Cleaning pitch off of saw blade

I think this has come up once or twice before. ;-) There are many ways to do it…the important thing as that it gets done regardless of which method/cleaner you use.

Saw blade cleaning discussions

-- Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....

I have only used a pitch remover I bought at woodcraft. I don’t cut it, just use it full strength and than put it through a paint/finish strainer and back into the bottle. Been using the same bottle for a good 8 years now. The stuff works like a charm.

-- ~~ John . . . . . . . . . Against the Grain Woodworking & Design, LLC

I use the Simple Green Pro (purple stuff) from Home Depot. It works great and not expensive.

-- Rick Gustafson - Lost Creek Ranch - Colorado County, Texas

Every once in awhile I get a bunch of pine sap on my hands… STICKY as all get-out!

I’ve been using plain ole Dawn liquid dish washing soap.. I may have to try 2-3 times… but, it eventually works for my skin.

How that correlates to a saw blade, I don’t know…

And, when I do it, the sap is still soft... If I were to let it harden, I doubt if the soap would do it.

-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Alta Loma, CA USA - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?ppuser=1389&cat=500"

the simple green cleaners and the orangecleaners both work for me just fine. I usually take the blades off my table saw and miter saw every couple of weeks and give them a good cleaning. Makes a nice difference.

-- Every step of any project should be considered your masterpiece if you want the finished product to reflect the quality of your work. http://www.FineArtBoxes.com

I use Simnple Green. Let blade soak in it for 10 minutes, then scrub balde with an old tooth brush, rinse and dry.

Another call for Simple Green

-- Don't anthropomorphize your handplanes. They hate it when you do that. -- OldTools Archive

It’s Dawn dishwashing liquid for me. Hot water, a good squirt of Dawn and let it sit an hour or so in a baking sheet deep enough to cover the blade. Think I set the blade on a few coins or something to ensure good contact all the way around. Not sure just how long it takes because I left my blade soaking a few hours while I went to church one Sunday. I used a nylon household brush to get all the softened gunk from the gullets and around the teeth but it came off real easily with just one soaking.

-- Bob, Atlanta

Soak in soap and hot water. Scrub teeth with a bristle
brush. Simple Green works well for the soap.

Thanks for the great response and thanks for the kind welcome, simple green sounds like it has a lot of support, is it because it is more environmentally sound or does have something extra to recommend it.

-- jbander

Jon, Dawn & other dish washing liquid soaps are OK with the environment…
... chances are you already have it too… LOL

-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Alta Loma, CA USA - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?ppuser=1389&cat=500"

Simple Green works quickly and is ‘non-toxic, biodegradable.’ It’s an effective stain per-treat on many fabrics too.

-- Don't anthropomorphize your handplanes. They hate it when you do that. -- OldTools Archive

I’ve used washing soda and goof off they both work very well.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

1+ for simple green purple. Cleans blades very easily and will not degrade carbide like regular simple green. $15 at home depot will get you a concentrated gallon that will lasts you years.

-- Willie, Washington "If You Choose Not To Decide, You Still Have Made a Choice" - Rush

Really, how does simple green degrade carbide, do any of the other suggestions also degrade carbide.

-- jbander