Are the blade housings universal?

Mar '13 Mandymoe_011

So I bought a new Cricut Expression and was so excited when it was delivered. My 5 year old daughter was there helping open it all up. Long story short, I think I accidently threw away the blade housing. I have looked all over the internet and in stores to find the original METAL housing and cannot find it. I've read reviews on the replacement that are plastic and they are not so good. My question is could I use the Deep Cut housing and just put the original blades in?
Mar '13 HisGEM

RE: Mandymoe_011: So I bought a new Cricut Expression and was so excited when it was delivered. My 5 year old daughter was there helping open it all up. Long story short, I think I accidently threw away the blade housing. I have looked all over the internet and in stores to find the original METAL housing and cannot find it. I've read reviews on the replacement that are plastic and they are not so good. My q...

You can't use original blades in the the deep cut housing unit. The deep housing is slightly shorter than the original housing. you may be able to score a metal housing on eb*y. Sometimes people sell the cricut for parts when they die out. Other than that, all of the new units are new....it is cheaper to make the plastic ones.
You may want to ask someone who has a Pazzles and a Cricut if they are interchangeable...
Mar '13 Megan - ForumTech

RE: HisGEM: You can't use original blades in the the deep cut housing unit. The deep housing is slightly shorter than the original housing. you may be able to score a metal housing on eb*y. Sometimes people sell the cricut for parts when they die out. Other than that, all of the new units are new....it is cheaper to make the plastic ones. You may want to ask someone who has a Pazzles and a Cricut if they ar...

If I recall correctly, Klo the Pazzles guru has said they are NOT. The deep cut housing is close to the Pazzles housing, but not an exact replacement. So it seems like it wouldn't be a replacement for the original at all.