Forrest blades

[Steven Triggs]

Does anyone have any first-hand experience comparing the 30-tooth and 40-tooth WoodWorker II 10" blades? I know that in theory, the 30-tooth would be faster for ripping, and that the 40-tooth would produce a cleaner cut. I'd like to hear from anyone that has actually used both and can provide real world relative pros and cons of the two blades.

Thanks so much!

[scott spencer]

Hi Steven - I have the 3/32" TK version of both WWIIs that get used on a 1-3/4hp hybrid. Both are terrific blades for general purpose work, which by their nature, are versatile by way of offering very good performance on a wide variety of tasks without the need to change blades. The most notable difference between the two is feedrate, which pretty much dictates how the blade performs in thick materials. The good news is that the cut quality between the two blades is nearly indistinguishable. The 30T gives up very little in cut quality and easily provides glue ready edges. It hogs through thick material at a similar pace as a decent 24T TK ripper, but leaves a much cleaner cut.

For critical exposed edges, a good 80T crosscut blade leaves a cleaner cut for sure, but the 30T WWII is "good nuff" on a wide range of cuts IMHO. It seems ideal for someone who doesn't have a 3+ horsepower saw, or who works alot of thick materials, or who needs a faster feedrate while maintain good cut quality, or who wants one blade for the widest range of cuts. After a few minutes of use, I was wondering why the 30T isn't the more popular of the two WWIIs, it's just effortless in most materials.

There's more detail in my epinions review of the 30T (http://www.epinions.com/content_384567447172) if you're interested, and here's how it stacked up in a blade comparison chart (http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=61724&highlight=blade+turns) that I updated last month. BTW...the WWII 30T TK is on sale for $59.99 shipped...:)

WWII 40T review (http://www.epinions.com/content_145552674436)

[Jim Becker]

I don't own the 30t, but have spoken to people who do. In general, they indicated no major difference between it and the 40 but with a little better ripping action in thicker stock. (I use a WW-II 20t ripping blade for, well...ripping thick stock...and other rough cutting duties)

[Steven Triggs]

Scott,
I read through your links. Thanks for all the information. If I processed what you said, in general you prefer the 30T over the 40T because the rip speed benefit is far greater than the quality loss. However, you mentioned several times the power of the saw. I'll be putting this on a 3HP cabinet saw. With this much power, does your opinion remain the same, or at that point do you feel that the 40T becomes the choice?

Thanks

[Steven Triggs]

(I use a WW-II 20t ripping blade for, well...ripping thick stock...and other rough cutting duties)

I didn't even realize Forrest made a 20T.:)
I take it Jim, that you are a believer in blade swapping as opposed to "one size fits all". Do you switch over to an 80T for plywood and cross-cutting, or do you go with the 40T for those?

I already own an 80T Freud that does excellent work on crosscutting in my miter saw. However, I'm replacing my 10" miter saw with a DW712 8.5" sliding compound, so the 80T will be available for the table saw. Perhaps I should consider using it for plywood, and buying a 30T for ripping. I wish there were a "holy grail" of blades that could do great on both, as I switch between plywood and hardwood quite routinely.

[Gary Keedwell]

I didn't even realize Forrest made a 20T.:)
I take it Jim, that you are a believer in blade swapping as opposed to "one size fits all". Do you switch over to an 80T for plywood and cross-cutting, or do you go with the 40T for those?

I already own an 80T Freud that does excellent work on crosscutting in my miter saw. However, I'm replacing my 10" miter saw with a DW712 8.5" sliding compound, so the 80T will be available for the table saw. Perhaps I should consider using it for plywood, and buying a 30T for ripping. I wish there were a "holy grail" of blades that could do great on both, as I switch between plywood and hardwood quite routinely.
Steve,
I'm a swapper, also. I'm only a hobbyist so time is not money for me. I'm a little anal about keeping my blades clean, so changing blades gives me a "two-for".
Blades are funny sometimes. I bought a Freud glue-line to replace my old ripping blade which is about 15 years old. Well, this old ripping blade looks like somebody threw it into a tumbler. It has all kinds of chipped teeth. I put it on the saw a few weeks ago to cut some QSWO....it went through it like butter. Go figure.
Gary K.

[scott spencer]

Scott,
I read through your links. Thanks for all the information. If I processed what you said, in general you prefer the 30T over the 40T because the rip speed benefit is far greater than the quality loss. However, you mentioned several times the power of the saw. I'll be putting this on a 3HP cabinet saw. With this much power, does your opinion remain the same, or at that point do you feel that the 40T becomes the choice?

Thanks

That's a good question Steven....I stressed the power of my saw several times b/c my opinion pertains to that type situation. I can only speculate and hazard a guess for anything other than my setup. I think I'd still be inclined to go with the 30T for your setup, b/c it should allow you to cut nearly any thickness material at a good clip with good results, which can really come in handy on woods that scorch easily...like some expensive exotics! My view of the cut quality is that it's clean enough for all but the occasions where you'd want something like a high quality 80T Hi-ATB blade like a Forrest Duraline or Freud LU80.

[Jim Becker]

I didn't even realize Forrest made a 20T.:)
I take it Jim, that you are a believer in blade swapping as opposed to "one size fits all". Do you switch over to an 80T for plywood and cross-cutting, or do you go with the 40T for those?

I use my WW-II 40t most of the time, including ripping stock up to about an inch and a quarter and even thicker if it's a one shot deal as well as cross cutting. But I do swap to the 20t for heavy ripping or cutting down rough, thick stock. I use the WW-II for sheet goods right now plus my saw has a scoring blade that matches the WW-II in width. I do have a 12" blade that is specifically for sheet goods that came with my saw, but with two WW-II blades (one nearly new), I haven't bothered to use it.

[Clint Winterhalter]

Scott,
I just checked Amazon. It looks like the $59.99 blade is for a 5 3/8 circ saw.

Did you find it some place else? If I can get one for $60 buck, I'm going to grab it..

Thanks
Clint

[scott spencer]

Scott,
I just checked Amazon. It looks like the $59.99 blade is for a 5 3/8 circ saw.

Did you find it some place else? If I can get one for $60 buck, I'm going to grab it..

Thanks
Clint

Looks like the 10" TK is back to $81.95. :( Still a nice blade that I believe is a logical choice over the 40T for alot of applications, but the "bargain" euphoria is gone...

[Kevin French]

I use Systi Matics but have the 30 and 40t blade and use 30t 99% of the time. I use the 40t when the 30's in the shop for sharpening.

[Steven Triggs]

Scott,
Did you find it some place else? If I can get one for $60 buck, I'm going to grab it..


No, I still see it for $59.99 right here:

http://www.amazon.com/Forrest-WW10307100-Woodworker-Tooth-Circular/dp/B000ONEMRU/ref=sr_1_4/002-5200268-1064017?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1187547566&sr=8-4

It is out of stock at the moment, but they'll still let you place an order. If you aren't in dire need, and are just wanting to take advantage of the deal, you might as well place an order even though it may be several weeks before you get it.

Scott, this is the one you were talking about, right?

[scott spencer]

No, I still see it for $59.99 right here:

http://www.amazon.com/Forrest-WW10307100-Woodworker-Tooth-Circular/dp/B000ONEMRU/ref=sr_1_4/002-5200268-1064017?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1187547566&sr=8-4

It is out of stock at the moment, but they'll still let you place an order. If you aren't in dire need, and are just wanting to take advantage of the deal, you might as well place an order even though it may be several weeks before you get it.

Scott, this is the one you were talking about, right?

That's the one....good catch! It's now showing under the "2 used & new available from $59.99" link.