I have 2 Dewalt 80t blades. Both blades have lost there sharpness IMO to soon. About 150-200 cuts per blade. I am cutting soft pine for trim. My Q is, how many cuts should I get before having them sharpened?
I don't know about DeWalt but you will literally get 10's of thousands of cuts out of a Forrest.
That said, I highly suspect that since you are cutting pine that your blades may simply be dirty. Pitch build up on a blade will greatly reduce their cutting ability and smoothness. Get some CMT Formula 2050, a biodegradable cleaner specifically made to clean bits and blades QUICKLY.
I've several DeWalt blades including the one that came w/ the chop saw. As Leon says, they'll stay sharp for a much longer time than that---I've used this saw for several years between sharpenings on everything from hardwood trim to the finish work on the old barn which is 90+ yr old SYP (translation--harder than rocks w/ _lots_ of pitch) and most of it is dirt-encrusted as well and have made literally thousands of cuts w/ no real problems of excessively dulling the blade(s).
Something just ain't right here--can you describe the problem? Soft pine, other than the gumming problem, should have no discernible effect on the blade in any short period of time. If it's burning, it's probably either pitch or you're simply not cutting fast enough. If it's something else, repost more details and somebody will have ideas...
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If you want to make a test, try using no extension cord and see what the effect is.
I vote for gummed up blade as well. There are lots of cleaners, I use Simple Green. I soak it for about 30 minutes and then scrub with a toothbrush. I favor the yellow kind because I hate the odor of the green stuff.
I'd love that to be true. I don't know what it actually is, but whatever it is is a lot more than 150-200.
Pine's not the only wood that leaves a deposit. Many others do too. And the pitch they leave on the blade is visible. No guesswork there.
Cleaning is good.
I recently got some of this at the local Woodcraft store. As I recall it was something like $11 for a bottle with about 8-10 ounces in it. It does indeed seem to do the job on all the saw blades and router bits I've used it on.
One thing I've noticd though, is this stuff smells exactly like Formula 409. I haven't gotten around to trying it, but when I run out of the CMT Formula 2050, I'm going to give Formula 409 a try. :)
Probably not the same. ;~) It also smells like Fast Orange hand cleaner. LOL
Get an automobile oil change pan (big enough bottom to let a 10" blade lay flat).
Put blade in pan add 1/2" of simple green.
Let stand 24-48 hours, then scrub with a soft bristle brush.
BTW, that nice red teflon finish they put of Freud blades comes right off along with all the gunk.
DAMHIKT.
Lew
the lid to a 5 gallon plastic pail is just about right for a 10" blade. hot water by itself will clean most wood residue off in a few minutes. if that doesn't get it all a little laundry detergent will.
I don't get it about all of the oven cleaner/ specialty solvent/ toxic chemicals people use to clean wood pitch off of saw blades.
The advantage to Formula 2050 is that it is safe to handle and is bio degradable and fast. It is common to have a clean blade in 10 minutes with out having anything but the cleaner and a paper towel. I spray around the teeth and immediately start wiping the blade clean with a paper towel. Other items work just as well but are IMHO slower and more trouble.
As Jim suggested, try w/o an extension cord--if there's any difference whatsoever, that's certainly dead-certain indication that what you're using is too small/long. I rarely if ever run the chop-saw off an extension, but it ought to be a 14 ga _minimum_.
What size material are you cutting? Another possibility is the saw is out of alignment? What is the actual saw (make/model)? Maybe somebody has something on a specific saw. I've the original 12" DeWalt (although the current one looks to still be essentially identical) and after all these years and the abuse it's received it is still dead-on. That doesn't say there's not something going on or if you have a different saw.
Whatever it is, I still don't much think the blades themselves should be showing actual loss in sharpness after only a few cuts in soft pine--it's something else or a remediable problem that's causing excessive blade wear/binding.
Too much pitch perhaps? Get some Simple Green and clean the blade it does wonders... BB
Earlier poster suggested using hot water and laundry detergent to clean blades. What about just slipping them into the dishwasher? Has anyone tried this? Dumb idea?
Think rust.
Yes - the dishwasher soap is fairly caustic and would probably cause problems. It actually will eat at glass if you have very softwater. Also a problem with rust???
Just use Simple Green - not expensive and not caustic.
BB
OK I plug it in w/ no ext. cord, lot's more power. Gonna' try blade cleaning in the am
J.F. Kirkland III wrote: > OK > I plug it in w/ no ext. cord, lot's more power. Gonna' try blade cleaning > in the am >
Go to Home Depot and buy a 25 ft, molded cord set.
Try to find a 10-2 with ground.
Forget about the ends, anything will do.
Cut of the female and hard wire into saw.
If the male plug matches your receptacle, you're done.
If not, whack it off and wire in the correct one.
A molded cordset is the lowest cost way to buy a piece of wire.
Been doing it for a long time.
Have fun.
Lew
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