Replies

1. 
   forestgirl | Apr 12, 2005 07:27pm | #1

   Jerry, it was great to see you there!  Trust me, the Fest was more fun than the show (I went on Friday, and lunch with Dennis and Brian was the highlight of the trip, LOL). 

   I almost feel sorry for Tom, having his shop next door to that restaurant -- the yummy aromas constantly drifting over to make your mouth water and your tummy crave.  Weren't those Cuban beans good?

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
   Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

1. 
   brink | Apr 13, 2005 06:20am | #2

   Hey forestgirl. Thanks for the invite to Toms. I did go the Show on Sunday because I had to stop by Woodcrafters to return a router bit anyway. I bought a 23 gauge pin nailer and some water stones. It was great to meet so many talented people from the NW. Peters portfolio was out of sight and Lens pictures of his work that he posted were great also. Will keep in touch for future functions and emails. Thanks JDB.

1. 
   forestgirl | Apr 13, 2005 05:57pm | #3

   Whoa, I missed Len's pictures!  Where were they??

   I now have an email group called NWWW in my computer.  Will keep you posted!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

2. 
   warrenspahr | Apr 14, 2005 12:53am | #4

   Was this the event where you were going to have the great saw blade "saw off"? If so will the results be posted for all us WW II fans to see? Seriously I would be interested in the results. 

    

   Thanks

   
   

   ---

   Edited 4/13/2005 7:03 pm ET by WARRENSPAHR

1. 
   forestgirl | Apr 14, 2005 03:27am | #5

   Ah, the blade face-off.  Well the big disappointment was that nobody brought a Forrest Woodworker II!  I know at least 2 people there use them, but for various reasons they didn't bring one. 

   The Freud models that were represented were the 50-tooth LU84M combo blade and the "Ultimate Cutoff" LU85R.  Other blades presented were the Forrest Chopmaster (12") and a CMT 24-tooth rip blade.  I brought a Freud 24-tooth, but the pig interrupted us and I never got it on the saw.

   Here's a quote from GregR that he posted at WWA:

   For crosscutting, both Freuds outperformed the Chopmaster on the table saw. The Forrest (12") had a significantly faster feed rate. All the cuts were excellent but the Freud (LU85R) 'polished' the wood (to the point that I'd want to rough it up prior to glueing). It was noted that the chopmaster has negative angled teeth and is optimized for a chopsaw (not a table saw). I was thinking about bringing my Woodworker II blade but it was too dull to make a fair comparison.

   For ripping, the blades were tough to judge. The CMT was a thin kerf blade so the MiniMax's splitter would not work. As a result, we got some burning on a squirrly piece of maple. On the oak it cut w/o any burning but there was still some shifting (causing tooth marks on the cut edges). The Freud combo made an excellent cut with a smooth finish.

   And here's the essence of my posting at WWA (unabashed pride at the performance of the Freud blades, and some commentary on their purposes).

   We both ripped and crosscut with the Freud combo blade. Maybe it's just me, but I really can't imagine a much smoother surface on a rip than the LU84 gave, and the cross-cut (IMHO) was excellent also. All that for $50 The funny thing is, it's not even Freud's head-to-head competition with the FWWII. That would be the F410, which I don't have. It runs $88 or so on-line.

   The LU85 "Ultimate Cutoff" did cause quite a stir. This is not a blade you want to use for routine cut-offs though. It leaves a polished surface that actually shines. I reserve it for cross-cuts on what will be exposed end-grain.  It runs around $70 on-line (see allprotools.com). I also use this blade on thin plywood.  The combo blade (LU84) leaves a fine surface for routine cross-cutting. It's exceptionally smooth, but is not polished. 

   If anyone who was there for the face-off has actually seen rip cuts from a FWWII, I'd like to know how they thought the rip from the Freud combo blade compares. Freud makes a glue-line rip blade too, of course, but I haven't felt the need to buy one yet!

   For those of you who think I'm somewhat possessed with this line of blades, you're right. Mostly because of the combo blade, which I bought because I couldn't afford the FWWII, at half the price, and it turned out to be such a wonderful blade.

   The blade face-off created much more interest than I expected, and I think next year we should put together a complete stable of blades and really go for it.  I'm interested to see what can outperform the LU84.  I felt like a new mom, watching everyone coo over the ripped surface it produced on a stick of maple, LOL!

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

   Edited 4/13/2005 8:34 pm ET by forestgirl

1. 
   warrenspahr | Apr 14, 2005 05:18am | #6

   Thanks for the results Forestgirl. It sounds like you all had a great time. Guess I will have to look at Freud when my 10 year old WWII wears out. Would like to see the WWII work against the other blades. Ah wait till next year.

1. 
   forestgirl | Apr 14, 2005 07:42pm | #7

   Who knows, if I get desperate I may buy one just to have it there "next year."  Too funny.  From whence do you hail?  I don't see a location in your profile?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

1. 
   warrenspahr | Apr 14, 2005 08:13pm | #8

   Western North Carolina.  If it were closer I would get my 10 year old WWII sharpened and join in the fun

   Edited 4/14/2005 1:14 pm ET by WARRENSPAHR

2. 
   forestgirl | Apr 14, 2005 11:52pm | #9

   Ahhhhhh, my family's originating state.  My grandfather was a postman in Greensboro, IIRC.  Spent the sweetest years of my childhood playing on his retirement farm out in the country.  Hence the name forestgirl.  Down a dirt road, some woods, a fishing pond, a few acres of watermelon, corn, beans, grapes, peas, cukes, etc., etc., and grandma, a couple of cats and a pack of hounds.  7th heaven.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)