Popular Post Pwk5017 Posted June 23, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted June 23, 2016 Not the most exciting review, but I decided im going to start reviewing more of the crap I buy. I take advantage of reviews prior to making a purchase, and it's time to give back with my own. I havent been one for changing blades on the TS. Up until a couple months ago, I had a sliding table attached to my saw, which meant i was constantly ripping and crosscutting at nearly 1:1 ratio. Often, it was literally rip a few boards, glue them, crosscut my already glued cutting board blanks, then go back to ripping. Because of this constant jumping back and forth, I always had a Forrest WWII 40t blade on the saw. I like that blade a lot, but ripping 8/4 stock does result in burning from time to time. With an intensive ripping project on the horizon-- the striped bar and tables i posted--I wanted to speed things up and get a dedicated ripping blade. Forrest has treated me well and I went with their 30 tooth offering. 10 teeth doesnt sound like a big difference, but wow oh wow is this blade fast. 1/8" kerf on a 3hp saw, and I was feeding 1 7/8" hard maple and walnut as fast as I wanted. With so many 1.5" strips to cut, I jammed the wood through the blade as fast as i could push. One, it is excellent to speed things up and make effortless cuts. Two, the cut quality was better than the 40t blade despite my feed rate. I noticed no burning, and minimal saw marks. I dont believe in glue line quality rips off the saw, but this is as close to it as ive ever seen. I can only compare the blade to the freud ripping blade I used to have and the WWII 40t blade. The freud never impressed me, and this blade kills the 40t combo when it comes to ripping. I believe I purchased the blade for about $85 through Slivers Mill, who are my go to people for forrest blades. It isnt a cheap blade, but it performs nicely and the teeth look like I can get 100 sharpenings out of them. Coming from a guy that used to never change blades, I seriously regret my misguided ways. I still use my 40t combo blade for the random one off rip, but this 30t will be my go to for everything else. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knotscott Posted June 23, 2016 Report Share Posted June 23, 2016 Good call. The WWII 30T is one of my all time favorite blades. Not only does it give really clean rips efficiently in thick material, but it'll even crosscut reasonably well in a lot of situations. Obviously it's not going to excel at fine crosscuts and plywood, but it's fine most of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby W Posted June 24, 2016 Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 Which tooth configuration did you get? I noticed that they have several configurations on their website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwk5017 Posted June 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2016 On 6/23/2016 at 8:24 PM, Robby W said: Which tooth configuration did you get? I noticed that they have several configurations on their website. The ATB grind. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby W Posted June 27, 2016 Report Share Posted June 27, 2016 Thanks for the reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-MattK- Posted July 5, 2016 Report Share Posted July 5, 2016 I got the 20T version of this about 2 weeks ago. It cuts great - no burning even in thick hardwoods. Finished surface is ok, not great, probably needs a swipe over the jointer before glue-up. I'll actually stop and change to this blade if I'm going to be doing a lot of ripping - and that's saying something! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown craftsman Posted July 5, 2016 Report Share Posted July 5, 2016 I'm a Forrest blade user too.Worth every penny I've spent. My saw shown in my profile pic has a 12 inch woodworker 2 with special grind and a 3/4 inch arbor hole.Its the nicest blade I've ever used. If I keep it clean and don't damage it doing something stupid it's should stay on the saw for a long time. No more red blades for me. Aj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.