Carbide saw blades

[rjent]

How long do the Shopsmith saw blades usually last? I know it is hard to determine "hours", but do they go dull regularly, and how do you know? The blade that came with my Mark 7 just seems to not be cutting as well as before. I can put a new blade (non shopsmith) on and the machine just seems to cut better with less effort. Just wondering .....

I know, I am showing my newbie-ness, never wore out a blade before. Kind of like falling in love, how do you know? LOL

[algale]

I have all three of the Shopsmith blades (combo, cross, rip) and they are good blades and don't go dull prematurely.

That said, all blades go dull eventually. Depends on how much you use them and what you are cutting.

But before they get dull, they usually get dirty and a dirty blade doesn't cut as well as a clean one. A good cleaning will restore a lot of performance. I suggest you get a blade cleaning product and give it a try. I like this one. http://www.woodcraft.com/product/128479 ... spray.aspx

[davebodner]

I just cleaned my blades for the same reason, though I haven't tried them since. I happened to have some Simple Green hanging around the house. I poured a couple of inches into a 5-gallon bucket and soaked the blades overnight. They came out much cleaner.

Could your alignment be off? I feel that a benefit of the Shopsmith not being overpowered is that it tells you when the alignment starts to go off.

[dusty]

When you look at the cut edge of a board you just cut, do you see the tooth marks and are they bidirectional.

Do you cut a lot of hard woods, plywood or MDF.

MDF will kill a blade faster than fast. Plywood about the same.

[rjent]

OK, it might be dirty blades. I will attempt to diligently clean them. I will check my local HW store and see what kind of cleaners they have. I have check (and rechecked) the alignment with both by the manual procedure and with a dial indicator, so I am 100 percent confident it is aligned. Dusty, the cuts are smooth, as usual, with no tooth marks. I usually cut slow and careful so I don't know if that make any difference, and as far as MDF or PW, I never use it.

Thanks Algale, Dave, and Dusty. I appreciate the feedback. I will see what the cleaning does. Like I said, a new blade cuts like it did when the machine was new.

I will post back with my findings. I am working all week while my "boss" goes on a vacation, so I am busier more this week than normal, but I will have time to at least clean them and will probably use/test the results in a week or so.

Thanks guys!

[garys]

In my experience, carbide blades will last just about forever unless you cut particle board or hit metal. I have managed to break a tooth off carbide blades when I hit something harder than the blade. In that case, I junk the blade and get a new one. Carbide blades are cheap these days, so there is no reason to suffer with one that isn't cutting perfectly anymore.

[reible]

I hope you really meant simple green pro. The regular simple green has a long standing problem with carbide blades and their website use to have a warning about using it on carbide saw blades, something about the welds....... I once posted the link but that was years ago. That link to simple green no longer works.

I did find another discussion on another woodworking site and the jest is:

Simple green pro is recommended. Here is the quote from simple green I found on that other website"

"Dear Ben,

Thank you for contacting Simple Green and for your interest in our products.

Simple Green All Purpose Cleaner should not be used to soak saw blades for any period of time. Any application other than spray and wipe is not recommended.

The recommended product for cleaning saw blades is Simple Green Pro HD which has no effect even during long soak times. Simple Green Pro HD can be purchased at Home Depot.

I hope that this information helps. If you have further questions about this or other Simple Green products or uses, please feel free to contact me via reply email or directly. My contact information is provided below and my regular business hours are Mon thru Fri from 8 -5 Pacific Standard Time.

Thank you again for your inquiry.

Sincerely,

XXXXXXXXXXXX
Technical and Customer Liaison"

There have been endless discussions on this and I was not convinced until I heard it from simple green. So there you have it. Believe or not.

Ed

I just cleaned my blades for the same reason, though I haven't tried them since. I happened to have some Simple Green hanging around the house. I poured a couple of inches into a 5-gallon bucket and soaked the blades overnight. They came out much cleaner.

Could your alignment be off? I feel that a benefit of the Shopsmith not being overpowered is that it tells you when the alignment starts to go off.

[reible]

Now we have talked about this before and yes you can spend money on a lot of good cleaners and have great results. The interesting thing I came across was that coffee works to clean blades!!!!!!!!

So make up a pot, enjoy a cup and then soak your blade in a cup or two. Hold the milk and sugar, blades like it black.

Ed

[jsburger]

OK, it might be dirty blades. I will attempt to diligently clean them. I will check my local HW store and see what kind of cleaners they have. I have check (and rechecked) the alignment with both by the manual procedure and with a dial indicator, so I am 100 percent confident it is aligned. Dusty, the cuts are smooth, as usual, with no tooth marks. I usually cut slow and careful so I don't know if that make any difference, and as far as MDF or PW, I never use it.

Thanks Algale, Dave, and Dusty. I appreciate the feedback. I will see what the cleaning does. Like I said, a new blade cuts like it did when the machine was new.

I will post back with my findings. I am working all week while my "boss" goes on a vacation, so I am busier more this week than normal, but I will have time to at least clean them and will probably use/test the results in a week or so.

Thanks guys!

This is what I use.

https://www.amazon.com/Cmt-Blade-Cleane ... B000GPF4NC

Works fine and no soaking over night. I just spray it on one side, let it soak for 10 minutes or so and use a brass tooth brush to scrub the pitch off. Then do the other side. 30 minutes and you are done.

[Gene Howe]

409 and a brass brush does the trick for me.