Contributor
Sure looks like you hit something embedded in the wood, but bad carbide/brazing could be a contributing factor. I have never had that kind of damage without knowingly hitting embedded metal. If you are positive that is not the case send it back and see what happens.
[OP]
Contributor
Some more pics. It does look like the damaged teeth are more on one side than naught.
And looks like carbide failure not the braze. I got out the magnifier to see if I could find any micro cracks on the good teeth. Nothing other than some uniform ridges from sharpening (go horizontal across the tooth face).
Hitting something seems like the most likely culprit, but not obvious to me when this happened (of course, a lot of things are not obvious to me...)
Added a pic of a good tooth - the small shiny bevel you see is part of the sharpening, not damage. And I will say, all the surrounding teeth are still sharp as heck.
In the past I have hit a nail and a good sharp blade goes through it. Drywall screw - no chance - I would know if something like that.
I will send them a note to learn what the expert experience might suggest. But am not trying to get a replacement for something that is within normal expectation, I can not see any quality issues with the blade.
But it bugs me not understanding what happened, since I am going to put another blade on it and do not want to repeat again - gets expensive fast (already...!). Not to mention safety.
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Last edited by Carl Beckett; 12-01-2022 at 10:18 PM.
Member
The other interesting thing is that the damage is all on the side away from the fence. You weren't using a miter bar by chance?
Member
Any chance someone else used your saw ?
Member
Rod's thought is similar to mine. I would carefully examine the saw to see if there is any way the blade contacted it. I am not familiar with your saw but I would take the blade off and the throat plate and look at what it potentially could have touched at all heights where this blade was used. Also the miter bar.
If it didn't hit something in the wood or the saw then it was just a rare bad blade from Freud. I've mostly used Freud blades (including at least one Fusion) in the last 50 years or so I've had a table saw and never had any blade damage that was attributable to me hitting metal in the wood. No chips from knots or anything that the blade should be able to cut. Small bits of metal, like staples, normally do not result in visible damage.
[OP]
Contributor
There is a question.... I do have young adults around.Originally Posted by Dave Sabo
Interference with other parts of the saw is what I am trying to determine. Nothing so far - and the miter is a F&F jig out of plastic/birch with an Al slot that doesnt touch. But will double check all that.
Freud customer service was great and they will inspect the blade with the engineering team and offer any insights.
In the meantime I do have a different blade I can put on it...
Contributor
Once I damaged a blade on the Minimax CU300 I have when the splitter was too low and contacted blade teeth when the saw was turned on.
Moderator
That's a good point, Frank...easy to happen if it comes loose, too, if the bolts are not snugged up.
--
The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
[OP]
Contributor
I did send a note and pictures to Freud customer service asking for insight on failure mode. They were very quick to respond and asked me to return the blade, which I did.
Today I received a new one in the mail. Unsolicited.
Really can not ask for any better customer service, it would have been very easy for them (and I would have accepted it) if they just said operator misuse.
Based on this experience I would not hesitate to buy from them in the future.
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Contributor
Any teeth missing on the new on yet? Just wondering if they had some bad welds on a batch of them.
Distraction could lead to dismemberment!
Member
Good company. It’s good to see that the family got into a business model that didn’t require customers to lay on a couch and free associate.
I had mishap with a Feud blade a number of years ago that took out one tooth and damaged a second. The damage to the blade was clearly my fault. I sent it back for repairs and they sent a brand new blade.
Lee Schierer
USNA '71
Go Navy!
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Contributor
I suspect they will find the carbide steel is too hard and, thus, very brittle (they will never tell you, though). You can see by the photos that the fractures are brittle in nature. It appears to me that the heat affected zone where the tooth is brazed onto the blade is not fracturing which suggests that material was tempered back a bit in the manufacturing process (tempering reduces hardness). This would be expected. I don't know their process but given the broken teeth are not adjacent to one another, I would wager it was the individual teeth that are defective prior to being brazed onto the blade. It is very likely you did hit a hard knot and that impact was enough to fracture the teeth. In my opinion, this was a defective saw blade and it was admirable/proper for Freud to replace it.
I had a similar experience with Freud Customer Service. A new blade showed an odd discoloration and coating failure when cleaned. Same cleaning method I have used for many years. The blade was deemed safe to put back into use but they sent me a new one anyway. My failure was near as catastrophic but the response was just as good. Kudos to the few companies who still know how to treat their customers.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
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