Freud Reviews

I agree this blade makes a smooth cut but it burns cherry while ripping too slow. Here are my initial findings. Pros: Cuts smooth and glass-like but only if you push through evenly and don't stop. Less tear-out and great crosscuts. Very quiet, very sharp and doesn't bog down. Cons: Burns if you rip without even speed. Must push harder woods faster to avoid burns. Produces very fine sawdust and more flys up above the blade (yes, in your face) than below. This is probably to be expected. It's probably the tradeoff to get a smooth, finish cut.
What would I do different? I would still buy a Freud as the quality is 2nd to none for the price but I would choose a wider kerf on the assumption that the thin kerf in this case appears to allow too much blade contact with the wood probably accelerating the burn. This I believe because the new blade leaves a red mark on the wood sometimes (easily removed) from the blade coating. You can also clearly see the carbide cutters are only slightly wider than the blade. I will try a featherboard next to eliminate the burn.
I would still buy this blade and deal with the occasional burn as most woodworkers need a thin kerf blade for one reason or another. Resawing is the best reason to need a thin-kerf blade in my humble opinion.

Great blade for the price. This blade handles all my cutting needs with ease....clean crosscuts, strong rip cuts, and even does a decent job on sheetgoods. It brought new life to my old 1hp contractor saw! It made a noticeable difference!

Can't beat this ATB/Flat tooth combination blade for general every day use on the table saw. I use a zero clearance insert in the table and this blade excels at everything except the trickiest materials..(two sided melamines, ripping thick hard wood, etc.)It is also the safest combo blade I have used...will NOT kick back on you unlike several other well known brands because of the way the teeth are designed...whisper smooth, teflon coated, new laser cut expansion slots, thinner kerf with a lot of carbide to provide several sharpenings...a great investment. I also like the bright red color of these Freud blades. As a woodworker that experienced a bad accident when I was just learning the trade, the red color of the blades immediately make you pay attention when flipping that power switch....subtle but psychological trigger for added safety....Best price and qualified for free shipping from Amazon, how can you beat that?

Freud sells nice tools (I have a Freud biscuit joiner as well) and this marking gauge is no exception. It's perhaps not *quite* as nice as a really fine handmade gauge from Bridge City, but it costs a lot less and 99% of the functionality is there.

I don't have mine anymore- I gave it to a friend who does more cabinetry work, like hand cut tenons, and can make use of the gauge's ability to strike two lines at one pass. If you don't need the ability to lay out tenons at one pass you might choose instead the tool I replaced mine with: The Lee Valley marking gauge. A little more industrial looking, but just as functional and maybe a bit more rugged.

Let me start by saying that using a guage for marking is truly the preference of the craftsman. Depending on the project, I may or may not use this instrument. The functionality is easily replicated by a straightedge and marking knife (or pencil).

What I can tell you about this instrument is that it is a well crafted marking guage made of Rosewood and brass. It scribes very well in both soft and hard woods with minimal tearing. The locking feature is a timesaver, especially if you have the same thickness to layout in several places.

Overall, it has proved invaluable to me when laying out mortises and rabbets.

This has a great feel of quality and should have been at home in a custom wood box. The moving scribe and the locking brass knob are a precsion fit. This is a pro kool tool.

The TK406 is a good crosscut blade capable of clean cuts. It's well made, and in typical Freud fashion, it's a good value as well, but I think their own LU88 is a better blade and better value at only $10 more. It makes cleaner cuts and doesn't dull quite as fast as my TK406 did. The teeth on the LU88 are larger, harder, sharper, and hold an edge longer. So, while the TK406 is fine, it's simply a matter of the LU88 having more advantages. Wish I'd known about the LU88 before I bought the TK406....too soon old, too late smart!

edit-01/23/2006: It's been several months now and I still LOVE this blade. I have used it to cut everything from oak to treated pine to plastic but it even handles that stuff like a real trooper. It is a little slow to rip with, but not bad. For what I do in my hobby shop I don't mind at all. The last cut I made with it is as smooth as the first.

original text: I have to admit that I only bought this blade this morning and couldn't wait to try it out. I installed it on my Jet JWTS-10 table saw, the cheapest of the line. I have made other improvements to the saw but this blade has been one of the best.

In my review of the saw I state that the original blade is good for a starter blade. This one DEFINITELY takes it to the next level and beyond. No tear out AT ALL, either ripping or cross cutting. SMOOTH finish. NO SAW MARKS!!! And it's fairly quick at ripping too. I was concerned about buying another blade designed primarily for cross cutting, and Freud doesn't rate this blade as the best for ripping either, but my results so far have been excellent.

I may add a blade stabilizer, though Freud claims you don't need one with this blade. The plate is a bit thicker near the arbor than it is at the teeth. A 3.5" should do it.

Enough said. Buy it!! For around $35.00 you can't, CAN'T go wrong. A Forrest Woodworker of this quality will cost you nearly THREE TIMES as much.

I hope you find this review helpful, and as always, Good Luck with your own dreams!

I installed one of these in a Delta 36-225 (a "bargain" CMS) and have since made hundreds of cuts in oak moulding and stock up to 2"x6". Results have been uniformly superb. Even at extreme bevels, the saw moves easily through the wood, with the cut surfaces glass-smooth. With this blade, I don't see much need for the 80-tooth; cuts are as good as I'll ever need. Likewise, I hardly bother with the 40-tooth, since with the thin kerf this cuts plenty fast through anything I put to it. All in all, this has got to rank as one of the better purchases I have made.

The concept is appealing. Treat your edges with this bit and glue them together. More glue surface means a stronger joint.

The problem is that one must be exact with the positioning of the bit...and I mean exact. If your're off by a hair, your error is mutlplied twice by the same error on the other board. In addition, the cut of the bit takes off about 1/8" off each board. It also would have helped if the company published the center point of the bit. I assumed it was 1/2 the overall height.

To be fair, this is a well made bit with plenty of heft. Running it around 18000 rpm produced the best performance. If you are interested in this type of edge glueing you might also want to take a look at the company's other offerings, particularly the finger joint edge glue bit. This bit does not need to be exacrly centered but raised or lowered 7/32" to provide a match.

This glue joint bit is excellent for aligning board surfaces. It also enhances the surface area moderately, thereby adding some strength. For further strength, use it in conjunction with biscuits. I had bought this Freud reversible glue up joint bit as part of a cabinet set.
The problem is getting the glue seams on multiple boards to sit flush. Normally when clamping, one board might sit a little higher, or lower than the one next to it. Clamping is of course an answer, but is only effective if you clamp the heck out of nearly the entire surface.
If you are fortunate enough to own a huge drum or belt sanding stationary machine, you enjoy the advantage of being able to pass your table top through the sander to level the edges. Since most of us don't have that advantage, it would be reassuring to know that the irregular face of the bit forces the alignment of the individual boards.
You must take the time to get the registration right. To prep to use this bit, is to plane the boards, all at the same time, to a final even thickness, and then used the reversible glue up joint bit, you would wind up with a table top that would only need a light sanding.
From what I see, most people are considering this bit to be an alternative to biscuit joinery. Although I admit that you are slightly increasing the amount of board surface to glue up, it is not really significant enough to make a substantial difference in the strength of the joint. It appears that the finger joint bit would do the job of increasing surface area a little better.
The advantage of the Frued glue joint bit, is that it will give you a perfect alignment of the boards. In plain words, a flat top without irregular seam ridges to try and sand out.

In conclusion, use this glue up joint bit to align your boards, and mildly enhance the glue surface. Adding biscuits would give you even more strength.
Hope this helps.

This bit is nice, however, it was a little bit hard to set up. Once set up, it was very clean and precise over the entire length of panel. When I raised the panel after glue up, the joint was invisible. No glue lines visible. That is great. It also produced a jointed like edge on the mating surfaces after routing. Very nice.

If this were a tiny bit bigger height wise, it would make a very accurate edge for meeting 45's on outside corners of custom cabinets or furniture. The trick is to clamp another piece of stock behind the stile for a bering guide. As it is listed, I can't tell if this particular 22.5 is tall enough.

I have an ever growing collection of Freud bit's, blades and tools and as always, this one is awesome. I am making all my trim in my house out of black ash and I'm using this bit for the edges. It is the first chamfer bit that i've used that didn't burn at all on end grain.

I would like to know if this item can be purchased with a 1/4" shank. I could use one right away if this is availble. Please e-mail me at Bloudinhhi@aol.com. Thanks

I have had limited use so far, made two small doors, and amazed at the quality of the cuts. No sanding needed. I am disappointed with the video, you need an Apple download to play, which would take 4 hours on my dial up connection.

I recently purchased this set for some doors that I was doing for a china cabinet. I used birch as the primary lumber and I was amazed at the results. The doors came out perfect and I was very surprised at the alignment. They were much easier to set up than expected. Although these might seem a little expensive, they are worth every penny.

Have owned this bit set for two years created raised panel wainscoting when we built our house (about 56 lineal feet of stacked panels totalling 8' high. The panel system was made from MDF which usually does a real number on bits. Pulled it out a few days ago to make some raised panel doors for another project in solid cherry with excellent results. Once word of caution, if you do not have a variable speed router don't even think about buying this or any other panel raising set, unless you wish to cause yourself bodily harm or damage your router. I used a Bosch 1617EVS at the 2nd from lowest speed for the Cherry and the lowest speed for MDF and made two or three passes with the largest bit.

I bought this bit at the Woodworkers show 1 year ago. I used it to build one raised panel door sample and it did as expected. However I then saw other similiar Freud bits that had a bearing on it. I looked in my box for a bearing and there was none. I wish the salesman would have told me no bearing comes with the bit. I would have bought one with a bearing.

As a profesional cabinet maker, i bought this for my home shop,works well,just like most freud bits,would recomend large router,3hp or better.the only thing holding this bit back from getting five stars,is the lack of a bearing,which would make this cutter near perfect.For production shops i would recommend a shaper

Freud's raised panel bit provides an extemely smooth surface on both sides. It's also great having the shims to be able to adjust the heigth of the backcut. You can make the front surface and the back surface match exactly the rails and stiles. Now that I've used it, I wouldn't have any raised panel bits without a backcutter. With the backcutters, there is no need to make 2 passes. The cutters are apparently very sharp, because my 2-1/4 hp router handled the bit with almost a full first pass. I am extremely pleased with the router bit.

i'm middle aged now, last time i turned wood was in high school. these tools seem alot better than what i used in my old woodshop class. they have stayed sharp for quite some time. no problem turning redwood, but the dry cocobolo has been a problem. i plan to sharpen things tonight. see you later. demetrious

I have owned the freud lathe chisels for several months. They cut very well. But they do seem to dull down pretty quickly. But of course most chisels don't see to stay sharp very long. I would buy them again and they are perfect for the beginner because they do cut very well. Would recommend them to anyone.

A seasoned turner first introduced me to wood turning chisels by explaining that for each 20 minutes of turning he does, he spends 30 minutes sharpening his tools. Half of the problem is how to sharpen them in the least amount of time, with the smallest amount of effort. The Tormek Sharpening system is the answer for that, but at a hefty price. Then the next consideration is how long they keep an edge once you get there. These Freud turning tools are the answer for that. Sharp edges equal the best work, and these chisels give you the longest edge at the best price, considering the prices of the upper level competition.

Though not the most expensive you can find, for the price I know I will get my use out of these chisels. This will be the lifetime set I will surely take care of. And now I am planning to get the gouges to match (and make a case for each.)

I was hit with a late minute Christmas List and knowing my Son, who takes pride in his wood working tools.
I was in the market for a "good" Woodworkers Chisel Set when I came across this set which was highly recommended to purchase if I saw it. And not to mention the price$$$...
Thank you so much! It will make my Son's Christmas when he receives this gift...

The freud set compares well with the Marples and the Footprint sets that I have. Although the Freud set is Chrome Vanadium steel, compared to the Sheffield steel of my other chisels, they sharpened very well out of the box, and they seem to hold an edge as well as the other sets. For a ten piece set, the price was outstanding, and the set also came very nicely boxed. I haven't cut any dovetails yet, but I like the low profile for the outside edge, it should make cutting the pins very smooth. I highly recommend this set.

Realmente la calidad de estas "Router Bits" es excepcional. El balanceo es perfecto y el filo es inmejorable. Recomiendo esta marca pues la relaci�n precio/prestaciones es muy buena.

This is exactly as advertised - the ideal starter set. I bought this set along with my Porter-Cable "Ultimate Router Workshop." The bits are very sharp, sail through wood, and leave a smooth finish.