It arrived yesterday. Here’s my thoughts, in chronological order, on the matter.
\nWed, 2:21 pm<\/b>
\nMark came over and handed me the magical package. Woohoo!
\nWed, 2:21:03 pm<\/b>
\nPackage open. Hm, the printing on the side of the blade (FORRESTER 40 tooth… etc) is all blurry. For $100, you’d think they could get it printed decently. Oh well, it’ll all be rubbed of shortly anyway. Damn, those carbide tips are HUGE.
\nWed, 2:23 pm<\/b>
\nHm. It appears they coated the blade with grease. Guess these pants just moved from the “office clothes” pile to the “woodworking clothes” pile. On the plus side, they included a handy booklet on tuning up your table saw. On the minus side, the booklet is now see-through. Did I mention the grease?
\nWed, 8:24 pm<\/b>
\nJust got home, slapped on the blade, and fired it up. Wow, it’s quiet! Much less rattle\/scrape than other blades I’ve used.
\nWed, 8:35 pm<\/b>
\nOh, sweet walnut, parts like butter before my WWII.
\nWed, 8:38 pm<\/b>
\nHm. The cut isn’t quite as clean as I expected. My previous blade (an 80-tooth freud) left a mirror-smooth finish; this one leaves tiny scratches, about 1-2mm spaced, across the entire surface. I guess that’s what you get for fewer teeth, and it is probably good enough for a glue-line, but it’s not quite as pretty as the last one.
\nAfter a few more hours of ripping 5\/4 walnut with this blade, I’m happy to say that it’s delightful and a joy to use, although not quite as miraculous as I had expected.<\/p>\n