Forrest Woodworker II not performing

I use a regular kerf WWII, and it cuts beautifully. I don’t have any experience with the thin kerf model, but I can’t believe it would be that bad, unless you just got a lemon.

Keep us posted on what they say. I’m curious as to how it turns out.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

I use regular kerf on the WW2 and I also get very nice cuts as well

I think the Quality Control at Forrest has gone WAY down since the old man dies … now, we’ll see if their Customer Service has survived !!! I’ve heard more complaints about them in the last 6 months than I’ve heard in the last 10 years … let’s hope they’ll make it right.

-- - dabbling in sarcasm is foolish … if you’re not proficient at it, you end up looking stupid … ... ...

Have you checked the run out on the blade? Maybe there is a tooth alignment issue? Like Charlie said,maybe you got a lemon.

-- Don't rollerskate in a buffalo herd

I have a thin kerf WWII and get great cuts with it. Tried a stabilizer, but took it back off as it made no difference at all.

-- -Steve, Seattle

I think it could be a blade alignment problem, which will be worse using a thin kerf blade.

-- Joe

I have the thin kerf WWII and not had any problems with it. I still need to get the stabilizer, but have not seen any wobble or notice any vibration. If Forrest does not have any solution, I agree with Joe that it may be an alignment issue.

As as side note, Forrest has a sharpening service that can get your WWI back to new.

-- Jim, SE Tennessee, "Don't spare the kindling Dear, we have plenty"

Hey guys,
Howie: Yeah, I did check the run out and I”m only getting .003” with the tk WWII. I checked the fk WWI for comparison and I’m getting .002” with that one.

ajosephg: I also checked the alignment of the fence to the blade and it tested out fine. I did that a few times and now I’m just going through the process of resetting the fence to the blade from scratch just to make double sure it’s not that.

I will keep everyone posted on what Forrest says tomorrow.

Tennwood, yeah I’ve been wanting to send the WWI to them, but I just spent all my blade allowance on this new WWII. At some point though I will definitely send in the WWI for rehab.

Strange, but I haven’t been pleased with mine either…mine is full kerf, though. At first, I discovered it was because my fence was slightly misaligned, pinching into the blade. But once I fixed that, it still wants to burn the wood quite a bit. It also lifts thinner boards as I push it through. Now, I have just chalked this up to the nature of a full kerf blade (I’d only used thin kerf Freud blades beforehand), so I just assumed this was what I could expect from it, but now you have me very puzzled.

I think I’ll send mine in as well, with a voiced complaint. It should perform better than it does.

-- jay, www.allaboutastro.com

I don’t know what kind of saw you have, but if you have a cheapo contractor saw (as I do) alignment can be harder to achieve than you might realize.

For several years I THOUGHT I had it aligned within 0.005. Then one day I was playing around, and found that raising or lowering the blade with the blade lock on changes the alignment. So – now I set the blade height, tighten the lock, check the alignment. If it is off, I can change it (plus or minus) just by slightly raising or lowering the blade (1/8 turn or less usually does it) with the lock on. As a result, I try to set blade high enough so that I don’t have to mess with it often.

Before I discovered this I was having a similar problem with my rip blade, but not all of the time. I had it sharpened, same problem. Oddly enough a combination blade made smoother cuts than the rip blade. After I adjusted it as described above, the cut quality is consistently glue line ready.

-- Joe

How much blade are you running proud of the top of the wood
you are cutting with the WWII?

...and also to build on Joseph’s comment: you may have something
going on with your saw at the particular height you are running the
rip blade at.

That’s interesting Joe, thanks for the suggestion, I’ll have to investigate that one. My saw is Ryobi BT3000, granted not the best saw on the market, but it’s highly adjustable (unlike other saws in it’s class and it has a riving knife which I love). The many adjustments required to get it all dialed in is why some people dislike it, but I have tuned it to what I think is a very accurate machine. And it’s tiny motor has a lot of power, I have yet to have a situation where I felt the saw was limiting my ability to do any task, so I’m thoroughly satisfied with it. However…if there is something going on like you mention, then all bets are off. I’ll have a look-see and report back.

Loren, I usually run the saw about 1” to 1 1/4” or so above the work piece. I’ll try at different heights to see if that helps. Thanks.

And to be clear, the cuts aren’t HORRIBLE or anything, they are just not at all what I got from the dull, chipped tooth WWI, so I was expecting at least those same results if not better. Maybe I’m asking too much? I don’t know, but if this is how it’s supposed to cut, then I don’t see what all the rave is about and I definitely would not be gluing any ripped pieces without jointing them first. Certainly not “smooth as sanded” like is advertised.

When those of you who say yours works beautifully, do you mean you’re getting “smooth as sanded” or just “pretty good?” Do you get the glass like cut that I got from the dull WWI?

@MrDan…do you know anyone that you can take your blade and run it on their saw and see what the results are?

-- Don't rollerskate in a buffalo herd

I am not a huge fan of the WWII, I have a thin kerf 40t blade. But I am leaning twards it is your saw. Have you tried with a different blade and get the same reuslts?