Sharpening Table Saw Blades?

[baddlad]

Is there a way to sharpen the table saw blades? I recently purchased a used Mark V 500, and it has one blade, the multi-purpose blade and it's kind of rusty. After I clean the rust off just wondering if it's advisable to try and sharpen it, and what is the best method?

Jeff

[baddlad]

sorry guys I hit the submit reply button twice, then found a thread on this already started.

[dusty]

sorry guys I hit the submit reply button twice, then found a thread on this already started.

You could delete one of them.

[dusty]

Is there a way to sharpen the table saw blades? I recently purchased a used Mark V 500, and it has one blade, the multi-purpose blade and it's kind of rusty. After I clean the rust off just wondering if it's advisable to try and sharpen it, and what is the best method?

Jeff
Yes there is but I believe the question is whether or not the blade is worth sharpening.

If it is not a carbide blade, I probably would NOT. If there is any missing carbide, I probably would not.

If I was buying a blade, I would give serious consideration to those that Shopsmith sells. http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/swd_carbideblades.htm


If I was going to get one sharpened, it would be here:
http://www.forrestblades.com/sharpprice.htm

[charlese]

I think Dusty nailed the correct answer to your question. If it is a carbide blade with teeth in solid, unchipped condition and can be cleaned. - then you should probably have a sharpening professional look at it to see if it can be restored.

Simply because you asked the question, I think you should not try to sharpen this blade yourself. $50 bucks or so, for a new blade, is a cheap price for the probable safety you would be buying. Flying pieces of carbide will not be a fun thing!

If it is not a carbide blade, sharpening is multifaceted and is best done with the proper tools.

[a1gutterman]

Oops! Posted this on the "duplicate" thread.:o

Hi Jeff,

For me, the best way is to send it out. If you do knot know of a good sharpening service, your local lumber yard should. Or you could spend big bucks and get a superb job by sending it to Forrest. :)

[robinson46176]

On the other hand if your pockets are not as deep as others pockets may be do not despair. It is not rocket science. I used to have a part-time sharpening business along with another full time business many years ago. I didn't do carbide saw blades (I didn't encourage saw business in my shop anyway except chainsaws) since it does require more expensive $$$$$ specialized equipment to do worn carbide properly. On the other hand if it is just getting a touch dull do not be afraid to touch it up very lightly with a diamond hand held hone carefully following the original angles. Much of that depends on your general level of skills and manual dexterity. Do not try it however without doing your homework on the subject. Information abounds and the web is an explosion of that information.
Common steel blades are pretty easy as long as you understand the concepts at work and most will touch up nicely with a good set of files. Blades more in need will have to be ground and that isn't magic either on most blades. I use my Foley Belsaw abrasive belt grinder for most of my steel blades that I bother to sharpen (if you buy a couple of dozen Shopsmiths you acquire a lot of extra blades). Setup is the most important part of the process rather than the tool used. A proper setup depends on understanding the concepts at work not the price of the machine. Your Shopsmith can be used to sharpen steel blades but as in any grinding job you want to protect it well from the grit.
Now I will say a couple of things that will disturb some guys... :eek: That's OK, not everybody has to like me.
First, all shop work (and much of life) is a lot like a set of balance scales. On one end sits "Chicken Little" who is always ready for the sky to fall. On the other end sits "tool man, Tim Taylor" who lacks the sense to use any caution and always wants more power and every gadget out there. I don't think much of either one of them but I'm just maverick enough to think that when it comes time to die that those that lean very slightly toward the Tim Taylor end (but not too much) will be ready to die without a truckload of regret over having never "tried" things...:) I'm very glad I have not spent my 67 years on this planet being terrified of everything around me. I think much of that comes from growing up farming. My shop tools are dangerous. My farm equipment is dangerous. My horses are dangerous. My motorcycle is dangerous. I still climb roofs to make repairs. I once cut a customers pickup truck in half and replaced the entire back half of the frame. I'm glad I can look back on thousands of things I have done that the Chicken Little's of this world would be terrified of instead of regretting that I spent my whole life hiding from every single risk that arose in front of me. Note that I do work carefully, I don't do dangerous stuff with the horses on purposes, I don't race motorcycles, I don't jump off of roofs and I wouldn't have done that truck job if I had not had a lot of experience in building equipment and metal fabrication.
The second thing I want to say is that on the eighth day god did not give man carbide. :D
Yes, it is great stuff but there "was" commercial woodworking before carbide tools. Many hobby woodworkers believe that HSS will not cut wood... I have a friend that has a professional mill-work shop that does very well at the custom molding business. Probably 95% of his cutter blades are HSS since he makes almost all of his own cutters. He does a lot of restoration mill-work for the state properties. He will make up a set and run more wood through them in a few days than most of us will run in our life time making moldings for projects. Yes, I love a nice carbide saw blade and have maybe a dozen of them (some that need touching up) but a "good" HSS blade will also serve well and if your pockeks are not deep enough to put $150 to $400 in a single 10" carbide blade you should not be made to feel like a second class or handicapped woodworker...:eek: I can buy what ever I want but I know that there are a lot of guys that simply can't. Many of them are members of my Frugal Fun Woodworking list. Most of them get by nicely on a very tight budget.

[charlese]

Glad you posted that, Francis!!!:D
Personally, I am one of those who has never sent a saw blade out to be sharpened. I do it myself. My background is forestry, from tree to board - using using and being around many types of saw blades, chain, circle, band, gang, and even chipper blades.

That said, in accessing the original question Jeff asked - the key words to me were: "just purchased", "one blade", "kinda rusty" "wondering if it's advisable to try and sharpen it". The words "advisable to try" in particular say a lot to me. To give a "yes" answer would lead to... ????? - while a more conservative be careful and conservative answer seems to make more sense.

Apologies, Jeff! I'm talking about you like you aren't even here, but my assessment was here is a guy that has his first circle saw blade and wants to know if he can sharpen it. Short of a wordy lesson (and probably some illustrations) in sharpening wood cutting tools, we are obliged to give the SAFEST, and yet practical advice. As members of this forum, we all have accepted a fiduciary responsibility to give the very best assistance we can to those asking for help.

Did Jeff really want a lesson in how to file teeth, set the swedge, file the rakers? Did he really want instruction on the slopes of the teeth in his blade? Did he want to know the function of the aggressive slope of the teeth on his rusty blade? Did he really want to be made aware of the why some teeth are sloped on the top while others are flat? I don't think so!

Jeff- If I'm wrong here please let me know! I haven't tried to find instruction on saw sharpening on the Internet, but it might be fun.