PSA: Clean your saw blades!

[FS7]

I thought I had some dull blades, but as it turns out they were just really dirty. Some time ago, fortunately, Onsrud blades were available for a song and I got two 12" and one 10"...enough for my table saw and miter saw. I had new ones ready to go, so I swapped those in.

I was thinking I needed the blades sharpened, but they really only needed to be cleaned. I soaked them in a poor man's parts cleaner (Simple Green HD in a Rubbermaid tub) and they were as good as new with a little toothbrush work in about 10 minutes. The difference is like night and day - there is no visible pitch or resin on any of them.

I have always heard that cleaning saw blades will extend their life, but now I can attest to it.

[deepsplinter]

I couldn't agree more.

I use some kind of orange citrus cleaner in a frisbee.

[akertesz]

I use a denture brush for cleaning. They are a little bit stiffer than a tooth brush.

[bennybmn]

deepsplinter said:

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.... in a frisbee.

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^^ This has to be the best "duh why didn't I think of that" thing I've seen in a long time!

[WaterlooMarc]

bennybmn said:

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[blockquote]deepsplinter said:

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.... in a frisbee.

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^^ This has to be the best "duh why didn't I think of that" thing I've seen in a long time!

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[/blockquote]

Genius!

[vapochilled]

bennybmn said:

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[blockquote]deepsplinter said:

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.... in a frisbee.

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^^ This has to be the best "duh why didn't I think of that" thing I've seen in a long time!

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[/blockquote]

Beat me to it, it's brilliant!

[Edwin Hackleman]

A wire cup brush chucked in the drill press works in a pinch. That cuts my chemical cleaning operations by 80%. About the only part of the cutter tooth that it misses is the inside edges. I brush the blades before every major project.

[Dennis Puskar]

Like the guy said I couldn't agree more.

[robmaz]

Heat is the enemy of carbide and heat is generated by any pitch on the teeth. It will dull that carbide quickly which leads to worse cutting which leads to more buildup and then the cycle goes faster and faster.

[Steve N]

Pine and tar/sap heavy woods are the worst offenders. Sometimes you only cut a few pieces, and can see the difference.


Something of a primer on the Do's and Dont's of saw blade cleaning

Further thoughts about saw blade cleaning

I can report for a period of time of around 30 years we always used oven cleaner to do this chore. Now I read I should have been maimed after doing it every time. It was common practice, go figure.