# Sharpening Saw Blades



## arvanlaar (Dec 29, 2014)

Hey All,

Delving into an area completely new to me... Circular blade sharpening. I've seen a few videos of guys sharpening bladed with a diamond grinding blade on a table saw. Is this the standard way of sharpening blades on your own?

Also, what do you think of this jig? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXiauw7Ckyw What do you all use?


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Sharpening carbide blades is one of those things really better left to professionals. Sure, you could rig up a diamond blade contraption, but the results will never be as good, and I don't know about you but no way do I want carbide dust floating around the cabinet of my saw


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## NickB (Sep 24, 2013)

epicfail48 said:


> I don't know about you but no way do I want carbide dust floating around the cabinet of my saw


Why do you say that? Just wondering...


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

NickDIY said:


> Why do you say that? Just wondering...


Well, carbide is extremely hard, and carbide dust, the kind youd get after grinding it with a diamond wheel, is extremely fine, making it extremely abrasive. If any of that fine, abrasive powder makes its way into your arbor bearing, well, enjoy that replacement job!


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I think I would only be concerned with getting something in my eyes. Even with a full face shield it's dangerous cutting steel on a table saw.


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## Justin Huisenga (Apr 2, 2011)

Every detail of a high quality saw blade is optimized for performance. Even minor changes to the geometry of the top, face, or side angles will have a huge impact on performance. Every one of these angles need to be flat and meet the others at sharp, not rolled, points. Every tooth needs to have exact amounts of material removed. 

Generated heat needs to be managed during every step of the grinding process. Too much and you ruin the temper or warp the plate.

Good sharpeners have hundreds of thousands of dollars if not more in precision equipment much of it CNC. They have or write programs to sharpen specific blades returning them to factory geometry or modify existing geetry to suit a specific application. I have a number of modified blades for specific jobs or blades that have been changes for performance reasons.

Top quality saw blades are tools not consumables. To get the most out of them you are better off letting someone with the right equipment and training maintain your tooling investment. What they charge is a bargain for the services they provide.


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## arvanlaar (Dec 29, 2014)

OK so if I was to get a saw sharpened, roughly what is the price I would be looking at to pay? I know it depends but maybe an average price?


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## arvanlaar (Dec 29, 2014)

Nevermind... found out for myself. There is a place not too far away that charges roughly $10 depending on how many teeth your blade has. Thank you for pointing out the intricacies of saw sharpening that I was not aware of. I might still try my hand at sharpening a mastercraft blade or something on my own but if I have nicer blades I will leave it to the pros


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## Justin Huisenga (Apr 2, 2011)

Sharpening cost depends on diameter of the blade, number of teeth, type of grind, and what needs to be done to it. I either send my blades to Leitz or drop off at a local shop. An 100t 12" blade ATB+R grind runs me between $20-$35 depending on whether it is getting a touch up or an all around grind. A 40t ATB runs around $12-$15. Some grinds will cost more to sharpen . H-ATB and ATAF grinds can get spendy.

Not all sharpening services are created equal. The local shop by me has had a drop in quality as the next generation has taken over and the father/owner has moved back some. I bring them my mid grade stuff if I'm working in the area and have the occasional knife ground by them but send my premium blades to Leitz. If you know of a local cabinet or millwork shop give them a call and ask who they use and if they are happy with the work.

If you want to try sharpening the low end throw aways just to try it have at it. You're out nothing if it doesn't work.


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## triplechip (Jun 8, 2009)

Justin, You are correct that not all sharpening shops are created equal.

I do saw blade sharpening for a living. As a matter of fact, I am the 4th generation of our family saw shop. Our shop is located in St. Louis Mo.

A month ago a woodworker called me up and asked if he could visit our shop. He was going to give a talk to the Local Woodworkers Guild about sharpening. He was good at chisels and chain saw blades, but needed help with your basic table saw blade. 

I told him to bring up a few of his blades and he could see how we do it first hand. He asked if he could video the process, and I said sure.

Below is a sample of what we do in the shop. 

https://vimeo.com/137025186?utm_sou...jM2RiNmQwNzB8MzI0MjI5NHwxNDQwMjgxNjg3fDc3MDE=


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## Justin Huisenga (Apr 2, 2011)

triplechip said:


> Justin, You are correct that not all sharpening shops are created equal.
> 
> I do saw blade sharpening for a living. As a matter of fact, I am the 4th generation of our family saw shop. Our shop is located in St. Louis Mo.
> 
> ...


I ran across your site and was impressed. I've seen your blade making videos. Your shop is very tight. The set up you guys have is why I say that it's better to turn a blade over to specialists with the knowledge and equipment to do the job right and why i said that the cost of having a blade sharpened by a good shop is a bargain. I wouldn't even know where to begin hammering a blade. I have way too much invested in blades and rely on their performance too much to mess around.

I've got a couple of blades ready to be shipped out. I'll give you guys a call later this week.


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## Ron Rutter (Jan 18, 2011)

How many clean their blades between sharpening??? You can put them through the dishwasher or just put them in a sink with hot water, sprinkle on some dishwasher soap.Agitate occasionally for 20-30 minutes, scrub with a soft bristle, rinse & dry. Almost like new!! Ron.


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## Justin Huisenga (Apr 2, 2011)

Ron Rutter said:


> How many clean their blades between sharpening??? You can put them through the dishwasher or just put them in a sink with hot water, sprinkle on some dishwasher soap.Agitate occasionally for 20-30 minutes, scrub with a soft bristle, rinse & dry. Almost like new!! Ron.


I use a specific bit and blade cleaner. Spray it on, wait 2 minutes, scrub with a plastic bristle brush and wipe dry. I usually hit the blade with Dri-Coat and either store it or put it back on its saw.


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## d_slat (Apr 10, 2012)

I clean mine all the time. I wash them with dish soap, water so hot my hands can barely stand it, and a plastic scrub brush.


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## nwoodward (Feb 2, 2014)

Will blade sharpening companies sharpen big box store blades, yeah cheapos. I usually spring for a Bosch or Kolbalt but now have several dull blades hanging on a nail.

Sent from my iPhone using Wood Forum


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

nwoodward said:


> Will blade sharpening companies sharpen big box store blades, yeah cheapos. I usually spring for a Bosch or Kolbalt but now have several dull blades hanging on a nail.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Wood Forum


No reason they wouldn't, as far as the machine is concerned the blades are all the same anyway. The big question though, is why would you want to? A sharpening service is going to be $15-20 a blade, both shipping both ways if you dont have a service local. Once everything adds up, you could end up paying as !much for the sharpening as you would a new blade of the same quality.

Better to save the money for a quality blade if you ask me. I like the craftsman 50t combo blade myself. $70 and fantastic cut quality


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*a local service will cost less, however....*

Even the cheaper blades like the Freud Diablos are worth a sharpening or two. They may come back even better than new...?

Get some recommendation of names from them to verify that the customers are satisfied. Shipping will work best, cost less, when you have several to sharpen. Our member here triplechip has always sounded like they will give you a finished product that is reasonable and cut to perfection. Try them! 

https://vimeo.com/137025186?utm_sour...Njg3fDc3MDE%3D


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## LeeSem (Mar 19, 2016)

I've not heard anyone say the blades they have had sharpened come back as good as new.
I sharpen mine and are about 85 or 90% as good as new.


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## Oneal-Woodworking (Apr 14, 2013)

LeeSem said:


> I've not heard anyone say the blades they have had sharpened come back as good as new.
> I sharpen mine and are about 85 or 90% as good as new.


Or better...

I current have an arbor bearing that is 'almost' in need of replacement on one saw. When the saw is running and in use there is no issue and things are fairly smooth.

On shutdown though, If I have a poorly balanced blade on the saw and actually take the time to watch it as it comes to a complete stop - I can clearly see a slight headshake right before everything stops spinning. The slight bit of slop in the bearing is what allowed that shake to happen and be so noticeable.

The last blades that I got back from Quinn Saw (triplechip is his user name here) don't wobble like that on shutdown (even WITH a bearing that is not at 100%). They are smooth as glass. 

The last batch I sent off was a mix of new (never been sharpened before and NOT abused) and used blades (blades that had been sharpened several times previously by a different company). They all came back as good or better than 'new'. 

Very nice work in my opinion.


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## Oneal-Woodworking (Apr 14, 2013)

woodnthings said:


> Even the cheaper blades like the Freud Diablos* are worth a sharpening or two*. They may come back even better than new...?


 
or ten...

:thumbsup:


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

I've had some blades sharpened locally, and they came back sharp. I recently sent back for the first time, one of my Forrest blades to be sharpened. It was around $35 with shipping and they got it back to me in less than a week. It was as good as new. Their blades are in the $125-165 range, so it's worth getting them sharpened. But those blades only get sent back to them. 
Mike Hawkins :smile3:


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## LeeSem (Mar 19, 2016)

I guess I just use cheep blades. Mostly sharpen them in my shop, after about 3 sharpening there toss them and get some more cheepy's Harbor Freight on sale.


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## Aziris (Jun 6, 2017)

*Aziris*

Hi Guys,

I know asking how often you sharpen your saw blades is not easy to answer but I have very weird situation where I wonder if something bad is going on to me/my blade or anything else.

I am fairly new to saw tables (still all fingers  ) but I tried not to abuse my blade or machine itself:
I took brand new Freud 48z 12" universal saw (square tooth), my machine is not very powerful - 2.5kw
I processed around 14 raw-sawn birch blanks (1" and 1.5" thick, avg 7" wide and 10feet long) both cross and rip cutting, good 1/3 of rip cuts I finished with a dedicated rip saw.
Roughly I have cross-cut every blank approx in 3 pieces then again ripped 3 times.


Guess what... I switched to dedicated rip saw already in mid process as ripping got hard and wood burns appeared, was able to finish cross cutting with manageable amount of burn 

As I am new and might have done something wrong, can you confirm that this is ridiculously low amount of cutting that requires blade resharpening ? My gut feel is that it should have been 5x more before it is dull.

Basically that was 1 mid sized project.
Probably there were some traces of dust/sand on the blanks, that's what I can suspect, also birch seems to cut harder than oak or ash to me...

Any comments ?


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