Dulling Your Carbide on Saw Blades??? - Pop Wood

[BIG JOE]

Forgive me if someone posted this already. A letter to the editor in the latest Popular Woodworking asks about certain cleaners (particularly oven cleaner) and their affect on the brazing material which attaches carbide to the blades.

Pop Wood went to Jim Brewer of Freud for an answer. Jim said that tests have shown no damage to brazing materials from any cleaners, but that most commercial cleaners and especially oven cleaner will "soften" the carbide and make it dull faster.

Has anyone else heard this? I've been using simple green but just picked up the Boeshield 3-pack (rust remover,rust preventer,blade cleaner) from the Milwaukee Woodshow and planned on switching to that.

Jim's method for cleaning blades; soak overnight in kerosene in a sealed container and lighting scrub in the morning.

Joe

[Ratchet]

Most people get waaaay too complicated with this. Heck with the chemicals. Soak the blade in hot soapy water for a couple of hours (okay, the water will be cold by then), then use a toothbrush or vegetable brush to remove the softened gunk from the teeth. That takes about 10 minutes.

BTW, typing "cleaning saw blades" in Google Advanced Groups Search brings up

5,550 hits in 1.06 seconds, so there are plenty of opinions besides mine.

[Leon]

Another product to consider is made by CMT, the router bit people. Formula

2050. This is a citrus based cleaner and works fast. Environmentally safe and a little goes a long way. The advantage over soap and water is that it leaves a protective film on the blade and will guard against rust.

[Joe Tylicki]

Yes, but the magazine clearly states "ALL of the commercially sold blade cleaners in our research have a negative effect on the carbide, which could lead to the blades becoming prematurely dull."

Joe

[Joe Tylicki]

Uhh, yeah, I know how to google, and I've had no trouble cleaning my blades. This seemed like a newer concern to me.

Joe

[Ellestad]

Did they say with solid scientific verification what exactly the negative effect was and why this happens? Is the claim "could lead to the blades becoming prematurely dull" founded in the results of controlled testing or just conjecture?

I don't doubt your quote but I am always a skeptic when it comes to "projected" problem claims in these kind of publications, especially when there is little documented history to reference as well. These publishers mean well but they usually don't have the necessary lab facilities and know-how to properly test these situations and then make the proclamations. Frequently this stuff comes from manufacturer-supplied viewpoints (with a profit-making bias) or from just plain freely-offered rumors.

Still, with the cost of good cutting tools today, this is a worthy concern. Please post again with any more details. If this is accurate (and it may well be) then it certainly puts a new slant on how to assess the cost/benefit/service life of the blades and cutters that we buy.

Thanks.

Tim

[BIG JOE]

Hi Tim

To be honest, I posted pretty much everything he said. He did not elaborate on any testing, which is kinda why I came here to see if our astute members have heard anything more.

I would wonder how he could profit from sales of kerosene, however. ;-)

Joe

[Charlie Self]

Big Joe responds to:

And the manufacturer's viewpoint and freely-offered rumors (as opposed to "unfreely offered rumors"?) is nonsense. I've tested tools for several magazines. The test criteria may not meet Tim's standards, but I've never had an editor ask me to back off and take it easy on a tool, whether a saw or bit or blade, because he wanted to court that manufacturer. And any time I usd a rumor in an article, it was identified as such. IMO, writers for these magazines will always try their best to give the best possible results, whether for a tool review, or for a project or technique. "Frequently" my ass, in other words.

You can document history until your face falls off, but the articles still have to be short enough to be readable, while having enough good content to please the majority of readers most of the time.

Charlie Self "Health food makes me sick." Calvin Trillin