Forrest 30T 9" WWII TK $55 shipped

[Knottscott]

This blade was mentioned on the previous WWII 40T thread, but the price has dropped even farther, and I thought it warranted its own thread.

The 30T WWII TK cuts nearly as cleanly as the heralded 40T WWII, but sure upstages the 40T in thicker materials. It even crosscuts fairly well. $55 shipped is a terrific bargain that provides a great chance to get a good taste of a WWII. The 9" will give up 1/2" height capacity, but little else of any significance. It'd be best to use a 24T ripper for material that takes this blade to full blade height anyway. .

[poolhound]

This blade was mentioned on the previous WWII 40T thread, but the price has dropped even farther, and I thought it warranted its own thread.

The 30T WWII TK cuts nearly as cleanly as the heralded 40T WWII, but sure upstages the 40T in thicker materials. It even crosscuts fairly well. $55 shipped is a terrific bargain that provides a great chance to get a good taste of a WWII. The 9" will give up 1/2" height capacity, but little else of any significance. It'd be best to use a 24T ripper for material that takes this blade to full blade height anyway. .

Thanks for the heads up, as I ordered it last week at $58.09 and I wont receive until later this week I have emailed Amazon to get them to honor this new lower price.

[herb fellows]

Sorry to say, but unless they've changed back , Amazon stopped the lower price matching deal back around December.

Not too bad at 3 bucks more though:-)

[poolhound]

Sorry to say, but unless they've changed back , Amazon stopped the lower price matching deal back around December.

Not too bad at 3 bucks more though:-)

Thats what I had heard buts its the first time since then its happened to me. As far as I am concerned its not really the $3 but a matter of principal especially as I havent yet recived it. Its not like I have had it for a month and been using it.

I already received their opening salvo saying they dont do this anymore and sent back something rather more vitriolic (still polite - but firm) saying as I hadnt yet even received the product whay shouldnt I just return it as "faulty" and re-order at the cheaper price. This would end up costing them more in shipping cost than just refunding me the difference not to mention the benefit in customer service/loyalty whcih their current policy is harming. I will let you know what happens.

[SARGE..g-47]

This blade was mentioned on the previous WWII 40T thread, but the price has dropped even farther, and I thought it warranted its own thread.

The 30T WWII TK cuts nearly as cleanly as the heralded 40T WWII, but sure upstages the 40T in thicker materials. It even crosscuts fairly well. $55 shipped is a terrific bargain that provides a great chance to get a good taste of a WWII. The 9" will give up 1/2" height capacity, but little else of any significance. It'd be best to use a 24T ripper for material that takes this blade to full blade height anyway. .

I have to agree with you on being a better ripper at 30 T than the 40 T even though I don't have the blade. Now.. a question for you since you either do or have used it. Forget thick rip as I am well covered with both 24 T and 20 T. But.. how would you compare this blade (30 T 9") to say a Freud glue line ripper which does leave a smooth cut on ripping uo to 4/4 or 5/4. Is is strickly an ATB grind or possible a triple chip.

And you are certainly correct that the price is right for those that want to move outside having only one blade.

Thanks...

[Knottscott]

Hi Sarge. Yes, I owned a 10" 30T WWII TK ATB with my 22124 and liked it alot, but sold it when the saw left the shop. I hope to replace it with a full kerf version for my new Shop Fox saw some day....maybe soon, though I do have a new full kerf Delta 30T ATB that I haven't used yet that could be similar to the 30T WWII....will know more in a few weeks. I also have a CMT 30T TCG GLR that's nearly identical to the Freud. For ripping 4/4" or 5/4" hardwoods, both should leave a comparably smooth edge....probably difficult to tell rip cuts apart, though I haven't done a side by side comparison. Both have a fairly low side clearance. The WWII has a steeper hook and feeds easier, and it's ATB grind helps it crosscut reasonably well too, which the GLR doesn't do well at. The GLR should have better edge life, so is a better choice for heavy volumes.

If I currently owned neither, I'd grab the WWII at this price for the better versatility (in a hobby setting). If I already owned a 30T GLR and wanted smooth rips in 4/4-5/4" materials, I'd stick with that.

[SARGE..g-47]

Hi Sarge. Yes, I owned a 10" 30T WWII TK ATB with my 22124 and liked it alot, but sold it when the saw left the shop. I hope to replace it with a full kerf version for my new Shop Fox saw some day....maybe soon, though I do have a new full kerf Delta 30T ATB that I haven't used yet that could be similar to the 30T WWII....will know more in a few weeks. I also have a CMT 30T TCG GLR that's nearly identical to the Freud. For ripping 4/4" or 5/4" hardwoods, both should leave a comparably smooth edge....probably difficult to tell rip cuts apart, though I haven't done a side by side comparison. Both have a fairly low side clearance. The WWII has a steeper hook and feeds easier, and it's ATB grind helps it crosscut reasonably well too, which the GLR doesn't do well at. The GLR should have better edge life, so is a better choice for heavy volumes.

If I currently owned neither, I'd grab the WWII at this price for the better versatility (in a hobby setting). If I already owned a 30T GLR and wanted smooth rips in 4/4-5/4" materials, I'd stick with that.

Ahh.... so the WW 30 T is a thin kerf from what you say. That rules that out as I run only full kerfs on the 5 HP for obvious reasons but I would still think that is is a great buy for those that need TK as the 30 T should do a better job on rips than the 40 T.

[jussi]

Forrest .125 kerf $73.13

http://www.amazon.com/Forrest-WW1040...1501&pf_rd_i=1

[Knottscott]

Ahh.... so the WW 30 T is a thin kerf from what you say. That rules that out as I run only full kerfs on the 5 HP for obvious reasons but I would still think that is is a great buy for those that need TK as the 30 T should do a better job on rips than the 40 T.

The 30T is also available as a full kerf, in both 9" and 10", but the last I checked it was $96....not much of a bargain IMO. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for one in the $65 dollar range, so I'll let you know if I spy one!

[poolhound]

Ahh.... so the WW 30 T is a thin kerf from what you say. That rules that out as I run only full kerfs on the 5 HP for obvious reasons but I would still think that is is a great buy for those that need TK as the 30 T should do a better job on rips than the 40 T.

Sarge,

I can see with 5hp you dont really need TKs but there was an interesting article about them in the latest FWW. The reviewer was very pleasantly suprised at their performance and benefits and indicated he was going to switch to TKs even on his 3hp saw. This may have been rhetoric but there ya go.

I have used a few 3hp machines but never a 5 I would bet with a nice sharp blade cutting 2" hard maple must seem like a knife through butter!

[poolhound]

Amazon just did their price jiggling thing again and the price on this blade just went back up to $83.24

The 40T FK is still $73.13 but the 9" 40T TK is now $66.74

[dbhost]

I have seen LOTS of OLD Delta (Pre Rockwell days) Rockwell, Rockwell / Delta, Craftsman etc... table saws on Craigslist lately with the old 9" blade size and wondered if blades were still available. This answers my question...

The most common I see are 1950s vintage Rockwell / Delta Homecrafter saws.

[poolhound]

Mine arrived thursday and I just got a chance to try it. Mounted in the BT it can still cut 3" at a pinch but with only the tips of the blade coming through.

I just did a comparative test with my Tenryu GM. Its not really a completely fair fight as the WWII is a virgin blade and factory sharp while my GM has been used. I did give the GM a good clean first and would say it is still plenty sharp but obviously not the same as when NIB.

For those not familiar with the different characteristics the GM is 10" 40T with a .111 kerf. This WWII is 9" 30T .100 Kerf.

I just wanted to get a rough indication of performance difference so havent run lots of different woods or thicknesses. I used a chunk of 8/4 Alder which is not the hardest thing in the world but worked well as a comparative test.

The WWII ripped it with ease and while I still needed to keep a steady feed rate I didnt feel the saw laboring at all. The cut was really very clean probably close enough for glue up.

When I put the GM back in it still had no problem with the rip but I did feel the saw straining more and I had to slow down the feed rate. The resulting rip was good but there were a few saw marks and some slight burning (probably from me trying to find the right feed rate).

It would be interesting to see how they compared if the GM was new.

SCOTT - did you ever hav a chance to compare these in new condition?

Sharpness differences aside. The WWII undoubtedly benefits from, thinner kerf, less teeth, less mass (due to only 9").

I did also try some x cuts and both were similar. I had a very small amount of tearout with the WWII but I would say this was due to the fact that I hadnt yet cut a new ZCTP for it yet and using the same one as the GM left a small 0.011 gap.

It would be very interesting to see how this blade compares directly to its 10" 30T or 40T brothers.

[Knottscott]

...It would be interesting to see how they compared if the GM was new.

SCOTT - did you ever hav a chance to compare these in new condition?

....

I've owned both the GM40 and the WWII 30T TK in 10", and did test cuts when each was new...never tried the 9". I can't recall if I ever did a side by side comparison or just logged some notes at different times...I think the GM40 may have been gone by the time I bought the WWII 30T. I seem to recall doing side by side with the WWII 30, WWII 40, LU88, and Infinity Combomax, but it's all a blurry memory at this point. I know that the GM suffered slightly slower feedrate on my 22124 than even the WWII 40T due to having a thicker kerf, and both of the WWII TK's outscored the GM according to my chart, but the differences were essentially "decimal dust"....I believe crosscuts were comparable between the GM40 and WWII 40T. The 30T requires less feed pressure than either, and while it certainly isn't a world class crosscut blade, I've always been impressed that it does as well as it does... it's a 30T blade! It could be said that the WWII 30T is the best crosscutting ripper on the market! (kind of the opposite of an LU88...which could be called the best ripping crosscutter) .

Here are the charts I kept for those blades (these were all tested and charted prior to Jul, 2007):



And here are my comments:
"The 30T Forrest WWII has different strengths than the LU88, but is equally versatile and capable in a different range that leans toward thicker woods. It employs the same geometry as its more popular sibling, the 40T WWII, with an ATB grind, and 20° hook. This "GP" blade will hang with many of the 24T rippers in thick stock, while offering a significantly cleaner cut. The cut quality is remarkably close to the 40T and 50T GP blades. Since the cut quality of GP and combo blades is a compromise by design and not intended as a finished edge, IMHO the 30T WWII makes a lot of sense as a primary blade and a beneficial alternative to the 40T WWII because of its wider operating range, depending on what you cut. This is about the closest you can get to a single blade that will do it all. An excellent compliment to an 80T Hi-ATB crosscut blade. "

"The Tenryu Gold Medal is another top shelf 40T GP blade made to world class Japanese standards. It's only available in one unique kerf width of 0.111", vs 0.98" for most TK's and 0.125" for most full kerfs. A very nice blade that demonstrated slightly slower feedrates than its TK counterparts on my saw. "

[poolhound]

Great data Scott, thanks for sharing. This reflects my little test. I was really impressed at how this 30T WWII ripped. I havent compared it to my 24T ripper but I would bet its very close on feed rate and certainly better on quality.

How did you assess you X-cut rating? I wonder if the 9" 30T would be better than the 10" 30T as I would guess it has a higher effective TPI.