Freud Combination Blade

[Ed62]

Does anyone have an opinion on this blade? What does the drawing of the teeth tell me? I don't understand the difference between (tooth "A" and tooth "B")I know it's a combination blade, and there are better blades for rips or crosscutting. Thanks.

Ed

[Ed62]

There is also an LU83R, and the only difference I see is that the LU83R is listed as 40 - 45 Rockwell, and the LU84R doesn't specify the rockwell. The LU83R also does not say "anti kickback design". What would you do if the price difference is $10.00 ($59.99 vs. $49.99)?

Ed

[JSCOOK]

I couldn't see the drawing too clear ... but on that blade IIRC every 5th tooth is a "rake" and cleans out the cut ... the other 4 are alternate bevel cut

Correction: Actualy tooth "A" is the rake and the following 4 are ATB cut teeth ...

[Bruce Cohen]

If I as in the market for a combination blade, this is what I'd get. I own the 80 tooth Hi-ATB crosscut which is also new and I love it.

Bruce

[Ed62]

Actualy tooth "A" is the rake and the following 4 are ATB cut teeth ...

OK, I know what the rake and ATB teeth are, but how can you tell the difference by the drawing? The only difference I can see is the side of the tooth is a darker line on one side, while the other tooth is darker line on the other side. Am I missing something? Or have you figured that by the fact it's a combination blade?

Ed

[LCHIEN]

OK, I know what the rake and ATB teeth are, but how can you tell the difference by the drawing? The only difference I can see is the side of the tooth is a darker line on one side, while the other tooth is darker line on the other side. Am I missing something? Or have you figured that by the fact it's a combination blade?

Ed

it's not the clearest drawing but that's the only combo that makes sense.

The raker is in front of the deep gullet. The deep gullet is needed to carry off the cuttings. If the gullet is not big enough then the cutting ball up in the gullet and the blade rides on the ball, not cutting and you end up burning everything and being hard to feed.

A 10° hook angle is moderate, about halfway between what you get for a rip blade (15-20°) and -5° to 5° for a good crosscut blade.

[Knottscott]

A "combination" blade typically combines two styles of tooth grind to help the blade do a good job in a number of types of cuts in various materials. There are 10 sets of 5 tooth groupings....each group includes a flat top (FTG) raker with a large gullet for clearing chips followed by 4 alternate top bevel (ATB) teeth....the combination is known as an ATB/R grind. The LU84 is a full kerf blade (1/8") ATB/R. The LU83 is the same configuration in a thin kerf (3/32"). Both are considered good blades.

If your saw is less than 3hp, the manufacturers tend to suggest using the thin kerf (TK), a suggestion I'd follow. My first good blade was an LU84. My 2nd good blade was a Forrest WWII. The Forrest costs about 50% more, but it's a noticeably cleaner cutting blade with more aggressive ripping capability. Both will give you glue ready edges.

http://www.epinions.com/content_147387551364 (LU84)
http://www.epinions.com/content_145552674436 (WWII)

Another excellent moderatly priced alternative is the LU88R010, and an inexpensive alternative is the Freud LU86R010.

http://www.epinions.com/content_227985493636 (LU86)
http://www.epinions.com/content_226312687236 (LU88)

You mentioned your awareness of the compromises of a single all purpose blade relative to a dedicated blde. It's true that a high quality dedicated 18T-24T ripping blade will rip more aggressively than a multi purpose blade, and that a high quality 80T crosscut blade will cut more cleanly, but the above mentioned general purpose and combo blades (and others of comparable quality) are very good and will do a great job in alot of situations without needing to change blades. If the quality of a dedicated blade drops off even a little, the chances are good that a blade like the WWII will do a better job in the same cut. Going with separates is fine if you want the ultimate performance and don't mind changing blades, but don't give up the high quality aspect and expect to get that intended high performance.

HTH.

[Ed62]

Thank you all again for the replies. And thanks for the links. You guys haven't let me down yet.

Ed

[Jeffrey Schronce]

To confuse the high end blade issue a little, Forrest has come out with a new WWII. There is not a lot of info out there on it, even Forrest website is lacking info. You can find info on the new WWII on some of the other forums out there.

[Knottscott]

To confuse the high end blade issue a little, Forrest has come out with a new WWII. There is not a lot of info out there on it, even Forrest website is lacking info. You can find info on the new WWII on some of the other forums out there.

AFAIK, the "new" WWII adds a flat top to every 7th tooth to help give a flatter bottom and rip more efficiently. It's a configuration that the Ridge Carbide TS2000 has used for a while. I think it's known as their "#6 grind".

[Jeffrey Schronce]

AFAIK, the "new" WWII adds a flat top to every 7th tooth to help give a flatter bottom and rip more efficiently. It's a configuration that the Ridge Carbide TS2000 has used for a while. I think it's known as their "#6 grind".

That is my understanding as well.

[Knottscott]

That is my understanding as well.

Good...even if it's not true, we stand a good chance of creating "internet fact" from this!

[crokett]

And to confuse things even more... for 2 yrs I've been using a Porter Cable Razor variable tooth blade as my all purpose blade. I like it better than the other combination blades I've tried. It was advertised as being quieter than most and it is. The first time I put it on the saw I thought something was wrong with the saw - it sounded funny.