As apprenticed toolmaker and graduated engineer I can tell that you are absolutely right. Tools not only have to be sharp they also have to be precise. greetings from Bavaria
I understand everything you just said BUT!, I just purchased one of those VEVOR Sharpening machines and i just sharpened one of my 60 tooth blades and i think it cuts better now than when it was new , the wood goes through the table saw soooooo easy now like butter . If you take your time and set your angles up right and get yourself a pair of magnified glasses you can do the face and the alternating top bevel of the blade and it worked great , DON'T FORGET TO CLEAN YOUR BLADE FIRST TO GET ALL THE PITCH OFF !!!
I absolute agree with your assessment about the complexities of a blade's tooth. However, the same types of specifications exist for wood plane blades, and yet we sharpen those by hand everyday, to the point where we can use a plane to shave slices 1/4 the thickness of printer paper. Do I need to get the angle correct down to 1/100th of a degree for it to work? No. In fact, I believe I could even be off by a full degree or more and still have a great blade. With a well set up jig, I think for 99.9% of uses, you'll be good. And, if a cheap diamond carbide disk can save me $60 to $80, or more, on a blade, repeatedly, I'm a happy camper. I can use that money to buy more tools!! :-)
I own a professional sharpening center in Central California. You did a great job in explaining the sharpening methods. Most of us who sharpen for a living take great pride in our work and also the type of modern sharpening machinery we purchase . Our goal is to give our customers back a superior cutting tool at a very good price. Thank you for sharing.
This used to be a cottage industry with some 'old' guy somewhere offering this service. We had a guy here like that, but he's gone(maybe literally). I've searched high and low for 100mile range....nada. So, I'm gonna give this a shot. Just steel blades, early ShopSmith, so no carbide teeth.
Something that can make a blade feel dull is it being dirty as in build up of sap and pitch from wood. There are products that are made primarily for cleaning saw blades. This was something that I learned from Jay Bates and Stumpy Nubs.
@@mikebrown9625 I recently started sharpening blades for local contractors using the VEVOR machine. The reviews and comments have been favorable so far. Before I start sharpening I clean the blades by soaking them for 15 minutes in a 50/50 solution of water and laundry detergent...works great, no fumes, very inexpensive. Scrub the blade teeth with a stiff nylon toothbrush and the sawdust embedded pine pitch comes off very easily.
Seen this video at the right time. I own 4 very good quality 10 inch blades. It cost $18.00 or more at Wood Workers to have them sharpen. You don't want to waste money and have them sharpen if its not needed. I always judged a blade to be dull if it tries to rise going through the table saw or does not make a clean cut. I mostly cut soft wood and plywood. I'm going to check the blades as you showed on your video and see if they are dull enough to take them in for sharping. Really enjoy all your videos.
I agree Colin, I don't sharpen my saw blades. I'm just a part time woodworker and a good blade will last me a year or better. I have found it is best to clean the blades when they appear dull, usually this will return them to cutting clean and smooth. The cost of blades is not a deal breaker with the longer life of today blades. I remember working in shops and we would change blades every week, but that was before carbide was used. Most of the time I use a 7 1/2" 40 or 60 tooth blade for most cutting and a 10" for ripping large stock. Good info Colin I just like you and don't want to use my time sharping blades rather make shavings.
@@johnvodopija I use Krud Kutter red spray bottle at the Big Box Stores. Spray it on and brush with a brass brush (or stiff bristle) easiest way I have found.
If your blade is dragging or your saw is and you want to squeeze every drop out of them, make sure, if you've been cutting a high sap wood, that the blades are clean
That was really helpful. You explained it very well. I don't comment often, but I watch most of your videos, and I've learned a lot from them. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge.
I absolutely adore learning from you! i crack up everytime you giggle after explaining something. you have taught me so much over that last few years and I am certain your videos will continue to educate and refine my skills. Thank you for being an amazing you! I decided to retire my diablo blade in question after watching this... oh and I want to add that if your diablo blade no longer has the red coating on one side it is probably a wall hanger like an old guitar. I cut a massive amount of wood and I will do better about changing my blade
I have seen a few RUclips videos about saw sharpening and I have yet to see any of them that talk about the extreme health hazard presented by ground carbide dust. It is really nasty, highly carcinogenic stuff. Even if you wear a face mask while sharpening the dust will land on your clothe,and surrounding where it will be disturbed and become airborne again again later presenting a hazard to not only the person doing the sharpening but anyone they come into contact with, the person who cleans their clothes, who ever sweeps out the shop, anyone who handles the floor sweepings, the list is endless. Even using a dust extractor presents problems with the handling of the extracted dust and cleaning of the extracting equipment. You are spot on about the grit of the DIY sharpeners, examination of the sharpened teeth under high magnification shows a very rough finish with significant tear out along the cutting edges. The sharpened saw will cut better than before but not for long because the cutting is being done by the relatively few sharp points on the tooth and the torn out pieces are rubbing and generating heat.
Grinding is never done on the sides of the tooth. Correct grinding always happens on the chest and the back of the tooth. The sides of the teeth are only sharpened during the production of the saw and after replacing broken teeth. A good idea to make a video about grinding sawblades. Best regards.
If you measure the width of the teeth ( aka kerf ) and there are not the same ,How would you suggest they are tuned to the same width without grinding as you call it ? When I replace a tooth/teeth they must match or the widest tooth will do 99% of the kerf cutting , You ok with that ?
If there are only one or a few wider teeth, it is better to adjust those to. When determining many different tooth widths, there is something profoundly wrong with this saw blade, whether during its manufacture or regrinding, and it may simply be better to replace it. New teeth should be ground sideways with the other teeth as a reference. Are you a profesional grinder? Best regards.
True words of wisdom. I have to places to sharpen my blades. In fact I HAD two. At the cheaper one they used to sharpen my blades 3-4 times and teeth were over. At the proper one owner is a true craftsman and he can sharpen 12" Makita mitre saw blades 10-12 times. He's of course a bit more expensive, but worth every penny. When all the parameters of the cutting teeth are taken into consideration, I see no way to sharpen properly any saw blades myself.
I'm in an 'extremely' rural area and found I'm going to need to send my blades out for sharpening as no-one near me offers the service... I have no clue what I'll be dishing out for each touch-up. How much is your guy charging, and have you priced any others? Just looking to get a ballpark figure to go by when making my choice. Anyone in or near Northern Wisconsin know of a reputable service? Maybe I'm missing out on a small business opportunity. =)
@@_Common_Logic_ Sorry mate, haven't seen your question earlier. Info bout my prices won't be any use for you, because I live in Poland. But there's one way you may take into consideration. If sharpening service plus shipping of five blades equals the price of one new blade, it's worth doing.
Great advice. In today's world of DIY we get caught up on wanting to do EVERYTHING ourselves. This is a perfect video to explain why not to. Thank you very much for saving me a lot of time.
Long ago (50+ years) - as a Signal Corps guy in Vietnam we had to build out own facilities. We were lucky just to have one circular saw blade - and spent countless lunch times or evening resharpening it with a file by hand. That was enough - I haven't sharpened one since.
I agree with you, I would never sharp my blades myself - I will ruin them. All my blades is in $100-$270 price range (orange tools, XL4000, FS Tool, AMANA, A.G.A.) And resharpening is only $27
Informative and helpful. Thank you for the content. As a diy woodworker I only have two blades. One multipurpose and the other a high quality 60 tooth blade for cutting picture frame mitres and finer work. 👍😎🇦🇺
Hi Colin! Another excellent video! A couple of decades or so ago, a wood magazine had a shop tip for burnt gummed up blades. It is possible a blade can be sharp but the teeth are so encrusted with burnt tar resin that it just smokes and cuts rough. The tip suggested soaking the blade by laying it flat in a Frisbee and pouring Formula 409 over it to break up the gum on the teeth overnight. Then, scrub the blade with a plastic bristle brush and rinse it off. I had a blade on the shelf that I never used for just that reason so I tried it and was pleasantly surprised ! I'll soak router bits the same way too in a jar overnight. Just the bit, not the bearings! Works great but back then, my dog didn't much care to fetch that Frisbee even though I rinsed out all of the 409. I had to retire that one to cleaning table saw blades only and I got Buddy a new one. I think of Buddy from time to time when I see that Frisbee on the shelf next to all of my blades. I really loved that dog. Best Wishes, Tom
Pure ethanol or oven cleaner also works. I don't submerge them, just spray and brush with a nylon brush to spread on the teeth, come back a few minutes later and it's loose. And sorry to hear about Buddy, I had my own Buddy once upon a time..
The timing of this video is just perfect as I'm trying to decide myself whether to sharpen or not sharpen my blades. Really useful content and food for thought.
Living back in Communist Bulgaria with father professional carpenter we did not have a choice,blades were extremely expensive so we did not have a choice.Living now in Canada and USA it does not make any sense to sharpen your own blades.Just go to the store and buy a new one. It saves you time and the work will be a top quality. sharpening blades on Thickness Planer make sense because they are long and do not have tricky angles but in table saw it is really hard to impossible.
Unless you happen to have a vollmer machine kicking around its usually not worth doing your own saw blades. You also have to (Or at least we always do at our shop) level and tension your blades.
Though I came to "the party" a few years late I really enjoy watching your topic specific video's. I like your ease with which you present each topic. No posturing, just an easy conversational transfer of knowledge and experience. Thank you from South Africa. 😊
I'm sitting up shop again and I havnt invested in Forest 2 blades again. I used to send my Forest blades in a wooden case for sharpening. I got great results. Now I'm going to buy thin kirf blades from different manufactures and want to know is there a reputable sharpening company I can mail my different blades to ? Thank you Arthur
I use the "Diablo" Blades made by Freud, about 1/2 the price of the same blade that says Freud. Haven't had any issues with any of my Diablo blades and I run them in my miter saws, and table saw. I have a package for my reciprocating saw but haven't got to use them yet.
I agree that sharpening your own saw blades does not provide the same factory finish that a professional shop can provide. Massaging 90 carbide teeth to identical profiles on a fine cut blade is a long and labourious task. My real question is whether sharpening dull blades has any value at all? Thin curf blades or those with less robust carbide teeth are very limited in the number of times they can be sharpened. I've become a real fan of the Italian DIABLO blades that fall into the "sweet-spot" of high quality and excellent performance and durability at a reasonable cost. Local shops quote around $1.00 per tooth for blade sharpening -- If you know of a better deal, I'd love to hear it. A 10" X 60 tooth cross-cut DIABLO sells new at the big box stores for about $60.00 (CDN) which is the same $1.00 per tooth.
@@pervysage6969 Yes, and I've only found 2 shops that will sharpen blades for the public, in a city of 6 million people. When they are gone...who knows?
Although I love your videos and find them very informative, I must disagree. I have four Diablo 10 inch blades and I spent a couple of hours making a jig to sharpen them on a diamond blade on my table saw after cleaning them. What a difference! I was attempting to rip some 2 inch maple for a project and my blades couldn't do it. Fast forward a few hours and that same blade now rips through maple like it just came out of the package. I know they won't last forever but getting 2 to maybe 3 sharpenings from a box store blade is work the effort of making a jig. Again, your knowledge is 1st rate and I love watching your videos so please don't take this personal. Thanks for all you do. Todd in NH.
I am about to purchase a blade sharpening rig. I am tired of doing a 1 hour return trip to drop off blades and then return the next day to pick them up, so 2 hours worth of driving to get blades sharpened really sucks, that's life living in the bush a long way from town. My 12"inch table saw blades are always cheap one's due to using mostly recycled timber where the odd missed nail can be hit so expensive blades are not an option. My mitre saw though may still get professionaly done as those blades are not cheap.
great vid, tho i have to sharpen my blades with the blade sharpening tool from harbor freight its easy to use and fast and always makes the blade cut clean and like new each time, i dont have all the money that most have that are well off have so its a must for me.
You will get a marginal sharpness which may be fine for what you'r working on. I had a cabinet shop for almost 40 years and never sharpened my own blades. I would be impossible to get a correctly sharpened and shaped blade without thousands in cost and some expertise to do it properly. Let the experts do what they do best and I did what I did best, build cabinets. Good Luck glad it's working for you.
@@wags99999 that depends on the type of blade you get, not all blades address made with different pattern offsets you can buy blades that are made less complicated offsets even some without any all and only one angle, I can show you an example it's not marginal they cut insanely good tho not sure you ever tried it before to really see the outcome... tho back then they did not have these type of blade sharpening tools as they do now... plus you said the magic word owned a shop that already answered why I said if you had all the money in the world in which 90% of people don't to just keep spitting out cash for blades that still have there full carbide teeth and just only wore out the tiny tips of them and get discarded then you see how people want to sharpen there blades with all the new blade sharpening machines they have.
@@dreamkiss4u Yes, as I said if they work for you great.. My blades were mostly several hundred dollars, many being hollow ground. Down time to replace blades was too costly to use cheap blades, plus, cheap blades give you cheap cuts. I was a quality shop and perfect was the only thing acceptible. I still have a Unisaw in my garage and when I make furniture it's quality. I still use top of the line blades, which is the only way to get top of the line results. A good sharpening service will give you years out of a good quality blade, and can easily replace a tooth if broken or crazed. By all means keep doing what works for you, Kolin was explaining why he doesn't sharpen his own, he is looking for a quality cut only a quality blade can give you.
My step father (an accomplished furniture maker who is almost 70) gets his blades professionally sharpened and now after watching this, I can see why :) edit: best wishes from Down Under!
100% agreed. I have been woodworking for 40yrs and have a wall with $1000 in saw blades, some of which have been sharpened many times. Quality Saw and Knife here in Vancouver does an excellent job and occasionally they will replace a broken tooth. The best part is that they take very little off the tooth to sharpen it as they touch up the cheeks, top, and face at the same time. My blades are all in the $75 to $125 range. They also do my handsaws and jointer knives. Yes, you can sharpen all this but sometimes its a hack job. I was just at Quality this week and had a look at the huge equipment they use just to do this seemingly simple job. This is a job best left to the professionals. I would not dream of attempting to do this on my own. And you might end up throwing away years of use.
Thanks for posting this! I’ve been curious to learn more about sharpening blades. For what I pay for the blades I use,(I’m just a weekend wood worker) the cost and time that sharpening would require outweighs just replacing them.
Sharpening a blade is a skill. And the blades out there now are far outside the skill set of 99% of population. You should definitely leave it to the professionals, because you can end up either hurting your wood or your hands/face/body. The benefits certainly don't outweigh the risk. Great video!
Great vid & could not agree more. My local tool shop charges by the tooth and it's always been under £10. Why would I waste my time for that amount knowing it's been done Properly.
Depends on the money you have. Years back they used handsaws and everyone sharpened their own blades and guess what? it worked! Never mind the fact that much more time effort and detail was put in back then also. I would most definitely sharpen my own blades. I am and never have been part of the Modern ,supposedly "environmentally friendly", throw away society we now live in. If I can get twice or three times the use out of an item, even if it's not exactly as good as new, I will do so without hesitation. new fine blade for finishing I can understand but all the rough cutting in the framing and structure behind does not have to be perfect. Pull your wall apart and you'll find tons of feathers and chips on the cut's in your framing new blades or not. The idea that the saw blade can not be sharpened good by only sharpening one access means that folks sharpening their hand planes for centuries were performing the impossible for detailed work or filing a chainsaw chain has been impossible for rough cutting. Or sharpening a drill bit. these are all single access filing, grinding or honing and when the blades are so bad you can't do that then they are requiring replacement. Sure if the blade is chipped to hell you won't get a good job until you sharpen past the chips but the pros have to do the same or you replace the blade. One man's expensive blade is another man's cheap one. here's the thing. You break out a saw blade you are looking at improving your lifestyle. If someone is asking about sharpening a saw blade it's very possibly because they probably can't afford new ones. Therefore whether someone else would be willing to sharpen or not is irrelevant. It means you don't know the answer and should either find it or refer them elsewhere.
Hi Colin, I just ordered a Diablo blade for my mitre saw and was surprised to read that they say NOT to sharpen their blades but to replace them when they get dull. (Quote: • Do not re-sharpen this blade. Once it becomes dull, discard the blade and replace it with a new blade.). It is a D1060X ten inch 60 tooth blade. Have you ever had Diablo blades sharpened? Thanks.
I own a sharpening shop in MIchigan. Ive been sharpening table saw and miter saw blades for contractors since 1997. Ive sharpened thousands of those exact blades. Professional Tool-Traverse city
I bought a 1000 grit diamond blade on Ebay for $11. I used the rig built by Jackman Works for sharpening. I owned a saw sharpening business as a young man, but that was before carbide became affordable. I touch up the face of box store blades with it. I wouldn't try to sharpen an expensive blade myself.
Good video.I don't sharpen my blades. It is wasteful I know but I just toss them when they start to go bad.I do buy the Maximum blades when on sale - sometimes $30.00 off - so figure that is the "sharpening fee"I have two Forest blades I would have sharpened if needed.
I don't sharpen my table saw blades either, However I have to say your argument doesn't' make much sense. As I don't sharpen the cheeks of my chisels, plane irons or forstner bits either, I only polish the main surface to sharpen the cutting edge only, the only exception is flattening the underside of a chisel or plane iron to remove factory imperfections, but that's another matter entirely. Like you I prefer a new blade for the clean cut, I doubt a home gamer resharpened will ever be 100% but that's personal preference.
Your argument holds water if and only if you're somehow flinging your chisels around the shop as fast as saw blades generally spin. There really is quite a difference between tapping on a chisel with a mallet by hand and spinning it @ 5000 rpm with an electric motor.
dang i was thinking about doing this butt i think i buy new blade and see if there a place that can for me. this made the m0st sense out of others doing videos
Never was sold on blade sharpeners like Harbor Freight. The cheap 7 1/4" blades get tossed and my expensive table and miter saw blades get sharpened professionally.
Not only do blades get dull, they tend to get whatever type of sap the wood has, along the edges of the teeth which makes for what appears to be a dull blade. Some time back another RUclips channel showed how to rid your blades of this sap. First you need a container for the blade to lay in, I found a pizza pan works very well, place the blade on its side in the bottom of the pan, gently. The cover the blade with Simple Green, just enough to cover the blade. Let this sit for 15 minute to a half hour. Remove the blade and rinse the Simple Green and all the crud off the blade. Save the left over simple green from the pan to be used at a later time. Simple Green evaporates if left out. This makes a difference in the way a dirty blade cuts.
Ray C. My first time taking my saw blades to my local sharpener he called me told me this and then told me to come get my blades and get back to work after cleaning. A blade with lots of build up cuts like a dull one. Who knew cleaning was important for saw blades
The wood that gets on the blade & isn't cleaned off actually dulls the blade by containing acidic residue! If the blade isn't warped, missing teeth, not stressed, ect, no reason you can't resharpen it yourself. I have several home type machine set ups for doing them & also my drill bits. Not a big investment but you need to consider the time, trouble, & space it takes. I just now sharpened a 7/8" split point drill bit. It looks great! Main reason for self service is that sharpening services are very hard to find.
Of course your opinion may be valid, I think not. I have five table saws with Diablo combination blades. I have been using the harbor freight blade sharpener for several years, same blades, many cuts left in them. If I can do it anyone can, I am not mechanically minded. The old style DeWalt sliding miter saw blade has only been sharpened once so I can't really offer a yes or no there but these table saw blades are dang sharp. I even sharpened a laminate blade once and it is still in use after a couple of years.These are only 35 or 40 bucks ( Diablo combination) with a tiny little piece of carbide so it takes five minutes and good as ever.
I live in a town of 200k+ population and there are NO businesses in town that offer blade sharpening. I was talking to a guy that used to sharpen blades and bits, he said when Harbor Freight and other such places started selling decent blades for $8 it killed his business, it was quicker and easier to just get a new one. Of course now the price has double/tripled for those decent blades and I'm screwed. There's a couple of small towns around with mom-and-pop hardware stores that'll sharpen them, but it's just a guy with a diamond wheel doing exactly what Colin is saying not to do to a well engineered blade.
Nice video, thanks for putting it out. I have a question Colin. I understand good quality blades can be sharpened several times but does that change the dimension of the tooth? In other words if I have a 1/8 full kerf blade and it gets sharpened several times, does it reduce the width of the tooth so I no longer get a full 1/8 cut? Just wondering how that works? Cheers!
I own a sharpening shop. We dont touch the sides of the teeth, but the sides have a backward angle, so grinding the face of the tooth will cause a narrowing of the width, but it is minute....half a thousandth. Professional Tool, Traverse city Michigan
As a profession toolmaket for over 50 years, I don't know any shop that grinds the sides of the teeth in a normal sharpening. Also don't know of any service facility that grinds with a 5,000 grit diamond wheel. A 220 TO 600 is more of the standard
Polishing the front face does sharpen all edges though. If you can get them sharpened professionally for a price you deem worth it, super. Not an option here in Scotland. You get cheap lapidary discs for polishing gemstones, from 60 to 8000 grit. I use a 4000 grit disc with a grinder jig and get super results, stays sharp, cuts clean and fast and it's easy to set aside an hour every month or so to sort out all my circ saw blades, something you should do anyway to check blade health/missing teeth. Must use very fine discs as a rough sharpen may be sharp, resin quickly adheres to the surface and is almost impossible to clean out. I'm also pushed to this because I sent a package of discs to a large sharpening company once, including some £200 blades and they lost half of them. I was compensated but it took time.
Thank you for that, Scottie! Half my work is carpentry (not woodworking) and I've saved a small fortune doing my own, but never thought of the rosin issue from the rough diamond blade finish. I'm going to try your way for my mitersaw and look for the difference. Also, what Collin said about broken teeth will have my head out of line with my "demolition" blades and glasses on. I can't toss a blade just because of a missing tooth!
Hello Sir, this was the information I needed for my blades. Thanks a lot. I have a couple of blades, which I spent about CAD $50 on each and they are kind of dull now, because they burn the hardwood. I'm trying to decide myself whether to sharpen them or not. I will try looking for a sharpening place in GTA and see how much they charge and then see if it is worth getting a new blade or get the older ones sharpened. And also I love your watch. I hope you don't mind sharing where you got it from? Thanks once again.
I've been sharpening my own blades for 25 years and they always cut great and they always cut it clean. Just because you can't get the hang up doing it well does it mean others can't.
In the very distant past, I had no clue about the various things you covered. Then, I worked for a manufacturing company that had its own tool grinding shop, with very skilled guys working in it. From that point on, I've always had professionals do my saw blades and my better knives!
Saw blade geometry is very complex, and resharpening can change that so that adjustments need to be made in the resharpening process. This requires computerized sharpening equipment used by a professional sharpening service. Some blade manufacturers - such as Freud and Forrest - require you to send their blades to them for resharpening in order to maintain the correct profile. Most of the time I've been satisfied with resharpening services; other times.... Other than 7-1/4" (construction grade) saw blades I've never been very satisfied with replacing the carbide teeth - blade just never seems to cut the same.
Teeth replacement requires you to do a side grind to align the kerf. That's something you never want to touch unless you have to. This is probably why. You're never really going to match the new tooth to the old tooth. You might notice that on a blade with a smaller tooth count. Could also be that in the process of cutting with broken teeth the blade warped.
First of all, I wouldn't start out sharpening my blades with a dang tile SAW. You don't join wood on a band saw do you?You can buy a full range of grits in a range of prices for even an inexpensive blade sharpening machine from Harbor Freight. You can adjust the angle of the blade too. Like anything else you can do it yourself and get good at it or not.
You mentioned the blade that had the damaged and broken carbide teeth. Doubtful that a homeowner could fix that problem. On the other hand, if you send or take your blades to a shop that specializes in sharpening circular saw blades, would they be able to replace/repair those damaged teeth? If they can would it be ok to do that or is it just best to toss the blade and buy a new one? I use Diablo blades, not expensive, but not exactly the cheap blades either. They're actually made by Freud too. I have had zero issues with my Diablo blades, and find them to have a great cut quality and a long life.
The expense of having teeth replaced on top of the expense of sharpening a Diablo blade isn’t practical. If you’ve got a blade that costs $100 and more it’s worth considering. Best bet is to return to the manufacturer for such so they can balance and tune it up. Some saw shops can perform adequate services but not all. Most only sharpen. Had one that ground the black Teflon coating of of some Freud blades many years ago, said they thought it was pitch. Last visit there.
Do you resharpen multi tool blades? They don't seem to last very long and are quite expensive and don't have the same risks that you have with a table saw blade should you not get the resharpening perfect. It could make for an interesting and useful video. Thanks for your content!
I looked into that and found that yes, you can sharpen them. There are several RUclips videos that illustrate the process. I used a triangle file and put the blade in a vise and put new teeth on the blade. I actually ground it down to flat on my bench grinder and started fresh. It didn't work like a brand new one but it did cut and cut pretty well. Went through some large nails which flattened the teeth but I didn't feel so bad because it wasn't ruining a new blade. So I use the resharpened blades for rough work and to go through nails and save the new ones for finer, more accurate cuts. Go to doublewide6 Repairs LLC channel and search for Multi Tool Oscillating Tool Blade Sharpening for starters.
I’m not a fan of HF but I’ve started buying their multi tool cutters. Considerably cheaper and last almost as long as the expensive ones. I have a Fine bought on sale many years ago. The first time I replaced blades I was shocked at the price of theirs. The HF ones work just fine on my Fine.
Good introduction, but not very technical as to why home sharpening is bad. There is certainly a good reason for home sharpening, and a good reason for sending out a blade to have it sharpened. There is also the problem when sending it out, that you never know what kind of a job is done. Finally, nowhere do you mention how much it costs and what kind of work you expect it to do. Again, I'm not criticizing this video, you make a good case for it, thanks for making it, I'm sure it opened the eyes of beginners but if anything, it did give me more incentive to sharpen my own before sending for professional sharpening (unless of course you're dealing with damaged or missing teeth), considering how expensive saw blades are (in Canada we're typically paying twice what people pay for in the US) and how much we typically pay for sharpening (about half the cost of professional blades, typically more than the price of 'contractor' blades).
Great video Colin i don't think it's wise to sharpen blades unless you know what you are doing it's a dangerous game with high speed steel well worth investing in a new blade for the safety angle always a pleasure watching your videos I've learned such a lot
I just drop my blades of at a local hardware store and pick them up a week later. They are even sharper then when I first bought them. Don't shops offer this service in the States?
Yes. I own a sharpening shop. There are lots of sharpening shops in the states, but many people have gotten the idea in their head that it is cheaper to buy new than sharpen.
I quit trying to sharpen my on blades a long time ago. Unfortunately, finding someone who can actually do the job, and do it right, is very difficult. I have sent my blades (and router, shaper, jointer) blades to several well known companies, and I've yet to get one back with it done right. So as far as saw blades go, when they get bad I've resorted to giving the the heave-ho, and buying new ones. Sucks, but that's the reality. When it comes to small router bits, I usually chuck those too, unless it's a hard to find profile. Large bits, shaper, and planer knives are a real conundrum. No one at any of the companies who are supposed to know how to sharpen them, actually know what "sharp" is. It's pathetic. When I tell them I want it "shaving sharp", I get it back and it won't cut a fart....just burns the wood. I've even brought in samples of the burn, and they give me the "deer in the headlights" look.
I own a sharpening shop in MIchigan. Ive been doing this since 1997. Many contractors tell me their blades are sharper than new when they get them back. Send me a couple table saw blades. I will sharpen them for nothing. Advertising for me. If you like, send me paid work in the future. Professional tool, 1220 woodmere ave, traverse city MI 49686
That's super odd. Saw blades are usually sharpened machine now. A lot of these guys use the same machine manufacturers use. They measure to .01 mm in accuracy. There is no distinction between sharp and razor sharp. It'll sharp just as new, maybe even better. Could be your blades are bent or you've had a misgrind (you'd be able to see bad angles on the blade).
Sharpening like everything else is not a task for everybody. It takes a set of skills and equipment to accomplish it. It depends what your goals are whether you are suited to the task, or not. Some are involved in production in order to retail merchandise. Others are more interested in the process and the journey.
It depends a 10" high ATB (very steep &long alternating bevel) which would be used for high quality plywood and i believe some other man made sheets $80-300USD at the +200 you can get a custom blade.
Usually the carbide and the welds that hold them on are better on a good blade than a just ok blade. I use a just ok blade to cut crappy wood for rough work and a good blade for the good stuff.
Heat is the enemy of all types of metal, and I’m including carbide in that category. Keeping your blades clean is of the utmost importance. I don’t mean once a year either. Clean before you begin any major cutting project. The buildup on cutters holds the heat in and amplifies its affect. Any degreaser will remove pitch. All woods have some degree of pitch in them. Some will say its rosin or resin. Whatever you desire to call it...remove it !
Carbide degrades at over 5000°F So not much of an issue. You run carbide dry cutting steel it is so impervious to heat. So wood? Yeah don't matter. The steel body the teeth are on can warp though. That's why they have expansion slots in them.
@@ELW2940 wood contains abrasives like silica. Other contaminants can get on wood too. As hard as carbide may be it eventually wears. Some of the wear may be down to handling and storage too. Carbide is brittle. Hard materials generally are.
I have ordered myself a Freud diablo d1040x blade to replace the stock blade on my martlet tablesaw after it got damaged by a woodscrew. Another reason why I won't try to sharpen blades myself is because the blade will be unbalanced.
Nice video that covers relevant information. You are basically saying that you are not sharpening your blades because you know it is complicated, and you don’t have the skill and equipment to do it properly. Still it is quite possible to get a proper grit diamond disk and to build a jig to cover the needed angles to do sharpening properly in your own workshop. Not very easy or economical maybe, but possible :-) It’s also good to remember that what matters at the end is the result you get with the blade, not how fancy machine was used to sharpen it.
Professional sharpeners will never touch or side grind a saw blade. Face & top of teeth is what we sharpen. Grinding the sides reduces the kerf and the side clearance between the edge and the body (Big no-no) We only side grind a tooth when a broken one is being replaced. I've been in this business since 1978
As apprenticed toolmaker and graduated engineer I can tell that you are absolutely right. Tools not only have to be sharp they also have to be precise. greetings from Bavaria
I understand everything you just said BUT!, I just purchased one of those VEVOR Sharpening machines and i just sharpened one of my 60 tooth blades and i think it cuts better now than when it was new , the wood goes through the table saw soooooo easy now like butter . If you take your time and set your angles up right and get yourself a pair of magnified glasses you can do the face and the alternating top bevel of the blade and it worked great , DON'T FORGET TO CLEAN YOUR BLADE FIRST TO GET ALL THE PITCH OFF !!!
I absolute agree with your assessment about the complexities of a blade's tooth. However, the same types of specifications exist for wood plane blades, and yet we sharpen those by hand everyday, to the point where we can use a plane to shave slices 1/4 the thickness of printer paper. Do I need to get the angle correct down to 1/100th of a degree for it to work? No. In fact, I believe I could even be off by a full degree or more and still have a great blade. With a well set up jig, I think for 99.9% of uses, you'll be good. And, if a cheap diamond carbide disk can save me $60 to $80, or more, on a blade, repeatedly, I'm a happy camper. I can use that money to buy more tools!! :-)
I own a professional sharpening center in Central California. You did a great job in explaining the sharpening methods. Most of us who sharpen for a living take great pride in our work and also the type of modern sharpening machinery we purchase . Our goal is to give our customers back a superior cutting tool at a very good price. Thank you for sharing.
I sharpen my own on a homemade jig saves me paying you to do it so I can buy more clamps and vintage hand planes mwhahaha 😂
@@markmacthree3168 It sounds like your sharpening skills meet up to your standards , that's awsome. Thanks for sharing.
@@petedetects7012 Yeah big mex when you get to my standards you awaken to the bullshit you .....know what I'm saying 💯🤠
@@markmacthree3168 Sorry, not sure what you mean. Did I write something offensive ?
This used to be a cottage industry with some 'old' guy somewhere offering this service. We had a guy here like that, but he's gone(maybe literally). I've searched high and low for 100mile range....nada. So, I'm gonna give this a shot. Just steel blades, early ShopSmith, so no carbide teeth.
Something that can make a blade feel dull is it being dirty as in build up of sap and pitch from wood. There are products that are made primarily for cleaning saw blades. This was something that I learned from Jay Bates and Stumpy Nubs.
I use Easy-Off oven cleaner with a pair of rubber gloves on. I also work over a plastic catch pan, works for me
just put them in a tub of water and the sap will come off! The father in-law sharpens saw blades for a living and that's all he does. hope this helps
@@mikebrown9625 I recently started sharpening blades for local contractors using the VEVOR machine. The reviews and comments have been favorable so far. Before I start sharpening I clean the blades by soaking them for 15 minutes in a 50/50 solution of water and laundry detergent...works great, no fumes, very inexpensive. Scrub the blade teeth with a stiff nylon toothbrush and the sawdust embedded pine pitch comes off very easily.
Seen this video at the right time. I own 4 very good quality 10 inch blades. It cost $18.00 or more at Wood Workers to have them sharpen. You don't want to waste money and have them sharpen if its not needed. I always judged a blade to be dull if it tries to rise going through the table saw or does not make a clean cut. I mostly cut soft wood and plywood. I'm going to check the blades as you showed on your video and see if they are dull enough to take them in for sharping. Really enjoy all your videos.
I agree Colin, I don't sharpen my saw blades. I'm just a part time woodworker and a good blade will last me a year or better. I have found it is best to clean the blades when they appear dull, usually this will return them to cutting clean and smooth. The cost of blades is not a deal breaker with the longer life of today blades. I remember working in shops and we would change blades every week, but that was before carbide was used. Most of the time I use a 7 1/2" 40 or 60 tooth blade for most cutting and a 10" for ripping large stock. Good info Colin I just like you and don't want to use my time sharping blades rather make shavings.
paul harriss good feedback and I agree. What do you use to clean your blades?
@@johnvodopija I use Krud Kutter red spray bottle at the Big Box Stores. Spray it on and brush with a brass brush (or stiff bristle) easiest way I have found.
Thanks for watching!
If your blade is dragging or your saw is and you want to squeeze every drop out of them, make sure, if you've been cutting a high sap wood, that the blades are clean
That was really helpful. You explained it very well. I don't comment often, but I watch most of your videos, and I've learned a lot from them. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge.
I absolutely adore learning from you! i crack up everytime you giggle after explaining something. you have taught me so much over that last few years and I am certain your videos will continue to educate and refine my skills. Thank you for being an amazing you! I decided to retire my diablo blade in question after watching this... oh and I want to add that if your diablo blade no longer has the red coating on one side it is probably a wall hanger like an old guitar. I cut a massive amount of wood and I will do better about changing my blade
If you can look at a decent carbide tipped saw and tell if it’s dull, then it is way way past dull
Thank you Colin! I am convinced... you probably have saved me ample amount of frustration, blood sweat & tears! Very senssible.
I have seen a few RUclips videos about saw sharpening and I have yet to see any of them that talk about the extreme health hazard presented by ground carbide dust. It is really nasty, highly carcinogenic stuff. Even if you wear a face mask while sharpening the dust will land on your clothe,and surrounding where it will be disturbed and become airborne again again later presenting a hazard to not only the person doing the sharpening but anyone they come into contact with, the person who cleans their clothes, who ever sweeps out the shop, anyone who handles the floor sweepings, the list is endless. Even using a dust extractor presents problems with the handling of the extracted dust and cleaning of the extracting equipment.
You are spot on about the grit of the DIY sharpeners, examination of the sharpened teeth under high magnification shows a very rough finish with significant tear out along the cutting edges. The sharpened saw will cut better than before but not for long because the cutting is being done by the relatively few sharp points on the tooth and the torn out pieces are rubbing and generating heat.
Grinding is never done on the sides of the tooth. Correct grinding always happens on the chest and the back of the tooth. The sides of the teeth are only sharpened during the production of the saw and after replacing broken teeth. A good idea to make a video about grinding sawblades. Best regards.
I would tend to agree as side sharpening would narrow the kerf
If you measure the width of the teeth ( aka kerf ) and there are not the same ,How would you suggest they are tuned to the same width without grinding as you call it ? When I replace a tooth/teeth they must match or the widest tooth will do 99% of the kerf cutting , You ok with that ?
If there are only one or a few wider teeth, it is better to adjust those to. When determining many different tooth widths, there is something profoundly wrong with this saw blade, whether during its manufacture or regrinding, and it may simply be better to replace it. New teeth should be ground sideways with the other teeth as a reference. Are you a profesional grinder? Best regards.
Absolutely done
True words of wisdom. I have to places to sharpen my blades. In fact I HAD two. At the cheaper one they used to sharpen my blades 3-4 times and teeth were over. At the proper one owner is a true craftsman and he can sharpen 12" Makita mitre saw blades 10-12 times. He's of course a bit more expensive, but worth every penny. When all the parameters of the cutting teeth are taken into consideration, I see no way to sharpen properly any saw blades myself.
I'm in an 'extremely' rural area and found I'm going to need to send my blades out for sharpening as no-one near me offers the service... I have no clue what I'll be dishing out for each touch-up. How much is your guy charging, and have you priced any others? Just looking to get a ballpark figure to go by when making my choice.
Anyone in or near Northern Wisconsin know of a reputable service? Maybe I'm missing out on a small business opportunity. =)
@@_Common_Logic_ Sorry mate, haven't seen your question earlier. Info bout my prices won't be any use for you, because I live in Poland. But there's one way you may take into consideration. If sharpening service plus shipping of five blades equals the price of one new blade, it's worth doing.
Great advice. In today's world of DIY we get caught up on wanting to do EVERYTHING ourselves. This is a perfect video to explain why not to. Thank you very much for saving me a lot of time.
I learned that cleaning the carbide can also help. I used a nylon fiber wheel- hex shank bit to clean it off.
Long ago (50+ years) - as a Signal Corps guy in Vietnam we had to build out own facilities. We were lucky just to have one circular saw blade - and spent countless lunch times or evening resharpening it with a file by hand. That was enough - I haven't sharpened one since.
And that was back in the good old days, when a file would do it, as carbide blades were expensive as hell, so steel blades were common.
“Don’t even bother spending your time to make your blades cut good enough for 99% of uses, instead buy brand new blades from my sponsors!”
I agree with you, I would never sharp my blades myself - I will ruin them. All my blades is in $100-$270 price range (orange tools, XL4000, FS Tool, AMANA, A.G.A.) And resharpening is only $27
Informative and helpful. Thank you for the content. As a diy woodworker I only have two blades. One multipurpose and the other a high quality 60 tooth blade for cutting picture frame mitres and finer work. 👍😎🇦🇺
Thanks for watching!
Hi Colin! Another excellent video! A couple of decades or so ago, a wood magazine had a shop tip for burnt gummed up blades. It is possible a blade can be sharp but the teeth are so encrusted with burnt tar resin that it just smokes and cuts rough. The tip suggested soaking the blade by laying it flat in a Frisbee and pouring Formula 409 over it to break up the gum on the teeth overnight. Then, scrub the blade with a plastic bristle brush and rinse it off. I had a blade on the shelf that I never used for just that reason so I tried it and was pleasantly surprised ! I'll soak router bits the same way too in a jar overnight. Just the bit, not the bearings! Works great but back then, my dog didn't much care to fetch that Frisbee even though I rinsed out all of the 409. I had to retire that one to cleaning table saw blades only and I got Buddy a new one. I think of Buddy from time to time when I see that Frisbee on the shelf next to all of my blades. I really loved that dog. Best Wishes, Tom
Pure ethanol or oven cleaner also works. I don't submerge them, just spray and brush with a nylon brush to spread on the teeth, come back a few minutes later and it's loose. And sorry to hear about Buddy, I had my own Buddy once upon a time..
Thanks for the tip and thanks for watching!
Any degreaser will work well.
We usually soak our blades in diesel fuel after cutting through roofs during a fire to get the roof tar off of them. Works like a charm.
The timing of this video is just perfect as I'm trying to decide myself whether to sharpen or not sharpen my blades.
Really useful content and food for thought.
Hope it helps! Thanks for watching!
Living back in Communist Bulgaria with father professional carpenter we did not have a choice,blades were extremely expensive so we did not have a choice.Living now in Canada and USA it does not make any sense to sharpen your own blades.Just go to the store and buy a new one.
It saves you time and the work will be a top quality.
sharpening blades on Thickness Planer make sense because they are long and do not have tricky angles but in table saw it is really hard to impossible.
Contact 3Bsaw & tool. 708-386-2365. Pricing will be determind by the number and configuration of the teeth.
Unless you happen to have a vollmer machine kicking around its usually not worth doing your own saw blades. You also have to (Or at least we always do at our shop) level and tension your blades.
Though I came to "the party" a few years late I really enjoy watching your topic specific video's. I like your ease with which you present each topic. No posturing, just an easy conversational transfer of knowledge and experience. Thank you from South Africa. 😊
I'm sitting up shop again and I havnt invested in Forest 2 blades again. I used to send my Forest blades in a wooden case for sharpening. I got great results. Now I'm going to buy thin kirf blades from different manufactures and want to know is there a reputable sharpening company I can mail my different blades to ?
Thank you Arthur
I love Freud blades too. Thanks for the knowledge Sir
Good value not cheapest or most expensive. The 6 1/2 and 7" are great too.
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the information
I use the "Diablo" Blades made by Freud, about 1/2 the price of the same blade that says Freud. Haven't had any issues with any of my Diablo blades and I run them in my miter saws, and table saw. I have a package for my reciprocating saw but haven't got to use them yet.
YA SO NOW TELL US WHAT THE COST TO HAVE THEM DONE WILL BE..
contact 3B Saw & Tool for pricing. Cost will depend on the number of teeth and the tooth configuration
My local shop charged about $15 for a 10”, 40 tooth blade
Thanks. Mate.
From Malaysia 🇲🇾
I agree that sharpening your own saw blades does not provide the same factory finish that a professional shop can provide. Massaging 90 carbide teeth to identical profiles on a fine cut blade is a long and labourious task. My real question is whether sharpening dull blades has any value at all? Thin curf blades or those with less robust carbide teeth are very limited in the number of times they can be sharpened. I've become a real fan of the Italian DIABLO blades that fall into the "sweet-spot" of high quality and excellent performance and durability at a reasonable cost. Local shops quote around $1.00 per tooth for blade sharpening -- If you know of a better deal, I'd love to hear it. A 10" X 60 tooth cross-cut DIABLO sells new at the big box stores for about $60.00 (CDN) which is the same $1.00 per tooth.
I charge 30 cents per tooth, but IM in Michigan.
That’s outrageous man
I got a quote for 35$ for 80 tooth blade
@@pervysage6969 Yes, and I've only found 2 shops that will sharpen blades for the public, in a city of 6 million people. When they are gone...who knows?
Although I love your videos and find them very informative, I must disagree. I have four Diablo 10 inch blades and I spent a couple of hours making a jig to sharpen them on a diamond blade on my table saw after cleaning them. What a difference! I was attempting to rip some 2 inch maple for a project and my blades couldn't do it. Fast forward a few hours and that same blade now rips through maple like it just came out of the package. I know they won't last forever but getting 2 to maybe 3 sharpenings from a box store blade is work the effort of making a jig. Again, your knowledge is 1st rate and I love watching your videos so please don't take this personal. Thanks for all you do. Todd in NH.
Good on you. if you take the time to make jig, it will do the job. Most guys don't.
I am about to purchase a blade sharpening rig. I am tired of doing a 1 hour return trip to drop off blades and then return the next day to pick them up, so 2 hours worth of driving to get blades sharpened really sucks, that's life living in the bush a long way from town. My 12"inch table saw blades are always cheap one's due to using mostly recycled timber where the odd missed nail can be hit so expensive blades are not an option. My mitre saw though may still get professionaly done as those blades are not cheap.
great vid, tho i have to sharpen my blades with the blade sharpening tool from harbor freight its easy to use and fast and always makes the blade cut clean and like new each time, i dont have all the money that most have that are well off have so its a must for me.
You will get a marginal sharpness which may be fine for what you'r working on. I had a cabinet shop for almost 40 years and never sharpened my own blades. I would be impossible to get a correctly sharpened and shaped blade without thousands in cost and some expertise to do it properly. Let the experts do what they do best and I did what I did best, build cabinets. Good Luck glad it's working for you.
@@wags99999 that depends on the type of blade you get, not all blades address made with different pattern offsets you can buy blades that are made less complicated offsets even some without any all and only one angle, I can show you an example it's not marginal they cut insanely good tho not sure you ever tried it before to really see the outcome... tho back then they did not have these type of blade sharpening tools as they do now... plus you said the magic word owned a shop that already answered why I said if you had all the money in the world in which 90% of people don't to just keep spitting out cash for blades that still have there full carbide teeth and just only wore out the tiny tips of them and get discarded then you see how people want to sharpen there blades with all the new blade sharpening machines they have.
@@dreamkiss4u Yes, as I said if they work for you great.. My blades were mostly several hundred dollars, many being hollow ground. Down time to replace blades was too costly to use cheap blades, plus, cheap blades give you cheap cuts. I was a quality shop and perfect was the only thing acceptible. I still have a Unisaw in my garage and when I make furniture it's quality. I still use top of the line blades, which is the only way to get top of the line results. A good sharpening service will give you years out of a good quality blade, and can easily replace a tooth if broken or crazed. By all means keep doing what works for you, Kolin was explaining why he doesn't sharpen his own, he is looking for a quality cut only a quality blade can give you.
dreamkiss4u you argue like a 12 year old. Are you ?
My step father (an accomplished furniture maker who is almost 70) gets his blades professionally sharpened and now after watching this, I can see why :) edit: best wishes from Down Under!
Thanks for watching!
You know when it is dull when the wood starts smoking and it's like cutting rock. I Just experienced this last week.
thank you mark hammel
I send mine to Ridge Carbide in New Jersey for sharpening.
Thanks for the tip and thanks for watching!
Great vid!!! Thanks a lot for sharing!!!
100% agreed. I have been woodworking for 40yrs and have a wall with $1000 in saw blades, some of which have been sharpened many times. Quality Saw and Knife here in Vancouver does an excellent job and occasionally they will replace a broken tooth. The best part is that they take very little off the tooth to sharpen it as they touch up the cheeks, top, and face at the same time. My blades are all in the $75 to $125 range. They also do my handsaws and jointer knives. Yes, you can sharpen all this but sometimes its a hack job. I was just at Quality this week and had a look at the huge equipment they use just to do this seemingly simple job. This is a job best left to the professionals. I would not dream of attempting to do this on my own. And you might end up throwing away years of use.
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for posting this! I’ve been curious to learn more about sharpening blades. For what I pay for the blades I use,(I’m just a weekend wood worker) the cost and time that sharpening would require outweighs just replacing them.
Hope it helps! Thanks for watching!
I pay $15CDN to sharpen a $75 Freud blade.
Paul Boegel I pay $25 for an Admiral blade.
Sharpening a blade is a skill. And the blades out there now are far outside the skill set of 99% of population. You should definitely leave it to the professionals, because you can end up either hurting your wood or your hands/face/body. The benefits certainly don't outweigh the risk. Great video!
Great vid & could not agree more. My local tool shop charges by the tooth and it's always been under £10. Why would I waste my time for that amount knowing it's been done Properly.
Thanks for watching!
Depends on the money you have. Years back they used handsaws and everyone sharpened their own blades and guess what? it worked! Never mind the fact that much more time effort and detail was put in back then also. I would most definitely sharpen my own blades. I am and never have been part of the Modern ,supposedly "environmentally friendly", throw away society we now live in. If I can get twice or three times the use out of an item, even if it's not exactly as good as new, I will do so without hesitation. new fine blade for finishing I can understand but all the rough cutting in the framing and structure behind does not have to be perfect. Pull your wall apart and you'll find tons of feathers and chips on the cut's in your framing new blades or not.
The idea that the saw blade can not be sharpened good by only sharpening one access means that folks sharpening their hand planes for centuries were performing the impossible for detailed work or filing a chainsaw chain has been impossible for rough cutting. Or sharpening a drill bit. these are all single access filing, grinding or honing and when the blades are so bad you can't do that then they are requiring replacement. Sure if the blade is chipped to hell you won't get a good job until you sharpen past the chips but the pros have to do the same or you replace the blade. One man's expensive blade is another man's cheap one.
here's the thing. You break out a saw blade you are looking at improving your lifestyle. If someone is asking about sharpening a saw blade it's very possibly because they probably can't afford new ones. Therefore whether someone else would be willing to sharpen or not is irrelevant. It means you don't know the answer and should either find it or refer them elsewhere.
Totally agree.
Totalmente de acuerdo…!!
Hi Colin, I just ordered a Diablo blade for my mitre saw and was surprised to read that they say NOT to sharpen their blades but to replace them when they get dull. (Quote: • Do not re-sharpen this blade. Once it becomes dull, discard
the blade and replace it with a new blade.). It is a D1060X ten inch 60 tooth blade. Have you ever had Diablo blades sharpened? Thanks.
I own a sharpening shop in MIchigan. Ive been sharpening table saw and miter saw blades for contractors since 1997. Ive sharpened thousands of those exact blades. Professional Tool-Traverse city
ofcourse they are gonna say that they want you to buy another one Eienstein
You can resharpen them. Many times. Diablo wants you to buy new.
Do you have recommendations for reputable and affordable saw sharpening options?
I bought a 1000 grit diamond blade on Ebay for $11. I used the rig built by Jackman Works for sharpening. I owned a saw sharpening business as a young man, but that was before carbide became affordable. I touch up the face of box store blades with it. I wouldn't try to sharpen an expensive blade myself.
Thanks for the tip and thanks for watching!
Good video.I don't sharpen my blades. It is wasteful I know but I just toss them when they start to go bad.I do buy the Maximum blades when on sale - sometimes $30.00 off - so figure that is the "sharpening fee"I have two Forest blades I would have sharpened if needed.
Thanks for watching!
Convinced me! Now on the hunt for a hard copy Freud General Products Catalog.
Thanks for the video very informative.
I don't sharpen my table saw blades either, However I have to say your argument doesn't' make much sense. As I don't sharpen the cheeks of my chisels, plane irons or forstner bits either, I only polish the main surface to sharpen the cutting edge only, the only exception is flattening the underside of a chisel or plane iron to remove factory imperfections, but that's another matter entirely.
Like you I prefer a new blade for the clean cut, I doubt a home gamer resharpened will ever be 100% but that's personal preference.
Your argument holds water if and only if you're somehow flinging your chisels around the shop as fast as saw blades generally spin. There really is quite a difference between tapping on a chisel with a mallet by hand and spinning it @ 5000 rpm with an electric motor.
dang i was thinking about doing this butt i think i buy new blade and see if there a place that can for me. this made the m0st sense out of others doing videos
Thanks again Colin. Great video
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
Thank you very much. Really helpful video!
How do I find a place that sharpens saw blades? And is it better to just throw some away and buy more?
Never was sold on blade sharpeners like Harbor Freight. The cheap 7 1/4" blades get tossed and my expensive table and miter saw blades get sharpened professionally.
how much do you pay for 7 1/4s? 12-15 bucks? I sharpen them for 6. Professional tool in Michigan
I find soaking my blades in simple green gets off the sap and pitch and they cut better when they have been cleaned if they are still sharp.
Not only do blades get dull, they tend to get whatever type of sap the wood has, along the edges of the teeth which makes for what appears to be a dull blade. Some time back another RUclips channel showed how to rid your blades of this sap. First you need a container for the blade to lay in, I found a pizza pan works very well, place the blade on its side in the bottom of the pan, gently. The cover the blade with Simple Green, just enough to cover the blade. Let this sit for 15 minute to a half hour. Remove the blade and rinse the Simple Green and all the crud off the blade. Save the left over simple green from the pan to be used at a later time. Simple Green evaporates if left out. This makes a difference in the way a dirty blade cuts.
Ray C. My first time taking my saw blades to my local sharpener he called me told me this and then told me to come get my blades and get back to work after cleaning. A blade with lots of build up cuts like a dull one. Who knew cleaning was important for saw blades
The wood that gets on the blade & isn't cleaned off actually dulls the blade by containing acidic residue! If the blade isn't warped, missing teeth, not stressed, ect, no reason you can't resharpen it yourself. I have several home type machine set ups for doing them & also my drill bits. Not a big investment but you need to consider the time, trouble, & space it takes. I just now sharpened a 7/8" split point drill bit. It looks great!
Main reason for self service is that sharpening services are very hard to find.
Thanks for the tip and thanks for watching!
Simple Green, eh? Good to know. I usually use mineral spirit. Thanks
very good video. well explained. thanks 4 video. be kind.
Of course your opinion may be valid, I think not. I have five table saws with Diablo combination blades. I have been using the harbor freight blade sharpener for several years, same blades, many cuts left in them. If I can do it anyone can, I am not mechanically minded. The old style DeWalt sliding miter saw blade has only been sharpened once so I can't really offer a yes or no there but these table saw blades are dang sharp. I even sharpened a laminate blade once and it is still in use after a couple of years.These are only 35 or 40 bucks ( Diablo combination) with a tiny little piece of carbide so it takes five minutes and good as ever.
I live in a town of 200k+ population and there are NO businesses in town that offer blade sharpening. I was talking to a guy that used to sharpen blades and bits, he said when Harbor Freight and other such places started selling decent blades for $8 it killed his business, it was quicker and easier to just get a new one. Of course now the price has double/tripled for those decent blades and I'm screwed. There's a couple of small towns around with mom-and-pop hardware stores that'll sharpen them, but it's just a guy with a diamond wheel doing exactly what Colin is saying not to do to a well engineered blade.
Nice video, thanks for putting it out. I have a question Colin. I understand good quality blades can be sharpened several times but does that change the dimension of the tooth? In other words if I have a 1/8 full kerf blade and it gets sharpened several times, does it reduce the width of the tooth so I no longer get a full 1/8 cut? Just wondering how that works? Cheers!
I own a sharpening shop. We dont touch the sides of the teeth, but the sides have a backward angle, so grinding the face of the tooth will cause a narrowing of the width, but it is minute....half a thousandth. Professional Tool, Traverse city Michigan
often times just cleaning the blade from wood resins (laundry detergent soft brush) will do.
As a profession toolmaket for over 50 years, I don't know any shop that grinds the sides of the teeth in a normal sharpening. Also don't know of any service facility that grinds with a 5,000 grit diamond wheel. A 220 TO 600 is more of the standard
Polishing the front face does sharpen all edges though. If you can get them sharpened professionally for a price you deem worth it, super. Not an option here in Scotland. You get cheap lapidary discs for polishing gemstones, from 60 to 8000 grit. I use a 4000 grit disc with a grinder jig and get super results, stays sharp, cuts clean and fast and it's easy to set aside an hour every month or so to sort out all my circ saw blades, something you should do anyway to check blade health/missing teeth. Must use very fine discs as a rough sharpen may be sharp, resin quickly adheres to the surface and is almost impossible to clean out.
I'm also pushed to this because I sent a package of discs to a large sharpening company once, including some £200 blades and they lost half of them. I was compensated but it took time.
Thank you for that, Scottie! Half my work is carpentry (not woodworking) and I've saved a small fortune doing my own, but never thought of the rosin issue from the rough diamond blade finish. I'm going to try your way for my mitersaw and look for the difference. Also, what Collin said about broken teeth will have my head out of line with my "demolition" blades and glasses on. I can't toss a blade just because of a missing tooth!
Your right! Great tutorial.
Great advice. Some things should just be left to the pros.
Very good video, thanks
Hello Sir, this was the information I needed for my blades. Thanks a lot. I have a couple of blades, which I spent about CAD $50 on each and they are kind of dull now, because they burn the hardwood. I'm trying to decide myself whether to sharpen them or not. I will try looking for a sharpening place in GTA and see how much they charge and then see if it is worth getting a new blade or get the older ones sharpened.
And also I love your watch. I hope you don't mind sharing where you got it from? Thanks once again.
Great advice. Thank you. I am looking for a local place to get mine sharpened
Contact 3B saw &tool. 708-386-2365. Cost will depend on the number and configuration of the teeth
Good blades are over $100, so yeah, it is worth having them professionally sharpened.
I've been sharpening my own blades for 25 years and they always cut great and they always cut it clean. Just because you can't get the hang up doing it well does it mean others can't.
What sharpening system do you use?
Please let us know how you do it. Thanks for watching!
I must have missed your video on it!.... oh.... you didn't make a video on it....
thank you
good advice thanks
great stuff...
I always learn something with your videos, thanks for sharing. Best wishes from France :-)
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
In the very distant past, I had no clue about the various things you covered. Then, I worked for a manufacturing company that had its own tool grinding shop, with very skilled guys working in it. From that point on, I've always had professionals do my saw blades and my better knives!
Thanks for watching!
Saw blade geometry is very complex, and resharpening can change that so that adjustments need to be made in the resharpening process. This requires computerized sharpening equipment used by a professional sharpening service.
Some blade manufacturers - such as Freud and Forrest - require you to send their blades to them for resharpening in order to maintain the correct profile.
Most of the time I've been satisfied with resharpening services; other times....
Other than 7-1/4" (construction grade) saw blades I've never been very satisfied with replacing the carbide teeth - blade just never seems to cut the same.
Yours is the most sensible comment I’ve seen on this subject.
@@ELW2940
Based on personal experience (30+ years as a carpenter)
Samuel T Same here but a little longer. We can’t do everything, can we. Some things are better left to specialists .
@@ELW2940 👌👌👊
Teeth replacement requires you to do a side grind to align the kerf. That's something you never want to touch unless you have to. This is probably why. You're never really going to match the new tooth to the old tooth. You might notice that on a blade with a smaller tooth count.
Could also be that in the process of cutting with broken teeth the blade warped.
First of all, I wouldn't start out sharpening my blades with a dang tile SAW. You don't join wood on a band saw do you?You can buy a full range of grits in a range of prices for even an inexpensive blade sharpening machine from Harbor Freight. You can adjust the angle of the blade too. Like anything else you can do it yourself and get good at it or not.
You mentioned the blade that had the damaged and broken carbide teeth. Doubtful that a homeowner could fix that problem. On the other hand, if you send or take your blades to a shop that specializes in sharpening circular saw blades, would they be able to replace/repair those damaged teeth? If they can would it be ok to do that or is it just best to toss the blade and buy a new one?
I use Diablo blades, not expensive, but not exactly the cheap blades either. They're actually made by Freud too. I have had zero issues with my Diablo blades, and find them to have a great cut quality and a long life.
The expense of having teeth replaced on top of the expense of sharpening a Diablo blade isn’t practical. If you’ve got a blade that costs $100 and more it’s worth considering. Best bet is to return to the manufacturer for such so they can balance and tune it up. Some saw shops can perform adequate services but not all. Most only sharpen. Had one that ground the black Teflon coating of of some Freud blades many years ago, said they thought it was pitch. Last visit there.
I charge 30 cents per tooth to sharpen, and 5 bucks each to replace broken teeth. "Worth" depends on how much you paid for the blade.
The value of grey hair. Few woodworkers on You Tube have all that knowledge between their ears.
Thank You Sir!
Thank You!
I own a 235mm makita blade. 2 of the tooth's are missing carbide, is it worth fixing?
Thanks
A saw repair shop will be able to replace those.
Do you resharpen multi tool blades? They don't seem to last very long and are quite expensive and don't have the same risks that you have with a table saw blade should you not get the resharpening perfect. It could make for an interesting and useful video. Thanks for your content!
@@pnwester2697 Thanks for that info!
I looked into that and found that yes, you can sharpen them. There are several RUclips videos that illustrate the process. I used a triangle file and put the blade in a vise and put new teeth on the blade. I actually ground it down to flat on my bench grinder and started fresh. It didn't work like a brand new one but it did cut and cut pretty well. Went through some large nails which flattened the teeth but I didn't feel so bad because it wasn't ruining a new blade. So I use the resharpened blades for rough work and to go through nails and save the new ones for finer, more accurate cuts. Go to
doublewide6 Repairs LLC channel and search for Multi Tool Oscillating Tool Blade Sharpening for starters.
I'll add it to my list of videos to make. Thanks for watching!
@@knecht105 Thanks, that would be good to see.
I’m not a fan of HF but I’ve started buying their multi tool cutters. Considerably cheaper and last almost as long as the expensive ones. I have a Fine bought on sale many years ago. The first time I replaced blades I was shocked at the price of theirs. The HF ones work just fine on my Fine.
The trouble is, there is NO local sharpening service in my area so there is an incentive to sharpen my own if I can.
Contact 3B saw &tool 708-386-2365 Pricing will depend on the number and configuration of the teeth.
Good introduction, but not very technical as to why home sharpening is bad. There is certainly a good reason for home sharpening, and a good reason for sending out a blade to have it sharpened. There is also the problem when sending it out, that you never know what kind of a job is done. Finally, nowhere do you mention how much it costs and what kind of work you expect it to do.
Again, I'm not criticizing this video, you make a good case for it, thanks for making it, I'm sure it opened the eyes of beginners but if anything, it did give me more incentive to sharpen my own before sending for professional sharpening (unless of course you're dealing with damaged or missing teeth), considering how expensive saw blades are (in Canada we're typically paying twice what people pay for in the US) and how much we typically pay for sharpening (about half the cost of professional blades, typically more than the price of 'contractor' blades).
Thanks Colin🤠👍🔨
You're Welcome!
Very good video thanks for the knowledge.
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
Great video Colin i don't think it's wise to sharpen blades unless you know what you are doing it's a dangerous game with high speed steel well worth investing in a new blade for the safety angle always a pleasure watching your videos I've learned such a lot
Thanks for watching!
I just drop my blades of at a local hardware store and pick them up a week later. They are even sharper then when I first bought them. Don't shops offer this service in the States?
Yes. I own a sharpening shop. There are lots of sharpening shops in the states, but many people have gotten the idea in their head that it is cheaper to buy new than sharpen.
How much is it?
a digital sharpening! ok, now i get it!
I quit trying to sharpen my on blades a long time ago. Unfortunately, finding someone who can actually do the job, and do it right, is very difficult. I have sent my blades (and router, shaper, jointer) blades to several well known companies, and I've yet to get one back with it done right. So as far as saw blades go, when they get bad I've resorted to giving the the heave-ho, and buying new ones. Sucks, but that's the reality. When it comes to small router bits, I usually chuck those too, unless it's a hard to find profile.
Large bits, shaper, and planer knives are a real conundrum. No one at any of the companies who are supposed to know how to sharpen them, actually know what "sharp" is. It's pathetic. When I tell them I want it "shaving sharp", I get it back and it won't cut a fart....just burns the wood. I've even brought in samples of the burn, and they give me the "deer in the headlights" look.
I own a sharpening shop in MIchigan. Ive been doing this since 1997. Many contractors tell me their blades are sharper than new when they get them back. Send me a couple table saw blades. I will sharpen them for nothing. Advertising for me. If you like, send me paid work in the future. Professional tool, 1220 woodmere ave, traverse city MI 49686
Max Lown - Do you have a website or Facebook page or something where we can learn more or contact you?
That's super odd. Saw blades are usually sharpened machine now. A lot of these guys use the same machine manufacturers use. They measure to .01 mm in accuracy. There is no distinction between sharp and razor sharp. It'll sharp just as new, maybe even better.
Could be your blades are bent or you've had a misgrind (you'd be able to see bad angles on the blade).
Sharpening like everything else is not a task for everybody. It takes a set of skills and equipment to accomplish it. It depends what your goals are whether you are suited to the task, or not. Some are involved in production in order to retail merchandise. Others are more interested in the process and the journey.
How expensive are some of these blades?
It depends a 10" high ATB (very steep &long alternating bevel) which would be used for high quality plywood and i believe some other man made sheets $80-300USD at the +200 you can get a custom blade.
Newbie here: is it better to sharpen a good blade over and over, or just buy brand new okay blades?
Usually the carbide and the welds that hold them on are better on a good blade than a just ok blade. I use a just ok blade to cut crappy wood for rough work and a good blade for the good stuff.
That would really depend on the type of woodworking you're doing.
Thanks for the replies. I'll have one of each and keep the good blade for those nive precise cuts.
Great thanks for your videos
A greeting from Spain
You're Welcome!
Heat is the enemy of all types of metal, and I’m including carbide in that category. Keeping your blades clean is of the utmost importance. I don’t mean once a year either. Clean before you begin any major cutting project. The buildup on cutters holds the heat in and amplifies its affect. Any degreaser will remove pitch. All woods have some degree of pitch in them. Some will say its rosin or resin. Whatever you desire to call it...remove it !
Thanks for the tip and thanks for watching!
Carbide degrades at over 5000°F So not much of an issue. You run carbide dry cutting steel it is so impervious to heat. So wood? Yeah don't matter. The steel body the teeth are on can warp though. That's why they have expansion slots in them.
Paul Frederick if it’s so impervious how does it get dull cutting nothing but wood ?
@@ELW2940 wood contains abrasives like silica. Other contaminants can get on wood too. As hard as carbide may be it eventually wears. Some of the wear may be down to handling and storage too. Carbide is brittle. Hard materials generally are.
Good solid and sound advice there, mate.👍🏽
Cheers, 👌🏽
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
I have ordered myself a Freud diablo d1040x blade to replace the stock blade on my martlet tablesaw after it got damaged by a woodscrew. Another reason why I won't try to sharpen blades myself is because the blade will be unbalanced.
That's very true. Thanks for watching!
Smart.
Nice video that covers relevant information. You are basically saying that you are not sharpening your blades because you know it is complicated, and you don’t have the skill and equipment to do it properly. Still it is quite possible to get a proper grit diamond disk and to build a jig to cover the needed angles to do sharpening properly in your own workshop. Not very easy or economical maybe, but possible :-) It’s also good to remember that what matters at the end is the result you get with the blade, not how fancy machine was used to sharpen it.
Thanks for watching!
Professional sharpeners will never touch or side grind a saw blade. Face & top of teeth is what we sharpen. Grinding the sides reduces the kerf and the side clearance between the edge and the body (Big no-no) We only side grind a tooth when a broken one is being replaced. I've been in this business since 1978
How do I get the Freud Catalog ??? I'm getting confused between "Diablo" and "Freud"
..ask china.. maybe you'll get an answer
@@sicherkurt9505 Hey. Thanks for the comment it was really helpful and promotes a better world.