LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner

When to change TS blades

2K views 24 replies 6 participants last post by  conifur 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I have a dado set I bought when I got my new table saw last year - I've yet to use them :(

I also bought 2 new saw blades when I bought the table saw - I've yet to install! 10" 50T, 10" 80T.

It's been a year that I have my saw, and currently I still have the original blade - 10" 40 T.

It seems to cut fine for my needs, then again I don't really know my needs LOL

Why?

The dado, looks like a real PITA to work with, I've read how to do it, but haven't gotten the nerve up to try it yet. Also, I always ruin a lot of wood when I try something new :( and I'm not in the mood to lose wood at the moment.

The new blades are not top of the line, I really don't think I'm ready for top of the line stuff anyway.

So my questions:

Do you change blades often or based on the project or cutting type/wood you're doing/using.

Can blades be sharpened - is it even worth it if they can be? Who/what would do the sharpening?

Thanks as always in advance
 
See less See more
#3 ·
When cutting becomes a chore, burning wood, binding, ect.
Yes they can be sharpened, are they carbide? What is a not top of the line blade to you? To me that is anything over $100 when I can by Freud 40-80$.
Where to sharpen, google it in your area in FL, I can come down and hold your hand on that. Jesse. Hardware stores that sell alot of tools usually have a place they send them out to on a weekly basis.
 
#4 ·
Thanks KDC - will do

Yes they can be sharpened, are they carbide?
Yes. all of them are
What is a not top of the line blade to you? To me that is anything over $100 when I can by Freud 40-80$.
Mine were about $30

Where to sharpen, google it in your area in FL,
LOL - there isn't much of anything in my area - I usually have to travel for most things that others take for granted

I can come down and hold your hand on that. Jesse.
I may take you up on that - how much is it going to cost me ;)

Hardware stores that sell alot of tools usually have a place they send them out to on a weekly basis.
We don't really have hardware stores - we're mostly a home depot/lowes kinda place.

Neither of which are very helpful or knowledgeable.

Thanks Confur the advice
 
#11 ·
If the 40T blade is the blade that came with the saw, I'd swap it out for the 50T immediately and would save the stock blade for junk cuts of suspicious wood. If the 40T was a decent aftermarket blade, like a Freud Diablo or Irwin Marples I'd clean it well before sending it out to be sharpened….keeping blades clean will help them perform better and last longer.

If there are no good sharpeners near you, you can send them out to be sharpened, but sending 1 blade is barely worth the shipping charge if its not a really good blade. Places like Dynamic Saw in Buffalo, Scott Whiting's service in Glendale, AZ, Forrest or Ridge Carbide all do a great job. I would not bother sharpening a stock saw blade unless it was something special….most stock blades just aren't worth it.
 
#12 ·
If the 40T blade is the blade that came with the saw, I d swap it out for the 50T immediately and would save the stock blade for junk cuts of suspicious wood. If the 40T was a decent aftermarket blade, like a Freud Diablo or Irwin Marples I d clean it well before sending it out to be sharpened….keeping blades clean will help them perform better and last longer.

If there are no good sharpeners near you, you can send them out to be sharpened, but sending 1 blade is barely worth the shipping charge if its not a really good blade. Places like Dynamic Saw in Buffalo, Scott Whiting s service in Glendale, AZ, Forrest or Ridge Carbide all do a great job. I would not bother sharpening a stock saw blade unless it was something special….most stock blades just aren t worth it.

- knotscott
Sweet thx Knotscott for those names

The 50T is actually a Diablo - got it on sale

I'll swap that out then tomorrow - give me something to do for a Monday LOL

Clean blades - gotta learn about that also :(

So much to learn, so little time LOL

Hmm, Print shops have cutter blades? Oh, for the paper products? Never would have thought of that! Thanks Rick
 
#13 · (Edited by Moderator)
My blade cleaning is for 10 ", a 5 gallon plastic bucket top, a cup of warm water, and 4 Table spoons of Baking Soda, mixed in the water, lay the blade on the lid, pour over mix, you will have more then needed soak over night, scrub blade teeth area with a brass/bronze brush, rinse under hot water, wipe dry, and apply Johnsons paste wax to blade, let set for 5-10 minutes, polish with a old cotton T shirt.
 
#14 ·
Hmm, Print shops have cutter blades? Oh, for the paper products? Never would have thought of that! Thanks Rick

- jesinfla
They use hydraulic cutters and the blades have to be incredibly sharp. They will definitely use a good sharpening service.

If you want to try sharpening the cheaper blades yourself, Matthias Wandel and John Heisz both have youtube videos on how to do it.
 
#17 ·
The best cleaner I've found is home depots citrus degreaser, removes the gunk in seconds with nothing but a toothbrush. Aircraft simple green works too but requires a brass brush. You shouldn't use regular simple green it reacts and weakens the solder holding the carbide.
 
#18 · (Edited by Moderator)
I've been at this for 60 years and can offer some opinions.

1. I use only ONE blade on my table saw for all cuts! I have a $4,000 Hammer industrial 12" sliding table saw and use a cheap $36 12" dia. Harbor Freight carbide blade with 96 teeth. Yes, a Harbor Freight blade!!! It is the best blade I have ever had and gives me glass smooth cuts. I have had it for 2 1/2 years and it is still razor sharp. The Hammer saw, made in Austria, has an electric blade brake to stop the rotation upon turning the power off. To keep the blade from unscrewing when being stopped, the arbor has two pins that are just outside of the arbor hole. Because of this and the fact the hole in the purchased blade needed to be a slightly larger size, I sent the blade off to Forrest Blades in New Jersey (http://www.forrestblades.com/) who charged another $36 to punch the two pin holes and enlarge the arbor hole. Forrest Blades can do anything to a saw blade you will ever need include sell you one of their own manufactured top of the line blades.

2. A blade needs to be cleaned every so often when wood pitch builds up around the teeth and the pitch gives off smoke when the blade runs. To do this simply remove the blade and spray on some oven cleaner which is a caustic lye (avoid breathing this stuff!!!) and let it sit for a hour or so. Then use an old tooth brush to clean the pitch off. Use water to wash off the oven cleaner (I use a hose outdoors), dry the blade, and then spray on some WD-40 to keep it from rusting. Note: some claim oven cleaner weakens the "solder" holding the carbide teeth to the saw. Being a long time metal worker using carbide tooling, I don't buy this. That "solder" is not any lead/tin substance but brass, bronze/ or silver which is used to braze the carbide teeth to the saw. In all of these years of using oven cleaner I have never had a problem. And I have never heard of millions upon millions of kitchen ovens rotting away or falling apart.

Planeman
 
#20 ·
Thanks for all the suggestions guys - a lot to mull over and try :)

Installed new blades today on my TS (diablo 10/50T) and MS (lifetime HF 10/80T)

So far so good - I didn't try out the new blades - ran out of time.

I'm going to clean the old blades this weekend I think - TS Delta 10/40T, MS Craftsman 10/40T

Thanks again - much appreciated
 
#21 · (Edited by Moderator)
Conifer, not to be picky but to inform. You refer to the "carbide and welds". Carbide is not welded on, it is brazed on. A "weld" is two like materials melted and mixed together. Brazing on the other hand is two unlike materials with one of those materials melted and fused to the other which is NOT melted. And I stand by my opinion that oven cleaner does not harm either the carbide nor the brass/bronze/silver brazing. Recommended reading on this subject: http://www.carbideprocessors.com/pages/saw-blades/can-cleaners-harm-saw-blades.html
 
#22 · (Edited by Moderator)
Putting the controversy of whether or not oven cleaner damages brazing or carbide aside, there are many very effective alternatives to oven cleaner for cleaning saw blades that I don't see the point of exposing yourself to the harsh caustic when you don't have to. The important thing is to clean your blades regularly, regardless of which method you choose.

I tend to use whatever household degreaser we have on hand….LA's Totally Awesome, 409, Greased Lightnin, Fantastic, Simple Green, Goo Gone, etc. Spray on the blade, scrub it briefly with an old toothbrush or brass bristle brush, rinse, and wipe off. It literally takes 4 or 5 minutes from start to finish, and doesn't irritate my lungs and skin.
 
#24 · (Edited by Moderator)
Using chemicals you shouldn't just out of stubbornness is stupid. And by the sound of it, oven cleaner isn't very good for the job if it has to soak. There are plenty of things that will clean a saw blade and not potentially result in a piece of carbide going through your face and do the job much faster. Don't get me wrong, I don't care if you do it, it's your face.
 
#25 ·
Conifer, not to be picky but to inform. You refer to the "carbide and welds". Carbide is not welded on, it is brazed on. A "weld" is two like materials melted and mixed together. Brazing on the other hand is two unlike materials with one of those materials melted and fused to the other which is NOT melted. And I stand by my opinion that oven cleaner does not harm either the carbide nor the brass/bronze/silver brazing. Recommended reading on this subject: http://www.carbideprocessors.com/pages/saw-blades/can-cleaners-harm-saw-blades.html

- Planeman40
You are correct on the welding/brazing terminology, I knew it was brazing or at least 95%, I used welding as a generic term, but who would have known that. I read the link, I can not dispute, it but detected a bit of salesmanship for his blades in it.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top