Forrest WWII blade

[Sammy]

Should I get the 30T or the 40T? What's the diff?

[Swingman]

If most of your cuts are on 8/4 stock or under, get the 40 tooth.

[bs]

30T is the rip blade, the 40T is the combo blade (rip and cross-cut). More teeth than that (60-80) is considered cross-cut only. The Forrest combo (40T) will serve you well. If you go with the thin-kerf blade (TS with less than a 2hp motor) be sure to get their 4" stabilizer also.

If you have a good cross-cut blade already, then the 30T rip blade is one helluva blade to own. If you're cutting a lot of rough sawn stock then a dedicated rip blade is a must for thick hardwoods.

Now Sammy - say Thank you this time......

[Sammy]

Thank you. I sometimes don't respond because I don't want to waste bandwidth thanking every person who has been kind enough to answer my many newbie questions. But I appreciate every reply.

And you've answered my follow-up question, too. I'm using a Ridgid 1 1/2 hp contractor's saw, and wondered about the power. Though they recommend a

1/2-to-2/3 diameter stabilizer. Not sure if they're taking into account those who choose the thin kerf because of weight issues.

(And is thin kerf a definite need for the lower hp saws?)

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I don't think so. If you cut 12/4 oak all day, you'd be buying a bigger saw anyway. If you cut some 8/4 a couple of times here and there, you just feed it slower.

There are hundreds of thousands of table saw with standard kerf blades and 1

1/2 HP motors. Ed

[Leon]

Actually, both the 30 and 40 tooth Forrest WWII's are considered General Purpose blades. They have only Top Alternate Bevel teeth. A Combination blade normally has a flat top raker tooth added to the mix. Both 30 and 40 tooth WWII blades are good for all cuts. The 30 tooth blade is indicated for work done on stock that is primarily 2 or more inches thick. The 40 tooth is indicated for work primarily less than 2 inches thick.

I personally recomend the regular kerf blade on any thing over 1 hp. A good regular kerf blade will cut just fine with less blade flex.

[Leon]

You don't buy a thin kerf blade to cut down on weight. The thin kerf blade removes less material and requires less power to cut.

NO..unless you have less than 1 hp. I for years I used a SHARP and GOOD quality blade on a Craftsman with 1 hp. That was after using thin kerf blades. If "most" of your cutting is less than 2" thick, the 40 tooth is recommended. If most of your cutting is 2" and over in thickness the 30 tooth is indicated.

[bs]

Sammy,

Leon has provided some specific Forrest blade info but generally, 24-30T is considered a rip blade, 40-50T a combo blade, 60-80T a crosscut blade. You can check the blade manufactures sites and you will find they all put their own twist on the definitions and vary the tooth combinations for different applications.

I used a thin-kerf Forrest WWII combo (40T) on my Delta CS (1-1/2hp) and found it to be a great blade as long as the stabilizer was used and that I wasn't cutting stock over 5/4 thick. Past that and the saw was underpowered.

I have the Forrest 30T regular kerf, on a Jet cabinet saw now and just finished making some French door thresholds that had a 9 deg cut thru 3" of hard maple, 6' long and not a single burn or tooth mark. Try that on a saw with less than 3hp and you end up making firewood.

I recently read that DeWalt has come out with a combo blade that sells for $59 and was aimed directly being a Forrest killer. May want to take a look at that.

Bob S.

[Jim]

A 30T is great for ripping, a 40t is good for ripping AND crosscutting. Depends on what you want to do.

Jim > Should I get the 30T or the 40T? What's the diff?

[Sammy]

So, to clarify, you suggest a 40T with regular kerf, no stabilizer. And, I think, bs says a 40t with thin kerf, which would require a stabilizer in this case.

Right?

[bs]

Sammy,

You're the only one that knows what type of work you'll be doing. I would suggest you call Forrest customer support directly and they'll ask you a bunch of questions and make a recommendation (at least they used to). That way, you get advice from the folks that make the blades.

1-800-733-7111 and their site url is:

S.

[Sammy]

Good idea. I'll call them tomorrow.

[Swingman]

Be sure and let us know what they say.

[Sammy]

Got a Forrest blade guy on the phone, and he made short work of me.

He asked what kind of saw I had. Told him I had a 1 1/2 HP, and he said get the thin kerf. Stiffener? He said 5" will do just fine.

That was easy.