Kev Posted October 9, 2020 Share Posted October 9, 2020 As most of you know, I run Forrest dado stacks. I have a 6" and an 8". They're great stacks and both came with these magnetic shims. I was looking for a super close tolerance fit for the verticals on the Chest of Drawers so, broke these out for the first time and really dialed in a great fit! This morning, I was dry fitting the side panels before the big glue up this afternoon and realized that I needed to trim a little off of the side panels. No big deal as I was done with the dado stack set up. Upon pulling the dado stack out, this is what the shims ended up like. I find it hard to believe that a company like Forrest would send one time use shims?? Am I missing something here? Did I do something wrong? Any recommendations for metal shims? Full confession, I haven't done any homework on these shims that came with the stacks or after market replacements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenskye (Bryan) Posted October 9, 2020 Share Posted October 9, 2020 Man I doubt it was anything you did or are 1 time use. I’m sure you have already done this, but would call Forest. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted October 9, 2020 Author Share Posted October 9, 2020 40 minutes ago, Woodenskye (Bryan) said: Man I doubt it was anything you did or are 1 time use. I’m sure you have already done this, but would call Forest. I haven't called them.. Not yet anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted October 9, 2020 Author Share Posted October 9, 2020 Update: I did reach out to Forrest and they're sending a new set of shims. I have asked the followup question to see if this is normal and if I should expect the same with the new shims that they're sending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted October 9, 2020 Author Share Posted October 9, 2020 Update: Kudo's to Forrest's customer service! Very quick to respond! Initially, they told me that the oils they use on their blades when shipping can degrade the shims and that I should be sure to clean the blades thoroughly when they're new. I told him this stack was about 6 months old and that the blades had been cleaned several times but, this was the first time that I needed the shims. He told me that it sounded like the shims were defective and is shipping me 2 sets of new shims on Monday. I'm still not convinced that it's just "defective" shims. As they're a rubberized magnetic type material, I'm leaning more towards a substandard quality which shouldn't be the case with something in this price range. I've ordered some other shims as well and am currently looking into metal shims if I can find any.. For the record, the shims were still in their original plastic and stored in a drawer in my shop. They haven't gone through any temperature swings or been exposed to UV or any chemicals. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Posted October 9, 2020 Share Posted October 9, 2020 That sure seems weird that they would just blow apart like that. First thought that came to my mind is over tightening them to the point they were smashed. But that doesn’t add up either. Must be a defective build on the manufacturer. Glad they are standing by them! I have a metal set that came with my frued set. They seem to get stuck on the tablesaw arbor threads, which makes them a royal pain to get off. I just resort to some pieces of paper with a hole cut in them bigger than the arbor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted October 9, 2020 Author Share Posted October 9, 2020 My last conversation with Forrest, the rep told me that they used to get them from Amana but that it just became cost prohibitive to continue that. I've ordered a different set and I have the new ones coming. I'll do a little testing and see which, if either, I prefer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted October 9, 2020 Share Posted October 9, 2020 1 hour ago, Kev said: My last conversation with Forrest, the rep told me that they used to get them from Amana but that it just became cost prohibitive to continue that. I've ordered a different set and I have the new ones coming. I'll do a little testing and see which, if either, I prefer. The shims that came with my Forrest stack also disintegrated on first use. I had a set of met shims and just switched. The metal shims have a tendency to get caught in the arbor threads, but for me it was the devil you know versus messing with more magnetic shims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted October 9, 2020 Author Share Posted October 9, 2020 13 minutes ago, Bob said: The shims that came with my Forrest stack also disintegrated on first use. I had a set of met shims and just switched. The metal shims have a tendency to get caught in the arbor threads, but for me it was the devil you know versus messing with more magnetic shims. I'd like to find a set of metal ones! Not finding much without buying another stack. As for the arbor size, I wouldn't think it would be terribly expensive to have a machinist open the hole by a couple thousandths to alleviate that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenskye (Bryan) Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 Maybe find a machinist to make a set instead of buying the plastic ones that are available without buying a new stack. Infinity tools has a shin set but they are plastic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted October 13, 2020 Share Posted October 13, 2020 (edited) FWIW I have used my magnetic Forrest shims for years and never had an issue like that. I wonder if its the new supplier... Cost prohibitive? With all due respect its not like they give those dado sets away Edited October 13, 2020 by pkinneb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Posted December 1, 2020 Share Posted December 1, 2020 Did the new set from Forrest hold up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted December 1, 2020 Author Share Posted December 1, 2020 6 hours ago, Jamie said: Did the new set from Forrest hold up? I haven't had the need for them yet. I don't use shims very often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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