Replacing WWII w/ cheap Freud blade?

[cgallery]

I know this is gonna sound crazy. I love my WWII blade.

But when I was working on my LVL workbench and ripping those LVL beams, I decided I should be using a ripping blade to ease the load on the motor. I went to Home Depot and purchased for about $25 a Freud Diablo D1024X.

The Freud did have an easier time cutting those LVL's. I figured I'd switch to the WWII when I was done w/ the bench project, but not having time I've been using the Freud for all sorts of stuff.

And the cuts, even in plywood, are exceptional. I honestly can't see a difference between the Freud and the Forrest. It is early, need to cut more wood, but I don't see a difference.

Am I crazy leaving the Freud on the saw? It would seem that the fewest teeth that gives the desired cut quality is that best blade to use. Or am I missing something. Am I likely to find a problem I haven't considered?

Thanks,
Phil

[wardprobst]

I have both and the Freud stays on the saw most of the time. I do use the WWII for some things but more or less save it for the special stuff. I have a set of Freud blades and a Freud dado set and I really like them. Use what you like!
DP

[crokett]

I don't own the WWII but have no complaints about the freud blades I have. I also have a Porter Cable Razor Combination blade. It is quieter than the Freud and performs well enough with both rips and cross cuts that I haven't switched to a single purpose blade in quite a while.

[SHADOWFOX]

I have the LU84R011 on my TS right now and quality of the cut is great! Cut is so clean that I find myself not needing to use the jointer after the cut. I highly recommend.

[Knottscott]

Nothing wrong with using what you like. I've used alot of blades and currently own about 12, including the WWII, Ridge Carbide, several Industrial Freud's, several series 40 & 60 DeWalt's, 2 Tenryu, 5 Leitz, Delta Industrial, Ridgid, Oldham, Amana, Skil, and Vermont American. Of those, only the Ridge Carbide and DW7657 offer comparable performance to the WWII. Some of the better crosscut blades cut cleaner, but aren't as versatile. Freud's Premier F410 is their answer to the WWII (by their own admission). From a design and quality standpoint, there's no reason to think that the Diablo ripper will perform at a comparable level to the WWII, F410 or other comparably designed blades. The Diablo ripper, while good at it's task and very good compared to similar blades, is not designed and manufactured to perform to the same level of versatililty and clean cut as an F410 caliber blade....Blade's similar to the WWII are just made to tighter tolerances, have better carbide, are sharpened to a finer edge, and in this case even have a higher tooth count. The Diablo ripper should cut easier and rougher than the 40 tooth general purp blades, but if there's not a notable difference in your cuts, then I suspect something else is masking the advantages that the WWII should have. It's likely that you either have a defective/dirty/dull/damaged WWII, there's something about your saw that's masking the WWII's performance, or you haven't done enough side by side comparison cuts to see the difference yet.

The bottom line though....if you're getting satisfactory results from a $25 blade, I say go for it.

[cgallery]

...but if there's not a notable difference in your cuts, then I suspect something else is masking the advantages that the WWII should have. It's likely that you either have a defective/dirty/dull/damaged WWII, there's something about your saw that's masking the WWII's performance, or you haven't done enough side by side comparison cuts to see the difference yet.

I agree w/ pretty much everything you've said. It has got to be that I haven't made any cuts that would demonstrate a difference yet. Because all the cuts have been perfect. No splintering or anything.

I know the Freud blade is just waiting for me to cut something that I've cut 1 million times w/ my WWII w/o problem. Then it will let me have it.

[drumpriest]

Not all blades of the same make are alike either. There are tolerances, and sometimes you get better or worse blades. You perhaps have a fairly bad wwII and a great 24T ripper. I've used both blades, and like them both. The real key though is sharpness. A new sharp 24T will certainly outperform a wwII in need of sharpening.

[kwgeorge]

It could also have something to do with the wood you are cutting also. I have always used Freud blades on my table saws, chop saw and so on. One day I decided to try the WWII as it was on sale and I figured I needed to see what all the fuss was about. I could instantly tell the difference between a rather fresh Freud and this new blade on some figured Walnut. It cut like butter and left no burn. So I was pretty pleased with the way the blade performed. I still use a Freud blade for plywood and when I am cutting junk wood like I consider construction grade pine to be. For me I would much rather use and ruin a cheaper blade on this kind of stuff than the very expensive WWII.

The only time switching to a different manufacture of blade just blew me away was when I put the WoodSlicer from Highland Hardware on the Bandsaw. Sorry Timberwolf lovers but this blade just blew it out of this world!

Ken

[Bruce Cohen]

While you guys are on the subject of Freud blades, is their Hi-At blade really that mush better than the regular LU series. Also does it wear faster as I seem to have heard?

Bruce

[Knottscott]

While you guys are on the subject of Freud blades, is their Hi-At blade really that mush better than the regular LU series. Also does it wear faster as I seem to have heard?

Bruce

Freud's Hi-ATB blades are from their LU series (LU80R010 and LU79R010 (TK)...formerly known as the F810) Any well made Hi-ATB will cut cleaner than normal ATB designs if all else is equal. The Frued Hi-ATB has a very steep bevel....they're pretty amazing blades. The downside is that they're not all that durable...those sharp points will dull faster than other grinds. If you've got a top general purpose blade like a WWII or F410, a Hi-ATB is a logical step as a crosscut blade...it'll make more of a difference than most 60-80T crosscut blades compared to a WWII.

[Joe Lyddon]

Link added to Epinions Reviews

Just to let you know... I have just added a Link to Epinions Reviews by Dustmight (knotscott) to my website...

http://woodworkstuff.net/woodidxlinks.html

He has some pretty good Reviews there... check them out...

Thank you Dustmight for permission to add your link to my website.