Buy new or sharpen
#11
I have a number of 25+ year old 10" saw blades. These are not thin blades. The teeth are .133 thick. They are mostly Delta, and Freud. I have seen where so many seem to prefer the thin blades, claiming less stress on the saw itself. Yesterday I was attempting to cut a 20 degree angle on a board, and the thin blade simply deflected, making it impossible to do. Would you rather buy new, or resharpen old blades for your table saw? Do you prefer thin blades?

Thanks  Greg
Sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut, and have the world think you a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.
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#12
Thin kerf blades are made mostly for one reason: saws that may be slightly underpowered (IMHO). some folks who use exotic woods like them because they waste slightly less wood, but to me if you have a saw with adequate power there's very little reason to use thin kerf blades. I also have some 25 year old blades I bought, and I'll have them sharpened until there's not enough carbide left to do so. Even my stacked dado set (Freud 508) has been sharpened 3 times. Same goes for chipped/missing/cracked teeth. I'll have them repaired, then resharpened. If you have a really good sharpening service they often come back better then new.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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#13
(06-18-2022, 06:03 AM)Gregor1 Wrote: I have a number of 25+ year old 10" saw blades. These are not thin blades. The teeth are .133 thick. They are mostly Delta, and Freud. I have seen where so many seem to prefer the thin blades, claiming less stress on the saw itself. Yesterday I was attempting to cut a 20 degree angle on a board, and the thin blade simply deflected, making it impossible to do. Would you rather buy new, or resharpen old blades for your table saw? Do you prefer thin blades?

Thanks  Greg

If there is still good carbide on them, yes, of course I would have them sharpened if they are of the type you use.  

As for blade deflection on thin kerf blades I don't have that problem if the blade is sharp.  It's when the blade gets dull that bad things happen.  I run a Freud thin kerf 40 tooth ripping blade on my 1.5 hp Unisaw most of the time.  It does everything except finish crosscuts pretty well.  I just cut some max. depth 45 degree bevel cuts with it w/o issue.  

John
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#14
(06-18-2022, 06:03 AM)Gregor1 Wrote: I have a number of 25+ year old 10" saw blades. These are not thin blades. The teeth are .133 thick. They are mostly Delta, and Freud. I have seen where so many seem to prefer the thin blades, claiming less stress on the saw itself. Yesterday I was attempting to cut a 20 degree angle on a board, and the thin blade simply deflected, making it impossible to do. Would you rather buy new, or resharpen old blades for your table saw? Do you prefer thin blades?

Thanks  Greg

In general, I agree with Fred. However, I use a CMT thin kerf blade for most of my day to day work on both my table saw and RAS and I have never had a problem with blade deflection. I wonder if your blade is dull or, if you are making a skim cut to refine a previous cut where only one side of the blade is doing the work, are you moving the blade through the cut too rapidly? With this cut, you need to move very slowly.
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#15
There is an industrial sharpening service about 20 minutes away, so I get my expensive blades resharpened or repaired all the time. While I prefer the mass and predictability of thicker blades, my favorite rip blade is a Freud thin kerf. Sails through like butter, and I have often resawed with it for narrow stock when I don't feel like breaking out the bandsaw.
Math is tough. Let's go shopping!
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#16
It's a pretty simple word problem from 7th grade math class :

How much does a x- toothed blade cost to sharpen at your preferred vendor ?  Add shipping/driving cost.  This assumes the shop knows what they are doing and doesn't have a bad day too.

Can you buy the same type blade delivered for an equivalent cost ?

There's your answer.
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#17
One question not asked in the above, but implied:  Are the old blades you're talking about carbide-tipped teeth?  Or are they old school steel?

Carbide tipped blades are worth the cost of resharpening.  Regular steel, not so much.

I use Freud blades.  My newest blade has been to the sharpener's shop twice.  The sharpener charges 20 cents per tooth.  A 50-tooth combo blade costs $10 to resharpen; it costs $50 to replace, if I can find it on sale.

My sharpening place is oriented toward commercial/industrial work, and they have all the gear.  They check my blades for flatness and inspect the teeth.  They will tell me if a blade is going end of life.  The blades usually come back to me in better shape than when they came out of the box brand new.
Ray
(formerly "WxMan")
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#18
I would buy new, full kerf blades from Forrest.

Later this year, when it's time to sharpen them I'll but a new set.  When they arrive, send out the old blades to be refreshed and put them on stand by.
Semper fi,
Brad

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#19
(06-18-2022, 06:03 AM)Gregor1 Wrote: I have a number of 25+ year old 10" saw blades. These are not thin blades. The teeth are .133 thick. They are mostly Delta, and Freud. I have seen where so many seem to prefer the thin blades, claiming less stress on the saw itself. Yesterday I was attempting to cut a 20 degree angle on a board, and the thin blade simply deflected, making it impossible to do. Would you rather buy new, or resharpen old blades for your table saw? Do you prefer thin blades?

Thanks  Greg

I have sent out good quality carbide blades. I have about 25 steel blades for an 8-1/4" skill saw. I sharpen these myself. Most ripping is done with the steel blades  with the exception of a 10" Amana carbide blade used for ripping 8/4 or thicker stock. Steel blades in a cabinet saw  cut smoother and easier than carbide blades. I only have one thin kerf blade, a Freud ripping blade that I bought by mistake. Did not pay attention to the "thin kerf" on the package. Saws well, seems same as a full kerf blade.
The 8-1/4" blades need a knockout because blades are diamond shape bore. New blades years ago had the diamond shape in the blade. If you had a saw with a 5/8" bore the blade was left as is. For a Skilsaw you removed the diamond by twisting it off with a screw driver.
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#20
Another consideration is a blade stiffener. It's a disk that can be added to your think kerf blade then attached to the arbor. I don't know if it'll work for a miter cut, but it's worth a try. They are fairly inexpensive. Original purpose is to reduce vibration of a think kerf blade. Since the exposed part of the blade isn't backed by the stiffener, there's still some probability it may not prevent deflection. You can also try slowing down your cut.
Still Learning,

Allan Hill
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