Freud, Pipe Fittings, and Torque Wrenches: A Procurement Manager's FAQ

I manage procurement for a 45-person architectural millwork and light fabrication company. I have handled our tooling and MRO purchase orders for about six years—roughly $140,000 a year in spend, maybe a bit more if abrasives are in the same budget line. This FAQ started as replies to our own shop team and to buyers at other B2B shops. It covers the Freud products we reorder, the pipe fitting catalog that lives on my desk, and one torque wrench I bought after reading the same 24335 torque wrench review everyone else found.

1. Is Freud worth the premium over cheaper blades?

It depends, and that is not a dodge. On a cutoff saw that runs once a week, a lower-priced blade is fine. On production saws that run all day, I buy Freud. It took me about 200 purchase orders to stop looking at unit price and start looking at total cost per good part.

In April 2023 we learned that lesson the painful way. A $28 blade on a production table saw burned the edges of a maple panel order. The replacement blade cost $40, but the rejected material and setup time totaled just over $1,100. A more expensive blade would not guarantee zero risk, but the blade was the cause of the failure. The cheapest option was not the lowest-cost option.

Not every Freud SKU is the right answer, either. I buy Freud for high-use saws and for cuts where a failure stops a whole run. For a miter saw that cuts trim twice a month, cheaper tooling is fine. The real question is what a blade failure costs in the middle of a production day.

2. Which Freud track saw blade should I order?

Start with the arbor and diameter that fits your saw. Most of our European-style track saws use a 160mm blade with a 20mm bore. The Freud track saw blade I reorder is a thin-kerf 48-tooth version, because most of our track saw work is sheet goods. It gives a clean cut on plywood and maple veneer without the heavy scoring setup we need on some other saws.

I do not trust my memory for the current SKU. The part number has changed before, and copying an old purchase order put the wrong bore size in our cart once. I check the current catalog before reordering. That takes two minutes and keeps a $150 mistake out of the receiving dock.

If you are buying a Freud track saw blade for the first time, ignore brand loyalty for a second. Check the arbor, the diameter, and the kerf first. Track saw systems are not as interchangeable as 10-inch table saws, and a blade that fits physically but is too thick can damage the riving knife housing or the splinter guard.

3. What saw blade to cut aluminum should I buy?

The short answer to the question what saw blade to cut aluminum should I buy is: buy one designed for non-ferrous metal, not the blade that came with the saw. A general-purpose carbide blade can cut aluminum occasionally, but it is a safety risk and a tool life disaster when you feed it wrong.

For our shop, the usual setup is a 10-inch table saw with an 80-tooth non-ferrous blade, triple-chip grind, and a neutral or negative hook angle. That geometry helps prevent the blade from grabbing the workpiece. A positive-hook wood blade can pull thin aluminum into the cut faster than the operator can control, and that is how parts end up bent or thrown.

Freud makes a non-ferrous metal blade line, and it has worked well for us on aluminum trim and thin flat bar. But the category matters more than the brand. Use a blade labeled for aluminum or non-ferrous metal, cut at a slower feed rate, and use a stick lubricant on the cut. Keep the aluminum blade separate from the wood blades. Once it gets used for lumber, it is not an aluminum blade anymore.

4. Which Freud finger joint router bit should I choose?

The Freud finger joint router bit should be chosen by shank size, material thickness, and usable cutting height, not by price alone. For production work, a 1/2-inch shank is the right starting point. A 1/4-inch shank flexes more under load, and finger joint profiles need consistency across a long run.

We ran a side-by-side comparison in December 2024. The lower-priced bit looked reasonable out of the box, but it started leaving a rougher glue surface after a few hundred feet. The Freud finger joint router bit cost more, yet it held the profile longer and produced joints that lined up without gaps. The cost per good joint was lower with the Freud bit, not higher.

If you only make finger joints occasionally, a cheaper bit might be enough. If the bit is going into a daily cabinet or panel operation, think about the full cost of rejects and setup time. That is the same calculation I use for saw blades.

5. Why do I keep a pipe fitting catalog next to my mouse pad?

A pipe fitting catalog is not a brochure. It is a technical reference. We do not do plumbing, but we do compressed air, dust collection, and shop air lines. I need to see thread forms, wall thickness, pressure ratings, and material certifications before comparing quotes.

In Q2 2024, one supplier quoted an aluminum compressed air piping package at about 20 percent below the next closest bid. The lower quote omitted pressure ratings and used a thread standard that did not match our compressor setup. The pipe fitting catalog made that obvious before we placed the order, not after a weekend of leaking fittings.

Look for a pipe fitting catalog that includes dimensional drawings. If you are comparing NPT and BSP threads, the catalog will show the difference. A supplier who tells you they will probably fit is not giving you a specification. For a shop air system, that is a leak or a safety issue waiting to happen.

6. Does the 24335 torque wrench review hold up in a real shop?

The 24335 torque wrench review that kept showing up in my searches was accurate. We ordered the TEKTON 24335 after reading it. It is a 1/2-inch drive click-style torque wrench with a 10 to 150 ft-lb range. That range covers what we need for arbor nuts and spindle maintenance in the saw room.

We checked it at 25, 75, and 120 ft-lb on a torque tester borrowed from a machine shop down the road. The readings stayed inside the published ±4 percent accuracy band at all three points. Our test was not a formal calibration, but it was close enough for our maintenance work.

The click action is clear, and the tool feels solid for the price. I can only speak to our shop context. If you are torquing critical fasteners on heavy equipment or doing aerospace work, you need a certified calibration program, not an internet recommendation. For a woodworking shop that wants repeatable arbor torque and a dependable tool without spending a fortune, the 24335 torque wrench review got it right.