What to with all those old blades?

[Larry Bud]

HD carries Freud blades.

[Mike Marlow]

Hmmmm... maybe I want to follow you around the woods for a day.

[Larry Jaques]

or

're really, really handy. (Somebody tell David Eisen and Phully about these, too. They haven't listened to me.)

That bird's eye maple table for you mom is beautiful. Well done.

-------------------------------------- PESSIMIST: An optimist with experience --------------------------------------------

- Web Database Development

[LDR]

It was touched on but not hit very hard to my surprise. Old saw blades are a resource for knife- and toolmakers, especially for beginners. That's why I save mine, which I will get around to using if, according to my plans, I live to be a thousand.

[Fly-by-Night CC]

There's a difference though in the Freud blades available. The ones at HD are contractor/consumer, thin-kerf, low cost "Diablo" & TK blades. The only Freud blades I buy are the Industrial models (F, LM & LU models). These blades have larger carbide teeth and generally full-kerf, thicker plates. While the HD blades are in the $20-30 range, the Industrial line runs $60-80 and are worth the price if you're after a long-lasting quality blade that can be resharpened a number of times.

Just my 2 cents and bias.

[vdubbs]

It will take two generations of estate sales to clean out my shop. I am one major pack rat. Least that is what the wife says!! LOL

[Jack]

I hear some part of the country sharpening is about $6 but where I am its around $12 for an 18" chain and a 2 week turn around time from my local shop. No thanks, I"I'll do it myself, takes only about 5-10 minutes with a hand file and if the chain is really bad like after eating a nail or some rocks I clean it up on my chain saw grinder. HD had a fire sale a few months ago for chain/bar combos for $10 so now I don't need to sharpen my chains for the next couple of years - I clean out two stores. The chain was around $24 and the bar around $30 but the funny thing was no one was buying it.

[Jerry S.]

For this newsgroup, shouldn't you change the name to "Owin' Lowes"? Or is that 12,423,607th time you've heard it?

[David]

if Lowe's can see it's way clear to opening a store closer than the 2 stores 24 miles from my house (in opposite directions), I'll be more than happy to "owe Lowe's". I prefer them to our local HD's.

Dave

[Jack]

I stock up on blades whenever I find it on sale, Home Depot, Harbor Freight, Lowe's, local tool store or wherever. I have blades anywhere from under $10 to your $70 price range. I do laminate and recycle wood and when you hit one nail with your expensive blade it will perform no better than when I hit one nail with my cheap blade. Anyway those cheap blades are either M2 or C2 carbide tipped so it really doesn't cut all that bad and many are cheaper to replace than reshapren. Before I change out my blade I cut concrete boards for kitchen or bathroom counter tops, something I don't think you want to do with your precious CMT blade. Different strokes for different folks.

[George E. Cawthon]

Doesn't cost that much where I live. 10 inch steel is about $10, carbide is about $14 to sharpen a 40-60 tooth blade. Excellent shop, excellent job.

I am exceedingly slow and it takes me about 15 minutes to sharpen a chain saw. About half of that time is putting the blade in my vise and attaching the sharpening jig. I get a better sharpening when I use the jig. I use to use just a flat guide which attaches to the file, then it took me about 12 minutes. I guy that does this as a living can file the teeth in about 4 minutes without any guide.

[Roy]

Great idea. I've got a small stack of semi-ancient pre-carbide era circ blades sitting around somewhere generating rust, no doubt. I need to shore up Tunnel Three this weekend anyway, so will look for them while I'm down there.

[Fly-by-Night CC]

Honestly, that's a new one - never heard it before.

[msschmenk]

SNIP For my circular saws and table saws I have a bunch of old (used, not sharp)

7.25" and 10" carbide tipped blades I've accumulated over the years. Blades are so much improved and cheap now days so its hard to justify to have it professionally resharpen

Heck, there VINTAGE!!! Put em on ebay and reap the rewards. Prolly be able to pay for a WWII or two. :-)

ANOTHER SNIP How much does it cost to get a blade sharpened. I can't imagine anyone doing anything for less than $40-50.

Spoiled here. Took awhile to find him cause he has no website, phone listing, or ad in Fine Woodworking, but an old codger I know does a great job on my blades for like $.10 per tooth. I usually tip him cause I feel guilty dropping off 4-5 blades and getting them the next day for $20... Do some networking (read buy beers) with some good finish carpenters and I'm sure if you're nice enough they will give you the name of their guy.

[Jennifer Juniper]

You think you're spoiled? I just have my husband sharpen my blades. He used to own/operate his own sharpening business and still has all his equipment. The only reason he shut it down was because certain construction and cabinetry companies never paid regularly. He was so good and so inexpensive that whenever we see one of his old customers around town they beg him to start it up again. So I guess that's my :)

As far as sharpening versus buying a new blade, finding a company that sharpens correctly for a good price is a must. One of my DH's competitors charged more than he did and used trainees for the work. A lot of cabinet people would complain that the bevel was off so bad that the blade would just tear up the wood. Also, you can only sharpen a blade so often before there isn't enough metal left to sharpen. If you need to replace the teeth, that can start costing more. However, I'd look around and see if you can find a company who'd do it for a reasonable price. The few around here charge cents-per-blade so you'll probably find the same standard pricing. Test them on one blade and see how it turns out.

My sugestion for other uses... Make an elaborate sculpture of the inner workings of a machine. Name it something fancy like "Deus ex machina". Sell it for tons of money. *L*

Good Luck, Jen

[Fly-by-Night CC]

Perhaps there's still enough demand that it could be a viable business - with one major change: full payment on pickup, no exceptions. If the item(s) are not retrieved within 60 days, then your husband can sell them to recoup costs. Implement a receipt system with a brief legal release that all sign upon drop-off.

I assume you really meant cents per tooth? Over the last few years I've always paid about 15 - 20 cents per tooth - perhaps if your DH really was charging cents per tooth (my interpretation is 7-8 cents or less) then he may not have had enough income to really make it work.

[Jennifer Juniper]

You are right, it is/was cents per tooth. I typed it wrong. :) I didn't mean that he was charging 7-8 cents or less, I just meant that it wasn't $/tooth or something. I forget what he actually charged, but it was considerably less than the competition. He tried instituting the payment on pick-up deal, warning people ahead of time, but too many people still wouldn't pay. He ended up keeping several blades, making his customers angry (even though he said that he'd give them the blades the minute they paid and those blades sat for months before he closed down the business.) There are just too many companies in our area who float lots of their bills. Thanks for the suggestion though. :)

~Jen

[Phisherman]

You can use the metal to cut out various items. Or, I still use old blades on rare occasions to cut through materials that normally will quickly dull a good blade.

[CW]

[Fly-by-Night CC]

Ah, I hadn't noticed them - thanks for clarifying my comments.