# Table saw blade dirty



## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

I have the Freud Fusion blade and after I let someone use my saw I noticed the blade is dirty or has a build up on it. What is good to clean that off? I was thinking denatured alcohol or miner spirits but that's just guessing.


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## BlackWater (Nov 20, 2009)

Several avenues here.......... One is to remove the blade, soak it in a pan of warm water with laundry detergent for about 15 minutes or so, then use a nylon bristled brush. Make sure to dry thoroughly then hose it down with WD-40 (this also helps to reduce build-up and provide smoother cuts). 

What I do when I don't want to take the time for all that is raise the blade to max height, then use the WD-40 and a soft brass bristled (refinishing?) brush to get as much of the gunk off as possible. Wipe it down, and the WD-40 part is already done!

Hope this helps! 

BW


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## del schisler (Nov 5, 2009)

rrbrown said:


> I have the Freud Fusion blade and after I let someone use my saw I noticed the blade is dirty or has a build up on it. What is good to clean that off? I was thinking denatured alcohol or miner spirits but that's just guessing.


simple green and brass brush will do the job They must have sawed pine?? I dont cut pine to much pitch in the wood


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## Allthumbs27 (Dec 25, 2008)

Hand it back to them and make them buy you a new one would be the route I would take. Always return something in better condition than it was in when they let you use it.


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## wooddude9 (Sep 6, 2008)

Just backs up what I always say " NO you CANT use my tools , but you can pay me to cut it for you.


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## sweensdv (Mar 3, 2008)

+1 on Simple Green. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, but don't let it soak for long periods of time like overnight, and then use a hard bristle brush. I use one of those iron shaped brushes with the handle on the top.


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## Old Skhool (Oct 31, 2009)

*If it's pitch from pine*

Use turpentine, as it is made by the distillation of the resin of , you guessed it, pine trees! It will easily remove the pitch without too much effort, or scrubbing. (Don't substitute a petroleum dist. like mineral spirits ... which will not work nearly as well):smile:


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## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

Lets see I have mineral spirits, denatured alcohol, paint thinner and acetone no of which were suggested. I also have Fantastik, Windex, 409, Tilex and Lime away, but no Simple Green. :laughing:

Cleaning supplies and chemicals most be like tools you can never have enough. :laughing:

Thanks guys, I guess I'm headed to the store.


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## TimPa (Jan 27, 2010)

or spray oven cleaner, or pitch remover for saw blades. i use a brass brush as well, but try to brush away from the cutting edge, not toward it. i've even used a brass rotary brush in the drill press.


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

rrbrown said:


> Lets see I have mineral spirits, denatured alcohol, paint thinner and acetone no of which were suggested. I also have Fantastik, Windex, 409, Tilex and Lime away, but no Simple Green. :laughing:
> 
> Cleaning supplies and chemicals most be like tools you can never have enough. :laughing:
> 
> Thanks guys, I guess I'm headed to the store.


Many of the things suggested will work well. I tend to use what's in the house...409, Greased Lightning, LA's Totally Awesome, Goo Gone, Fantastic, Simple Green (spray it on, brush it off...no soak, no problem). Oven cleaner works well too but is messier and no more effective IME, and there's some controversy about it being caustic and damaging the brazing, so why bother since there's so many good choices? Brand name blade and bit cleaners also work well, but no better than the household cleaners and they cost a lot more...no need really. If the blades are really bad, Freud suggests a kerosene soak. I've also read that TSP and Wash Soda work well.


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## clarionflyer (Apr 27, 2008)

I'm with knotscott,
Just about any cleaner (including WD-40) and a 40 cent brass brush will do wonders. It can be a bit of a pain to keep them clean (especially pine). But if you keep at it regularly, the blades last a lot longer.
I've got a $40 Freud blade that I touch up weekly (WD-40 and Teflon spray). I've had this one over 2 yrs, and it still cuts beautifully.


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

I've used a bunch of different methods. I have settled on using the Rockler Blade & Bit cleaner kit. Mostly because I like the container to soak the blade in. I had used clear plastic plant saucers and Simple Green, but they always leaked...

Simply remove the saw blade, soak in the cleaner solution for 10 - 15 minutes, remove to newspaper or whatever on your bench, scrub the gunk off with an old toothbrush (The kit comes with a metal bristled brush, I do NOT use it...), rinse, wipe it dry, then wipe it down with WD-40 and reinstall on the saw. Pour your excess cleaner back in the bottle...

Watch the sales, regular price on this thing is a bit spendy for what it is. $26.99 for what you get is a little high... There was a sale a while back, I think I paid $14.99 for mine, which is $2.00 more than just a quart of the pitch & resin remover...


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

clarionflyer said:


> I'm with knotscott,
> Just about any cleaner (including WD-40) and a 40 cent brass brush will do wonders. It can be a bit of a pain to keep them clean (especially pine). But if you keep at it regularly, the blades last a lot longer.
> I've got a $40 Freud blade that I touch up weekly (WD-40 and Teflon spray). I've had this one over 2 yrs, and it still cuts beautifully.


Add me to this list. The brass brush and WD-40 will clean most things. Sometimes you have to get a little more forceful.

I certainly would not get in any huff with a friend that used my saw nor would I charge them for using it.

George


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## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

Like I said thanks guys. It might be me but it seems like it's not cutting quite as good as before. I doubt it got dull with that one use then I thought that maybe the build up was causing it. I'm going to try and clean it later today or tomorrow so I'll see.


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## Itchy Brother (Aug 22, 2008)

I'd just save that blade and give them that one next time they wanna to use a blade or get it resharpened and forget about it.Itchy


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## Rob (Oct 31, 2006)

> or get it resharpened and forget about it


I use Greased Lightning and it works great. I am a little anal about saw blades and tend to take them off and clean them once a day if I'm going full tilt. So, they clean up pretty fast.
Anyone besides me clean their blades before shipping them off for sharpening?


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## triplechip (Jun 8, 2009)

I've been in the saw sharpening business all my life. Years ago we soaked blades in a tank with a caustic solution for at least an hour before scrubbing them in a rinse tank. 
We now use a heated ultrasonic cleaning machine and can do the job in minutes. Over 200 blades every day. We still use the same caustic solution but the time savings with the ultrasonic cleaner made my job cleaning customers saw blades a lot easier.
The ultrasonic cleaner gets all the pitch build up out of the poars of the blade. 
Check any local large saw shop in your area to see if they have an ultrasonic cleaner, and ask to see if they will just clean it for you.


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## rrich (Jun 24, 2009)

While I haven't tried the Rockler stuff, it is an organic cleaner. Another similar product is a spray bottle of 2050. Spray it on, let it sit for a minute or so and then scrub lightly with an old tooth brush. Works wonders. Then I take the blade into the kitchen and rinse it with the hottest water that my hands can stand and dry carefully in an old terry cloth towel. I use to use the dish washer rinse cycle to do the job but since we got the new DW, LOML said that if I put blades in her DW I can sleep in the shop.


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## dogshooter (Feb 20, 2009)

Windex and an old toothbrush work great!!


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