DeWalt 10” x 40T PrecisionTrim vs. Forrest 10” x 20T Woodworker II

Let’s take a look at these two table saw blades: the DeWalt 10” x 40T PrecisionTrim and the Forrest 10” x 20T Woodworker II.

Features & Benefits

You can read our complete guide to buying a table saw blade.

Related: Choosing the Right Table Saw Blade

We’ve also got a roundup of the best 10” table saw blades.

Size

Both blades are 10” in diameter and have a 5/8” arbor hole. Typical table saws have a 5/8” arbor and can accommodate blades up to 10” in diameter. So both table saw blades should be generally usable on many saws.

The 10” x 40T PrecisionTrim has a 0.098” (thin) kerf. The 10” x 20T Woodworker II has a 1/8” (full) kerf. (The term “kerf” is the width of the cut that the blade makes in the material being cut.)

A 1/8” kerf is considered a “full” kerf and will work with most table saws. On lower-powered saws, a full-kerf blade could cause the saw to struggle with thicker or harder material, compared with a thin-kerf blade.

A kerf less than 1/8” is called a “thin” kerf. Thin kerfs waste less material than full-kerf blades and make it easier for saws to cut through thick or hard material. Most, but not all, table saws can work with thin-kerf blades. Make sure your riving knife is thinner than the kerf, or dangerous binding can occur.

Teeth

The 10” x 40T PrecisionTrim has 40 C4 carbide teeth in an ATB configuration. The 10” x 20T Woodworker II has 20 teeth in an ATBR (2+1) configuration.

Blades with a tooth count below 40 are typically geared towards ripping wood lengthwise. For crosscuts or general-purpose use, you ought to consider blades with a higher tooth count. Blades with between 40 and 60 teeth are generally viewed as general-purpose blades. They can perform both rip cuts and crosscuts, but not as well as a blade specifically made for such cuts.

Alternate top bevel (ATB) teeth are cut on a bevel instead of being flat across. This design lets them slice through wood rather than tearing out chunks, resulting in cleaner crosscuts. ATB teeth do tend to break more often than flat-top teeth. Alternate top bevel/raker (ATBR) blades have flat “raker” blades interspersed every few teeth, to help improve performance on rip cuts. They also cut a flat bottom on non-through cuts, rather than the parallel grooves you get with a regular ATB blade.

Pros & Cons

Let’s take a look at some of the pluses and minuses of these products.

For the DeWalt:

For the Forrest:

Comparison Chart

Here’s a full side-by-side comparison of these products’ specs. You can view comparisons of the DeWalt 10” x 40T PrecisionTrim with other products

	DeWalt 10” x 40T PrecisionTrim	Forrest 10” x 20T Woodworker II
Brand	DeWalt	Forrest
Blade Diameter	10”	10”
Arbor Size	5/8”	5/8”
Kerf	0.098”	1/8”
Tooth Bevel		15°
Tooth Count	40	20
Tooth Config	ATB	ATBR (2+1)
Tooth Material	C4 carbide
Rake		20°
Expansion Slots
Pros	Thick C4 carbide teeth with a precision finish Very clean crosscuts Good performance ripping hardwood and cutting plywood More durable than blades with higher ATB tooth angle Quiet when cutting, not much louder than when spinning No chip-out when cutting material like melamine	Forrest’s customer service is very highly regarded Factory sharpening service for a reasonable fee Easy ripping of difficult materials like 2” oak Repair service keeps blade functioning like new for much less than buying a new blade
Cons	Teeth are somewhat brittle and can be damaged if hitting nails or if used on metal Some customers received blades with a noticeable warp or wobble	More expensive than similarly-configured blades Minor marks require sanding
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