Just got my new Freud 10" x 40 tooth general purpose blade

[EricU]

the place FWW graded this down vs. the Forrest was slower ripping.

[Cooler]

I put in the new zero-clearance insert last night and I re-tested the melamine particle board cuts.

I cut a piece of melamine that was about 8" wide and 30" long.  I got a small amount of chipping two inches from each end of the cut.

I repeated this with a scoring cut initially and I got smaller chipping, but again 2" from each end.

I made a reverse feed scoring cut (extra shallow) and followed it with a regular score and then a full cut and got an almost perfect edge.  There were microscopic chips at both ends.

I am ascribing the chipping to operator error.  I probably should have mounted an over-long auxiliary fence.  I was probably not feeding perfectly straight at the beginning and end of each cut.

I also use roller stands and I do not have an infeed or outfeed table, though I doubt that was the issue.

My guess is even with the small amount of chipping (on the underside only--the top was clean in all tries) the cut boards were "acceptable" for most cabinet work.

I'm happy with the blade.  I don't know how much it will affect my workflow as I ordered a Festool track saw the other day and it is due to arrive tomorrow.  So a lot of the sheet goods cutting will now be on the track saw.

[Tapper]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JN...UTF8&psc=1

This blade scored very well on a recent magazine test (I think it was Fine Woodworking). $97.00 from Amazon.com

I mounted it yesterday and made some test cuts.

1. 3/4" plywood, oak veneer, with the grain:  Excellent cut, very clean, no chipping.
   
2. 3/4" plywood, oak veneer, cross grain:  Excellent cut, very clean, no chipping.
   
3. 3/4" MDF, very clean cut
   
4. 3/4" particle board, very clean cut
   
5. 3/4" melamine particle board, very good, but not as good as my negative hook angle cross cut blade
   
6. 3/4" poplar cross cut, excellent cut, very smooth edges
   
7. 3/4" poplar, rip.  Clean cut, but cuts a bit slower than I am used to.
   
8. 1/2" think polypropylene cutting board, very smooth cut.
   

The cutting board was for a new zero-clearance insert, which I have not put in yet.  The melamine board cut might improve, but I doubt it.  I tried one cut with a scoring cut first and I still had a couple of noticeable chips.  But a dangerously sharp edge on the melamine board nonetheless.

I think I will be very happy with this blade, especially once I have the zero-clearance insert in place.

Thanks for posting, along with your comments. I get FWW, read the article last week and am in the market for a new blade for a new project. The Canadian article was much more indepth than the one in FWW and helped, since they rated it the best. Had a gift card and pulled the trigger.

Doug

[Scoony]

Got the TS wired up tonight and did a test cut with the new Fusion blade. Cross cut was glass smooth. Not used to that. Need to find some longer bolts for the front fence rail. Seems Jet's cast iron top is thicker then Delta's. This is a new Delta Bise fence/rail set, and luckily, the holes line up to the Jet.

I have some 8/4 ash and 8/4 hard maple that needs to be cut up for some projects so both of these blades will get a good workout

[joespehar]

Fantastic cross cut blade, IMHO. I have two. My only complaint is it becomes dull faster than a WWII, when cross cutting.

I have the older version of the Freud Fusion and have found the same thing.

[Cooler]

Update:

I finally got the zero clearance throat in place and I made some test cuts.

I am now using a magnetic feather board from Magswitch and a Gri-pper push block from Microjig.

I tested on melamine 3/4” board. The upper surface is perfect and sharp enough to cut your hands, just as before.

My first impression was that the lower surface was perfect too, but close examination revealed a few spots of micro chipping. I could probably get rid of that micro chipping with a scoring cut, but I think the cut is fine for professional use as is.

The feather board helped. Before the feather board the chipping appeared at the ends of the panel, where I probably did not control the board as well as I should have.

Mixed review on the Grri-pper . It gives me the confidence to watch the fence and the end of the cut instead of watching the blade. With the melamine it did not have sufficient friction and it would slip as I pushed the stock. I wiped the board and th Grri-pper with a damp rag and that helped some, but still not satisfactory.

Part of the problem, no doubt is the zero clearance insert. My dust collection is less effective once I eliminated the gap around the blade.

As before, very happy with this blade.

[Arlin Eastman]

Thanks for posting, along with your comments. I get FWW, read the article last week and am in the market for a new blade for a new project. The Canadian article was much more indepth than the one in FWW and helped, since they rated it the best. Had a gift card and pulled the trigger.

Doug

Doug

If I could suggest is Ask Brian in sunny Florida who is a Holbein dealer and he knows ALOT about blades and sells a lot of them also.

[jteneyck]

Part of the problem, no doubt is the zero clearance insert.  My dust collection is less effective once I eliminated the gap around the blade.

Once the work seals over the insert it doesn't matter if it has a gaping hole or is zero clearance.  If your DC is less effective the cause is somewhere else.  

John

[Cooler]

Once the work seals over the insert it doesn't matter if it has a gaping hole or is zero clearance.  If your DC is less effective the cause is somewhere else.  

John

I'm going to have to figure that out.  I am getting more dust and I just emptied the bag.

[Brian in sunny FL]

Fantastic cross cut blade, IMHO. I have two. My only complaint is it becomes dull faster than a WWII, when cross cutting. I guess with the Hi angle, its to be expected. 

That's probably the only issue with that blade.  The Hi-ATB tooth geometry, usually seen in high tooth count plywood/melamine blades, cuts great but dulls faster.  When Freud came out with it my feeling is all they were after was a top rated magazine review but I'm sure it's a nice blade.  The magazines never seem to rate product life or how many times it can be sharpened which is what mosts businesses care about.

Anyway, enjoy the blade lots of folks like them.

As a side note, if you get it sharpened make sure they don't ruin it.  One of my local reps told me about a saw shop, on Freuds approved list, that used to set the machine for TCG grind no matter what blade came in.  I think they've changed but my point is don't ruin a nice blade with a poor sharpening service.