Forrest Blade on Kapex

[dlu]

I have a Forrest Woodworker blade that used to live on my radial arm saw, when I had a radial arm saw. Would this be a good blade to run on the Kapex? Obviously I'd need to have it bored out to 30 mm.

 

[kevinculle]

The Forrest Chopmaster is a better match to a SCMS than the Woodworker II, there is a version made for the Kapex.

 

[Cheese]

While the Woodworker I blade can be used on a radial arm/mitre saw, as Kevin stated, a ChopMaster is a better/safer blade to use because it has a -5º hook angle compared to the +5º hook angle on the Woodworker I.  A blade with a positive hook angle tries to feed itself into the material...that's not good on a radial arm or mitre saw.

To your question, I have a brand new 10" ChopMaster Signature blade with a 5/8" bore that I wanted to have Forrest rebore to 30 mm to use on my Kapex, however they refused to do that.  [sad]  Their tech guy Tony recommended purchasing the 260mm ChopMaster Signature version for the Kapex instead.

Tony also said that Forrest will not sharpen any Festool saw blades.  [sad]

They're getting kind of picky in their old age... [smile]

 

[dlu]

Thanks, that's helpful. Need to learn more about blade geometries.

 

[ChuckS]

I've used the stock blade that came with the Kapex and have not observed any issues (burn or chip-out) with cross cutting lumber (hard or soft, normally 3" or under in thickness) and ply.

Quick question: What are the main reasons or benefits users looking for a different blade (for cutting wood)?

 

[Cheese]

Quick question: What are the main reasons or benefits users looking for a different blade (for cutting wood)?

In my case, I've always been a Forrest fan and all of my wood cutting blades were Forrest. It was also convenient to just send the blades back to Forrest for sharpening.

However after Forrest declined to rebore the ChopMaster Signature, I just decided to try the Festool blade that came with the Kapex. Years later, I have no reason to switch from the Festool blades, they're every bit as good as the Forrest blades.  [big grin]

I also use Festool blades in my TS, TSC & HKC...again no reason to switch. I now own/use more Festool blades than Forrest blades.  [smile]

 

[mbrusso]

I  second all the comments on the Forrest Chopmaster. It's a work of art and worth the bucks. The cut quality of it is above and beyond anything I've used.