View Full Version : Cleaning pitch off Saw blades
tdubnik
10-18-2009, 03:50 AM
I use Oxi Clean. I just mix it up and pour it into a container that my blade will fit in. Soak for an hour or so and they wipe clean. No noxious fumes at all.
heathicus
10-18-2009, 08:33 AM
This test of oven cleaner on carbide tips seems to indicate what The Wood Whisperer claims (as well as dozens of other web sites that only seem to offer anecdotal evidence - if any) may not be so:
http://www.carbideprocessors.com/carbide_in_oven_cleaner.htm
mickyd
10-18-2009, 08:42 AM
Anyone have any experience using mineral spirits bath to remove the pitch? Several websites claim it works.
heathicus
10-19-2009, 11:25 AM
but...is there any truth to it?
Just because someone says its possible doesn't mean it's true.
Many people just express their opinions as fact. We used to refer to such statements as old wives tales; I prefer to refer to them more accurately as opinions, usually of ignorant or prejudiced people.
I asked Mark (The Wood Whisperer) about his oven cleaner comment and provided the link to the page I previously liked to in this forum that stated oven cleaner did NOT effect the carbide or the braze alloy. I asked what he based his comment on, and this was his reply:
It could very well be one of those overblown myths that get repeated so many times, people think its absolute truth. Sort of like PVC blowing up shops and never using varnish on a cutting board. But years ago, I read an article or something from the President of Freud where he stated that common oven cleaner attacks the tri-metal brazing they use. So for me, if one pres. of one particular blade manufacturer states that it could be a problem for their particular blades, that’s cause enough for me to take caution with any blade. And part of the reason for this defaulting to caution without much further investigation, is because the less harmful alternatives are so easily accessible and work really well. So I figure, why use something so caustic as oven cleaner when Simple Green and citrus cleaners do the job quite nicely. Of course that’s just my opinion.
The only reference I could find to the Frued comments are on NewWoodworker: http://www.newwoodworker.com/clnblades.html
Since his comment and the evidence to the contrary were discussed here, I thought his response should be shared here as well.
OK, I'm going to save my oven cleaner for the oven and non-carbide blades. Can't be TO SAFE, ya know.