Ken Johnson

Last weekend I went to the Wood Works show in York PA and Ridge Carbide had a booth there to show off their table saw blades. I watched the demo and decide to buy one. I didn't expect a huge difference since I already have a nice Oldham blade. However, when I put this thing on my table saw it was like I got a horsepower upgrade. It was like cutting butter with a hot knife. It far exceded my expectations. Perfect smooth, burn-free cuts with no chip-out every time. It even cuts plywood beautifully. You've got to try this blade to believe it.

http://www.ridgecarbidetool.com/prod...f84ed354cc40a1

knotscott

The TS2000 is a reeeeaaally nice general purpose blade. AFAIK, it's made by some folks who used to work for Forrest. It's more similar to the WWII than most of the other top shelf GP blades, and is at least it's equal in performance, but offers considerably larger teeth and they hone to 1200 grit, so it's a bit sharper out of the box. It's also made in the good 'ole USA.

Holbren sells it for ~ $90 w/free shipping....$80 if you use the "SMC10", "woodnet10", or "BT310" discount code that's available to forum members.

Enjoy!!!!

jodiemeglio

Anything else of interest at the show? I had to go to new parents class with the lady and didn't get to make it.

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skymaster

John at Ridge is a great guy and their product is outstanding.

TexasTimbers

That's great news. Wonder if they make a 16" blade? I am not happy with the one I have now.

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Flame Box Elder

Ken Johnson

Yes, there were a lot of great products. Not as many demonstrations as last year though. I really liked the Featherbow product. It is a featherboard but better. I'm hoping to get one for Christmas. If you have been to the show before don't be too bummed about missing it. I'd say it was a bit smaller than previous years and a lot of the same stuff.

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Ken

"What we hope ever to do with ease, we must first learn to do with diligence".
- Samuel Johnson

Ken Johnson

I checked on their website but the biggest blade I saw was 10". It wouldn't hurt to ask them though. www.ridgecarbidetool.com

__________________
Ken

"What we hope ever to do with ease, we must first learn to do with diligence".
- Samuel Johnson

ramon68

When I read about the 10% discount available to forum members in knotscott's post, I ordered a TS2000 from Holbren. Used "woodnet10" as my discount code.

Just one question. Where are these codes referred to on the forum site? If I hadn't read this thread I never would have known they existed.

knotscott

Posts from Holbren owner, Brian Gumpper, have the discount code in his sig line...he goes by "Brian in sunny FL" at WN. He also offers that discount to Sawmillcreek and BT3Central members..."SMC10", "BT310"

bigjoedo

Howdy,

I am looking at both the Ridge Carbide TS 2000 blade, 10 inch, 3/32 thin Kerf and the Forrest WWII. My rudimentary blade knowledge led me to believe that a "Combination blade" needed gullets between groups of teeth help clear out the larger amounts of material generated in ripping.

Looking at both the TS 2000 and Forrest WWII neither has gullets? Also, has anyone used either of these companies sharpening services ? I am leaning toward these 2 because they are American made, very little seems to be made here any longer. Thanks


Joe

knotscott

Hi Joe - All saw blades have gullets, but those with fewer teeth have more space for larger gullets on average....a typical ripping blade will have 20-24 teeth with 20-24 large gullets. There are a whole bunch of parameters that come in to play with blade performance, and that balance of parameters is even more important in the 40 and 50 tooth general purpose blades than most because they're a compromise by design. The 50T "combo" blades you mentioned typically have 10 groupings of 5 teeth each, with a large gullet between the groups, but the gullets between each of the 5 teeth aren't as large as those on the 40T blades on average b/c there's more teeth covering the same size perimeter. I've never found that the typical 50T combination blades cut thicker material any faster than the 40T blades...and when you're getting to the point where one makes much difference over the other when ripping thick material, you should really be switching to a dedicated 24T ripper to spare your motor from the strain and the edge of your good blade from overheating.

My experience has been the most of the better 40T blades rip at least as fast, plus leave a cleaner cut than most of the better 50T blades. Wood Mag made the same observation. My theory is that the leading flat tooth of the 5 tooth grouping actually leaves more pronounced blade marks along the edge. One exception might be the Infinity 50T Combomax Lite, which I found to be cleaner cutting than the Leitz 50T, Tenryu RS25550 50T, Freud LU84011 50T, and DeWalt DW7150PT 50T. Ironically, the tooth configuration of the Infinity deviates a little from the other 50T combo blades b/c their raker is chamfered instead of flat, and they place it in the middle of the 5-tooth group as opposed to leading it. Regardless, these blades are all "good nuff" for general purpose use and will give glueline edges.

With that said, your two choices are both excellent IMHO...subjectively "tops" in their class, and objectively, consistently rated higher than most. American made is a plus IMO, and so is the choice of kerf widths. If I were buying a 40T GP blade today, I'd likely go with the TS2000 because of the larger teeth, unless you get some killer deal on a Forrest. Holbren sells the TS2000 for ~ $80 shipped with the "woodnet10", "SMC10", or "BT310" discount code. One blade that I might consider over either if you need a clean cut in thick materials is the 30T WWII, which cuts nearly as cleanly as the 40T but feeds more easily and handles thicker material better than the 40T or 50T blades.