Shopsmith Forums

I'm about to tackle cleaning a couple of 10" carbide tipped saw blades. What are your favorite techniques?

I soak them in water with baking soda over night and then use a brass brush to clean them.

I soak my blades in a diluted Simple Green solution and wipe them clean. On rare occasion I find it necessary to use a fine grit Scotch Bright pad.

I use CMT blade cleaner and a brass brush. I let it sit 5 minutes after spraying. It works very well and fast.

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

dusty wrote:I soak my blades in a diluted Simple Green solution and wipe them clean. On rare occasion I find it necessary to use a fine grit Scotch Bright pad.

I don't dilute the Simple green. Should I?

Coffee works wonders and is as cheap as it gets.

Now a re-post of mine

"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've been using Zep Heavy-Duty Citrus Degreaser and a brass brush. Easy Peasey!

Thanks to all for the suggestions!

Over the years I've used everything mentioned except CMT. Coffee outperforms the others both is cost and results. I put the blade in a 11" film can and cover with cold coffee and soak overnight.

Sometimes I'll scrape the pitch off the teeth with my jack knife and avoid any soaking. This way I get to check each tooth for chips or bad welds.

But for a complete cleaning---- Following advice from Nick, I use Dawn dish detergent. You know, the same detergent used for cleaning oil sludge off of sea birds.