopmaster
The Forrest is the quietest.

12 inch blade on my D&W

 

Calling his skill into question is condescending.
- xedos

Calling people "Forrest fanboys" is also condescending.