Freud Fusion dull?

[Jay Yoder]

Hey all i was ripping some red oak tonight on my 5hp Jet deluxe and i actually experienced some kickback. I thought i had run into a knot but was able to flip the piece and run it thru. Then, while ripping some other red oak boards i realized that they were feeding harder than usual. I finished the rip cuts with the faint smell of burning wood and the tell tale rub burns on the cut side. i then crosscut the same pieces and it fed a bit tougher than usual too, but still did a mirror smooth cut. Is it time for the blade to be sharpened or is there possibly another issue? Before tonight it was smooth sailing...anyone had their fusion sharpened yet? if so where? would it be a good idea to send it back to freud due to the special angles that it has?

[Dewey Torres]

Jay,
I have that blade and swear by it. Before the nay sayers come in to the mix please let me disclose that I also have 2 Forrest WW II's to compare it to. (Both are great but I prefer the Fusion)

The only time I have what you were talking bout happen with that blade is when my fence wasn't "grabbing" tight and therefor was moving ever so sightly during the cut.

Yes it was scary but it was easy to fix and I was off again.

I have access to a guy here in the Springs that has the capability to sharpen them.

I would certainly ask if the sharpener in your area has successfully sharpened that model. Any hint of hesitation or no references and I would send it beck to Freud for sharpening. This is not the blade to have some bozo mess up try to figure out how to sharpen it.

If you have a piece of melamine, make a cut with it. Any chip out and you have a dull blade as this baby is GREAT on melamine (a challenging material). Also check the pitch buildup. You may need a cleaning.

[Bill Huber]

I have and use that blade, I did have a little problem like you are having but I fix mine just by cleaning the blade, I guess I need to check it a little more often for build up.

Dewey, does your guy there do a good job and will he ship? I know I will need to get it sharpened at some point.

[jerry nazard]

Jay,

I'll add another vote for cleaning the blade before sending it off for sharpening. Great blade!!

-Jerry

[Dave Falkenstein]

If the red oak you are ripping is thicker than 1", you should consider using a rip blade. Combo blades like the Fusion and WWII are fine for ripping hardwoods less than 1" thick.

[Charles McCracken]

Hey all i was ripping some red oak tonight on my 5hp Jet deluxe and i actually experienced some kickback. I thought i had run into a knot but was able to flip the piece and run it thru. Then, while ripping some other red oak boards i realized that they were feeding harder than usual. I finished the rip cuts with the faint smell of burning wood and the tell tale rub burns on the cut side. i then crosscut the same pieces and it fed a bit tougher than usual too, but still did a mirror smooth cut. Is it time for the blade to be sharpened or is there possibly another issue? Before tonight it was smooth sailing...anyone had their fusion sharpened yet? if so where? would it be a good idea to send it back to freud due to the special angles that it has?

Jay,

I agree with the comments to start by checking alignment and also to clean the blade thoroughly. Let me know if you have further issues.

[Jay Yoder]

The piece was about 1.25" thick and i should probably clean it up first before panicing! will clean it and report back. Thanks for the idea!!!