Create a review for a woodworking tool that you are familiar with (Shopsmith brand or Non-Shopsmith) or just post your opinion on a specific tool. Head to head comparisons welcome too.
Ed in Tampa wrote:Let me go back to you Excaliber blade. Norm of New Yankee Workshop fame used this blade for a short while. I think he found the blade could change widths due to slippage. Also it is hard to set them for an exact width. Lastly they produce a non flat bottom to you dado.
Now as to regular blades. Most people believe you get what you pay for. And to a point that is true. However less honest people have found they can add to the cost just by ad hype. There is a ton of ad hype in the saw blade industry. Many premium blades are exact copies of blades that cost 1/2 the price. However the proof is in the pudding.
I have always had good luck with SS blades. Also since the factory is near me I use Infinity Blades and Router bits. I have the advantage of being able to drive down there and talk to the owner and see what is new.
I tend to resist buying Forrest Blades. I don't think they are worth the name premium.
That all said I have found that most any blade can be improved upon by a good sharpener. I have one that does what I consider an excellent work.. Every blade I have ever taken him has come back noticeably better than when it was brand new.
I look at cut quality, and blade noise and two of the most important factors in picking a blade. Some blades cut terrific but howl like a banshee doing it.
Other blades are quiet but can't cut butter. Also how long will they last is important. Some blades put a spot of carbide on the tip and call it a carbide blade others place a chunk that can be sharpened and resharpened over and over.
Lastly tip wield is important. Some are fantastic and others will throw teeth like there is no tomorrow.
Find a good resharpener and ask him what he recommends.
Just how do you go about finding that good sharpener. I guess you could call around and ask.
For me, I'll just keep sending my blades to "Forrest".
"Making Sawdust Safely" Dusty
Sent from my Dell XPS using Firefox.
I joined the local woodworkers club. They got us invited to the sharpener shop to see how it was all done. We watched them manufacture blades both for tablesaws and for bandsaws.
The owner showed us why some bandsaw blades are really good and a some are really poor.
He opened a couple of new saw blades and put them on his machines to show us just how bad a saw blade was. How he corrected their defects and taught us about the different tooth cuts. He showed us what a good weld job looked like and what a poor weld job looked like.
He spoke openly about the hype on the market and made us a deal. If he ever sharpened a blade and it did not perform better than new he would replace the blade with one of our choosing. I think that is how I tell a good sharpener. Is he willing to stand behind his work or are you just a money cow that he needs to learn how to milk.
idcook wrote:I’m glad ChrisNeilan started his dado blade discussion because the subject of blades has been on my mind a lot lately.
I’ve been eyeing something called the Excaliber, by Craftsman. A double blade that can be variously widened to cut dados (dadoes?) of various widths. However, I’d begun to feel that these likely aren’t the best blades to spend money on.
Of course that has led me to consider blade quality in particular. I probably arrived here thinking all blades offered to market were at least close in quality, but recently learned there’re HUGE differences from one brand to the next.
The rule of thumb seems to be the higher the price the better the blade. I’ve been noting names such as Forrest, Wood Worker II, Freud, etc. All considerably higher-priced than the more familiar names — Craftsman, DeWalt, etc.
Once again I turn to the nabobs of knots for counsel.
What say ye?
Forrest WoodWorker II and Freud Glue line rip blade are my go to blades for nearly everything. I have a 2nd Forrest and a Tenyru for backups. Forrest does my sharpening.
